Hey there,
anyone tried these? I am concerned whether these are really tel. copper or just copper clad brass.
Dia:10mm Star Line Silver Plated Tellurium Copper RCA Plug connector 2 Pair 4pcs | eBay
anyone tried these? I am concerned whether these are really tel. copper or just copper clad brass.
Dia:10mm Star Line Silver Plated Tellurium Copper RCA Plug connector 2 Pair 4pcs | eBay
I didn't find any difference in sound to the Eichmann copper plugs, if that's what you're asking - if there is a difference, it's pretty small, IMO. I haven't tried any of the other metals tho ...
I do like the way these plugs are built and the more realistic price means I don't have to keep 'recycling' the long-suffering Eichmanns
I do like the way these plugs are built and the more realistic price means I don't have to keep 'recycling' the long-suffering Eichmanns
i have bought and used these. i cannot verify if it is truly tel. copper. but they look great, good build and sounds as good as any well made plugs.
I suspect that tellurium is just the brand name, not the alloy. Tellurium is mildly toxic and slightly radioactive. It is added to copper to make it easier to machine; my guess is that it will slightly reduce conductance.
They state 0.5% content + phosphorous and the remaining (claim of ebay seller is 99.5% copper + 0.5% tellurium + phosphorous which makes over 100%...). The contact pin is really short and impedances where I`d use these are far greater so maybe will go for Neutrik instead.
Great plugs. Tellurium-copper is less important, what's more important is low total conductor mass.
Skin effect. Gets pronounced with higher diameter of the conductor.
It would probably be insignificant anyway if the quality of conductor near the surface was the same as elsewhere. However there's plating there and metals contact...
It would probably be insignificant anyway if the quality of conductor near the surface was the same as elsewhere. However there's plating there and metals contact...
Years ago i bought on ebay , three pairs RCA's from Jim's audio ( well regarded on this forum) telliurum cooper CMC and i blow a power amp with them . The cooper was painted and the conductivity so bad that the 0v dc was really 10mv ! So it's the moment to use the LCR meter with Kelvin clips....
With a higher diameter of conductor the conductivity increases due to the larger cross-sectional area, although its true that the skin effect reduces the percentage of the conductor carrying the current.
However at audio frequencies the skin depth varies from 50mm to 0.5mm across the band, and 0.5mm of copper at the surface will carry loads of current without any issue, and furthermore the parts of a phono plug are probably about that thickness anyway - you can usually totally ignore the skin effect at audio frequencies.
Thin surface plating won't be significant either, because the current burrows below it quite happily (not true at 1GHz, but true for audio).
Silver plating is often used for RF connectors and wiring to reduce surface resistance, but for audio you always want gold plating to make reliable contact.
At RF the thin layers of oxide/sulfide between connectors act as capacitance and conduct the RF freely(*). At 1kHz this is not the case. Silver readily forms a black sulfide surface layer especially in cities, gold stays clean.
(*) Actually this can cause non-linearities and generate harmonics, so high performance radio systems use hermetically sealed connectors - for instance cell-phone base station antenna systems require extremely low levels of intermodulation distortion and corroded contacts are the principle cause, either in feedlines or antennas or nearby metalwork.
I think it's still imperfection of surface(s) and plating(s) which make the difference. In a perfect conductor from surface to its depth skin effect should not make least difference. However given those imperfections, a fraction of signal will face lower conductivity near the surface. Also I think 1k signals are not an issue here, however HF audible signals might be on the line.
I used couple of LAT IC's. One of them (cheaper with smaller conductor intersection, though conductors are pretty similar - silver plated copper pulled through tighter diameter - to press silver plating firmer to the copper, I guess) used original massive locking RCA's. The more expensive one used copper Eichmann Bullet RCA's. I was never quite satisfied with the sound of the first ones - there was good extension on both frequency ends, however the sound with them tended to be colder and emotionally uninvolving. So it crossed my mind what would happen if I replaced them with Star Line RCA's. I would not afford Bullets, too expensive an experiment for my taste and I would never expect the effect to justify the price. Anyway, the result of replacing RCA's surprised me. Sound of the cheaper LAT's became really similar to ones with Bullets. It turned out that conductors intersection was fine on a cheaper IC, however massive RCA's was the performance limiting factor.
A friend audiophile replaced his classic style (massive) WBT's with Star Line RCA's on his IC. He was positively surprised with the change for the better and decided to keep them instead of WBTs.
I don't intend however to defend listening impressions. I'm sure there are folks who would not hear any difference with any RCA plug. My recommendation still goes to people with sensitive ears and who can hear subtle differences. Though Star Line plugs are not just few dollars investment I think they're reasonable investment which may pay off. IMO worth trying for the sensitive audiophiles.
I used couple of LAT IC's. One of them (cheaper with smaller conductor intersection, though conductors are pretty similar - silver plated copper pulled through tighter diameter - to press silver plating firmer to the copper, I guess) used original massive locking RCA's. The more expensive one used copper Eichmann Bullet RCA's. I was never quite satisfied with the sound of the first ones - there was good extension on both frequency ends, however the sound with them tended to be colder and emotionally uninvolving. So it crossed my mind what would happen if I replaced them with Star Line RCA's. I would not afford Bullets, too expensive an experiment for my taste and I would never expect the effect to justify the price. Anyway, the result of replacing RCA's surprised me. Sound of the cheaper LAT's became really similar to ones with Bullets. It turned out that conductors intersection was fine on a cheaper IC, however massive RCA's was the performance limiting factor.
A friend audiophile replaced his classic style (massive) WBT's with Star Line RCA's on his IC. He was positively surprised with the change for the better and decided to keep them instead of WBTs.
I don't intend however to defend listening impressions. I'm sure there are folks who would not hear any difference with any RCA plug. My recommendation still goes to people with sensitive ears and who can hear subtle differences. Though Star Line plugs are not just few dollars investment I think they're reasonable investment which may pay off. IMO worth trying for the sensitive audiophiles.
This thread is now heading rapidly down hill. Hopefully the Mods will soon close it.
Skin effect can be completely ignored for audio interconnects. It may have a tiny insignificant role to play in long speaker cables. Those who believe otherwise do not have superior hearing, but merely inferior thinking.
Skin effect can be completely ignored for audio interconnects. It may have a tiny insignificant role to play in long speaker cables. Those who believe otherwise do not have superior hearing, but merely inferior thinking.
Your usual toxic comments.
OP, I see there are several versions of these plugs available, ie gold, silver etc plated and economical enough to experiment/compare.
IME gold can impart fatness in bass with an overall colouration, silver can sound bright and clear, trust your ears.
Dan.
Gold on copper is only a few um thick and usually uses a much thicker intermediate nickel layer. This actually makes RF behaviour worse than plane copper finish
Why doesn't someone here buy some of these <$20 interconnects and let the forum know how they sound? I would, but you all might not like my listening impressions because most likely I won't hear any difference.
They 'sound' really close to Eichmann Bullet's. How exactly close that should be determined with identical IC wire. I only used similar cable to compare those two, so I can only say it's really similar. I use them for digital, too.
IF.. Neurotically obsessed with the claimed qualities of various overpriced / overhyped connectors ?
Solder the pesky wires... Look Ma' No connectors.
Better than ANY sold connector. Inconvenience is the Only downside.
Solder the pesky wires... Look Ma' No connectors.
Better than ANY sold connector. Inconvenience is the Only downside.
I have used them. They are very good for the money. The plastic barrel is lightweight plastic but that does not affect the signal transmission.
- Status
- Not open for further replies.