I came across this a few months ago but a search tells me that it has yet to be mentioned on this forum.
QiJACK by Analysis Plus - Designed to Sound the Best
I have yet to come across any boutique or "high-end" versions of the 1/4" jack. The locking Neutrik option seems to be the best available option, with <6 mΩ contact resistance, though it also has that terribly stiff lock-release. After that, there are many options rated at 10-20mΩ with silver or gold plating on the contacts.
The Qijack is made by Analysis Plus and the marketing is aimed at pro audio usage. They say that the oval shape give two contact points for each section of the plug and lower resistance, though I couldn't find any specs for what that contact resistance actually is.
A stereo version is $40 retail and looks like something worth $40 retail, especially if you're someone using a $60 Furutech 1/4" plug on your headphone cable.
I've never purchased anything from Analysis Plus and probably won't buy a Qijack, but it seems like something that would be of interest.
QiJACK by Analysis Plus - Designed to Sound the Best
I have yet to come across any boutique or "high-end" versions of the 1/4" jack. The locking Neutrik option seems to be the best available option, with <6 mΩ contact resistance, though it also has that terribly stiff lock-release. After that, there are many options rated at 10-20mΩ with silver or gold plating on the contacts.
The Qijack is made by Analysis Plus and the marketing is aimed at pro audio usage. They say that the oval shape give two contact points for each section of the plug and lower resistance, though I couldn't find any specs for what that contact resistance actually is.
A stereo version is $40 retail and looks like something worth $40 retail, especially if you're someone using a $60 Furutech 1/4" plug on your headphone cable.
I've never purchased anything from Analysis Plus and probably won't buy a Qijack, but it seems like something that would be of interest.
Interesting and I’ve wondered about this too, but I haven’t personally stressed out about it much beyond using Neutrik / Amphenol connectors and Mogami / Canare cables wherever possible in my own studio. Most music made outside of bedroom studios is running many tracks through lots of outboard equipment and likely using patch bays for a lot of it.
It’s interesting to me that I’ve only heard of expensive audio playback equipment with soldered connections for the inputs and outputs a handful of times, and I haven’t seen much discussion about the merits of all-in-one units, which would avoid many connections (think same-chassis source + DAC + preamp + amp vs separate components interconnected with RCA or even balanced quad XLR). I’m guessing that if it made much of a difference, someone would have figured it out by now.
It’s interesting to me that I’ve only heard of expensive audio playback equipment with soldered connections for the inputs and outputs a handful of times, and I haven’t seen much discussion about the merits of all-in-one units, which would avoid many connections (think same-chassis source + DAC + preamp + amp vs separate components interconnected with RCA or even balanced quad XLR). I’m guessing that if it made much of a difference, someone would have figured it out by now.
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I think most people acknowledge that a single, well-designed, integrated box could provide the ideal result. A powered speaker with amplifiers designed specifically for the drivers seems like the best way to eliminate long signal paths, interconnects, ground loops, and all sorts of ills, but you do have to give up most of the fun parts of this hobby, including the exciting neurosis of What Comes Next.
Switching to using a 3 or 4-pin XLR as a standard for single-ended headphone connections would be nice, though the appeal of barrel connectors and compact adapters to go from 3.5mm to 6.3mm makes this an unrealistic wish. It makes me think of the early portable balanced amps like Ray Samuels that used the Kobiconn connector, which was then overtaken by the terribly tiny 2.5mm TRRS and is now evolving into the Pentaconn. From a connection standpoint the Kobiconn was probably the best by far, but what a weird thing to have hanging off your headphone cable.
I haven't stressed about the quality of 1/4" jacks, but it's interesting when there's a significant part in the audio path that has not been gilded and repackaged "for audio". Probably there have been audiophile phone jacks through the years that just went out of business.
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