You must be new in audiophilia 🙂. Mechanical connections are held in much higher esteem by audiophiles in comparison to solder joints. There are even entire amps built with no solder joints.
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Way better. Why not do it on one side. Actually, you gave me an idea to include solder wires output to my DIY DAC project.
Maybe someone should bring back wirewrapping? If done properly it is said to be better than a soldered joint - better in the sense of more reliable, lower resistance etc. because the wire forms a cold weld onto the corner of the post. Almost irrelevant for audio, of course, but let us not allow facts to get in the way of a good story and commercial success.
It reminds me of the time many years ago when an insurance salesman told me that their pension product included the right (on maturity) to buy an annuity from someone else - the 'Open Market' option. That seemed like a good idea. Some years later I learnt that this option was a statutory requirement for all such policies. It is like selling an ordinary bicycle and making much of the fact that it has two wheels, as though other bikes do not have this useful facility.
So this could be an example of making a virtue out of necessity? We want to sell some expensive audio connectors. Our contract machine shop says that he prefers machining copper with some tellurium content so we choose that for convenience and then write some nice audio stories to tell our customers.scott wurcer said:
It reminds me of the time many years ago when an insurance salesman told me that their pension product included the right (on maturity) to buy an annuity from someone else - the 'Open Market' option. That seemed like a good idea. Some years later I learnt that this option was a statutory requirement for all such policies. It is like selling an ordinary bicycle and making much of the fact that it has two wheels, as though other bikes do not have this useful facility.
It was always advocated that the actual mechanical physical connection between any 2 conductors were just held in place with the solder - the solder itself wasn't the primary conductor (the conductors were threaded through holes in the pins and the solder just kept them in place) - this is still done on some valve/tube equipment but the adoption of surface soldering and/or pcb manufacture makes it mostly redundant.
Also, the effect of different types of solder (as the signal conductor) does have some audible effect (ie Pb/Sn 60.40 solder, zero lead solder, silver/gold/etc content solder) although, some people/systems just can't hear any difference and will refute the whole idea and label it 'snake oil' - we see a lot of that here on the diyA website.
The OP asked if the Star Line connectors actually worked okay and a few of us have actually tried them and have found them to be the equivalent to the Eichmnann plugs
Also, the effect of different types of solder (as the signal conductor) does have some audible effect (ie Pb/Sn 60.40 solder, zero lead solder, silver/gold/etc content solder) although, some people/systems just can't hear any difference and will refute the whole idea and label it 'snake oil' - we see a lot of that here on the diyA website.
The OP asked if the Star Line connectors actually worked okay and a few of us have actually tried them and have found them to be the equivalent to the Eichmnann plugs
I thought that it was generally advised that the solder should not provide the mechanical support but just the electrical connection. The wire whould be wrapped around the tag for mechanical support (but potentially poor contact) then solder added to ensure low resistance. Funny how this is the exact opposite of what you said.
I accept that those of us who cannot hear the difference between different solders are probably a bit deaf, or our equipment is not good enough because we are too stupid to earn enough money to buy something better. Interestingly, I do not see much music offered with a note saying that it was mastered in a studio using X type solder and Y type wire connectors.
I accept that those of us who cannot hear the difference between different solders are probably a bit deaf, or our equipment is not good enough because we are too stupid to earn enough money to buy something better. Interestingly, I do not see much music offered with a note saying that it was mastered in a studio using X type solder and Y type wire connectors.
Back in my time at Marconi, a joint that depended on solder for mechanical support would have been instantly rejected. The solder was just to make the electrical connection
Maybe the rules of physics are different for audio equipment? At Marconi you were probably making simple stuff like radars or military telecomms, not high class audio.
I don't come into this thread lightly as there is a lot of scepticism so I'm only going to relay my experience with the various connectors.
Top of the tree for me is the KLE Classic harmony. I just like what they do and they don't cost all that much. I feel that imaging improves with them, all though I could be imagining it. Also, I have been told that over time, if you keep unplugging them and plugging them back in, they tend to lose some grip. I haven't had this experience but plastic does weaken so it's feasible.
2nd - MPS rca plugs. I really like these. They make excellent contact with every rca socket I have used them with and sound every bit as good as the KLE but they have a smaller cable hole which doesn't work with my cable. I can only use these for experiments but I don't have to keep recycling KLEs now.
3rd - AECO plugs. What's not to like. Same idea as the KLE, build quality is excellent and the feel is quality. Make a solid connection too.
4th - Starline plugs. According to the plug itself, the central pin, return and plastic mould are all made in the same factory as AECOs plug. It actually has this written inside the star shaped recess. However, as good as they are for the money, in my experience the silver plating comes off really quickly. Far quicker than any of the other plugs here. I suspect they are made in the same place but are not the same in terms of plating spec. What I have seen is copper coloured metal under the plating. When I fist bought a pair, I filed the inside of the centre pin to see what was u der there. Seemed copper-ish to me.
As for solder, I always use 4% silver solder from WBT. I usually put some clear nail varnish on the soldered joint too, to prevent tarnishing. I have some cables I made 3 years ago, left in the garage and used this method. They still show no sign of tarnishing.
As I said, only my experience over the last 3 years of constantly making cables. Not suggesting anyone is right or wrong.
Top of the tree for me is the KLE Classic harmony. I just like what they do and they don't cost all that much. I feel that imaging improves with them, all though I could be imagining it. Also, I have been told that over time, if you keep unplugging them and plugging them back in, they tend to lose some grip. I haven't had this experience but plastic does weaken so it's feasible.
2nd - MPS rca plugs. I really like these. They make excellent contact with every rca socket I have used them with and sound every bit as good as the KLE but they have a smaller cable hole which doesn't work with my cable. I can only use these for experiments but I don't have to keep recycling KLEs now.
3rd - AECO plugs. What's not to like. Same idea as the KLE, build quality is excellent and the feel is quality. Make a solid connection too.
4th - Starline plugs. According to the plug itself, the central pin, return and plastic mould are all made in the same factory as AECOs plug. It actually has this written inside the star shaped recess. However, as good as they are for the money, in my experience the silver plating comes off really quickly. Far quicker than any of the other plugs here. I suspect they are made in the same place but are not the same in terms of plating spec. What I have seen is copper coloured metal under the plating. When I fist bought a pair, I filed the inside of the centre pin to see what was u der there. Seemed copper-ish to me.
As for solder, I always use 4% silver solder from WBT. I usually put some clear nail varnish on the soldered joint too, to prevent tarnishing. I have some cables I made 3 years ago, left in the garage and used this method. They still show no sign of tarnishing.
As I said, only my experience over the last 3 years of constantly making cables. Not suggesting anyone is right or wrong.
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