Folks:
I'll be starting a speaker project soon and am looking for gold-plated solder tag strips, preferably from a North American source to save on shipping. Partconnexion has 12 position gold-plated tag strips (Connex Tag (or Terminal) Strips), but I'd love to find something longer (28 positions would be ideal). I've also located gold-plated barrier strips (skycraft surplus), but I'd prefer the tag strips.
Anybody know of a credible source? I ain't buying from Europe-Audio (or whatever it is they now call themselves).
Regards,
Scott
I'll be starting a speaker project soon and am looking for gold-plated solder tag strips, preferably from a North American source to save on shipping. Partconnexion has 12 position gold-plated tag strips (Connex Tag (or Terminal) Strips), but I'd love to find something longer (28 positions would be ideal). I've also located gold-plated barrier strips (skycraft surplus), but I'd prefer the tag strips.
Anybody know of a credible source? I ain't buying from Europe-Audio (or whatever it is they now call themselves).
Regards,
Scott
Other than good looks I don't see point in gold plated solder terminals. But, if you insist, you can go DIY and gold-plate it yourself, it is easy! Go to Krohn (Krohn Industries, Inc. - Manufacturing with Quality & Services Since 1955) and look for their gold electroplating solution. E
mickeymoose:
Why gold? Uhmm, don't you appreciate jewelry quality in your speaker crossovers? I'd like gold because it won't tarnish in my lifetime and (here's your chance to laugh at me) I harbor the belief that some metals sound better than others. And while I do appreciate the suggestion, accumulating the materials (undoubtedly far more than I'll need at far more of an expense than is justified) in order to plate a few tag strips would be perfect for the neurotic perfectionist. I'm the lazy dope who'd like to keep things simple.
Thanks for the thought, though!
Regards,
Scott
Me too, emphatically. 😛
Brass cymbals sound way better than those made out of aluminum, tin, iron or lead. 🙄
Mind you, sound way better than even solid gold ones 😱
Call me naive, but I was under the impression gold plating served to get mating contact surfaces to join at low resistance and reliably without corrosion. When you use gold as a solder terminal, the mating surfaces (to the extant soldered connections can be called "mating") are dissimilar metals. You don;t have gold plated leads on your components do you? And the electrical connection is made through lead and tin in the solder.
Hence, gold plated banana plugs into gold plated banana posts might make some sense. But soldering copper and or tinned wires to gold terminals would seem to accomplish little.
COntext is everything, some metals may "sound better" than others, but in what contexts? Certainly gold plated control knobs would have no effect, nor would gold plated set screws.
Hence, gold plated banana plugs into gold plated banana posts might make some sense. But soldering copper and or tinned wires to gold terminals would seem to accomplish little.
COntext is everything, some metals may "sound better" than others, but in what contexts? Certainly gold plated control knobs would have no effect, nor would gold plated set screws.
Enzo:
You may be absolutely correct. I assume (dangerous, it is true) that to the extent that signal passes along the tag instead of the wires being joined at that tag the signal may be tarnished (bad pun intended). For example, imagine a solder tag strip with opposing connected tags (e.g., 28 Way Solder Tag Strip Board 1 Strip | eBay). If you make the connection at just one end of the tags, probably no worries. But what if you connect single wires at both ends of a tag? You'd then be relying on the tag to carry the signal and, I imagine, the type of metal in the tag might be relevant.
Assuming you're correct, the issue then is the relative size of a tag; is it large enough to permit the secure joining of three or four wires? Size would clearly matter in this case.
There's a message in the fact that no one appears to sell what I'm looking for. Either I've been seduced, yet again, by audiofool voodoo or perhaps I've just uncovered a huge marketing opportunity (perhaps both). Either way, everyone else step back -- I think it's time for me to go into business electroplating gold tag strips after all.
Regards,
Scott
You may be absolutely correct. I assume (dangerous, it is true) that to the extent that signal passes along the tag instead of the wires being joined at that tag the signal may be tarnished (bad pun intended). For example, imagine a solder tag strip with opposing connected tags (e.g., 28 Way Solder Tag Strip Board 1 Strip | eBay). If you make the connection at just one end of the tags, probably no worries. But what if you connect single wires at both ends of a tag? You'd then be relying on the tag to carry the signal and, I imagine, the type of metal in the tag might be relevant.
Assuming you're correct, the issue then is the relative size of a tag; is it large enough to permit the secure joining of three or four wires? Size would clearly matter in this case.
There's a message in the fact that no one appears to sell what I'm looking for. Either I've been seduced, yet again, by audiofool voodoo or perhaps I've just uncovered a huge marketing opportunity (perhaps both). Either way, everyone else step back -- I think it's time for me to go into business electroplating gold tag strips after all.
Regards,
Scott
Jantzen Audio have them in their catalog. 28 pins, gold plated. Contact eg. Parts Express since they sell crossover parts etc. from Jantzen.
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Make sure that you distinguish between true gold plating and gold flashing. The latter will not survive a few connections/disconnections.
Personally, I use brass which also doesn't tarnish and doesn't need plating. Crank down the terminals with some torque and you get an airtight connection.
Personally, I use brass which also doesn't tarnish and doesn't need plating. Crank down the terminals with some torque and you get an airtight connection.
Bequerel:
Thanks, but it's one of the few Jantzen components that PartsExpress doesn't carry. Yet another reason to believe I'm on a wild goose chase.
Regards,
Scott
Current passes through the tag, rather than along its surface. But let's assume it anyway. Imagine you have a six inch piece of copper wire carrying a signal. Now in the center of that wire, splice in a 3/16" piece of gold. How much do you think that will improve the sound?
If you are going to solder to gold plated terminals, make sure you scrape off all the gold before you solder. It's not a material suitable for soldering. It is also an inferior conductor to copper. So theoretically you are making an inferior connection. But in reality, as with all audiophoolery, there will be no audible difference between any conductor material.
IPC J-STD-001 (industrial soldering standard) forbids soldering gold plated connections.
Gold:
- Porous
- Can be too thick
- Dissolves in Eutectic Tin/Lead
- Creates embrittlement of solder joints
Google it. Educate yourself. Stop it with the audiophoolery - it's destructive to yourself and to others when you spread misinformation like this.
IPC J-STD-001 (industrial soldering standard) forbids soldering gold plated connections.
Gold:
- Porous
- Can be too thick
- Dissolves in Eutectic Tin/Lead
- Creates embrittlement of solder joints
Google it. Educate yourself. Stop it with the audiophoolery - it's destructive to yourself and to others when you spread misinformation like this.
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Welcome:
I certainly appreciate the education, which I believe is evident from my posts in this thread. But why would you accuse me of spreading misinformation?
Regards,
Scott
I certainly appreciate the education, which I believe is evident from my posts in this thread. But why would you accuse me of spreading misinformation?
Regards,
Scott
Or it might not. If the resistance is low, it's not. The plating can- CAN- make a difference in the interface resistance if there's a mechanical connection. But conduction is conduction.
I always thought gold plating was to avoid corrosion on contacts ie switch contacts and connectors etc, gold to gold contacts = good.
Yes, that's the mechanical interface I was talking about. But it has to be a good quality plating in order for it to not make things worse. That's why I opted for solid brass.
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