Are you mass less

Thx steve...👍

@digsmithd - RE:

Are the new perfect harmony’s that much better

That’s the $64k question !

Way back when I was auditioning the Harmony RCA’s for KLE Innovations, the full range seemed a little unecessary...

• The Coper Harmony is a great entry level RCA
• the Silver Harmony was a nice step up performance wise
• But the Absolute Harmony was priced so closely to the Pure Harmony, I wondered if most people would just opt for that and bypass the Pure Harmony
• With the introdcution of the Perfect Harmony and the new revised Pure Harmony RCA the product line is even more confusing

I have no doubt the Perfect Harmony is better than the Absolute Harmony, but having used the Absolute Harmony for so long and with such amazing results, I am wondering "if the juice is worth the squeeze?"

I guess if you are seeking "Audio Nirvana" then the additional expense is of little consequence.

One reviewer said of the Perfect hamony RCA’s...

• "just like a very finely tuned KLEI Absolute Harmony RCA Plug"
• So on very highly resolving systems - you might notice some degree of improvement.

BTW - the Absolute Harmony has only been discontued by Parts Connexion

Will it be phased out in future?

• Keith Louie Eichman (KL) is a "uniqure individual",
• trying to figure out what goes in in his head is a futile endeavour
  • much like counting the grains of sand on a beach
• ME? - I got better things to do with my time
• But KL does make some great RCA plugs!

Here’s the Harmony RCA’s currently listed on the KLE web site

• KLEI™Classic Harmony RCA Plug
• KLEI™Copper Harmony RCA Plug
• KLEI™Silver Harmony RCA Plug
• KLEI™Pure Harmony RCA Plug (current)
• KLEI™Pure Harmony RCA Plug (upgraded/improved)
• KLEI™Absolute Harmony RCA Plug
• KLEI™Perfect Harmony RCA Plug

Hope that helps - Steve

Thanks steve for info...im using double female rca and harbour freight adjustable vise.Works pretty well.I should have something with more metal seems.Like the 45 degree thing...could see using that.Are the new perfect harmony’s that much better than discontinued absol.Curious about your cables/geometry,ect...thanks for that.Just trying to keep simple and doable stuff...not at your level of diy...fo sho.

@digsmithd - Here a tip for soldering the KLEI RCA’s

• insert the RCA into a socket before soldering
• http://image99.net/blog/files/vice.jpg
• http://image99.net/blog/files/phono-vice.jpg
• http://image99.net/blog/files/solder-plug.jpg
• It wicks away exess heat which makes a better joint
• and it’s easier to hold

I now use an adapter like this one

6.35mm (1/4in) TS Mono Plug to RCA Jack Adapter, Gold Plated (Yellow Plastic Center) - PrimeCables®

Also, if you bend the end of the wire to 45 degrees, it slots into the "V" shaped pin on the harmony RCA

If oyu want to try my Interconencts - or other cables ...

http://image99.net/blog/

Regards - Steve

Thanks for that steve...yeah id would like to use them more often than i have.They are hard to connect sometimes and that has steered me away from them.At this point i do prefer the eti...but i should try the klei again.

+1 for the KLE Innovations products.

I’ve been using them for about 12 years and as each new product was released I was fortunate to be able to try them.

The Harmony line of RCA plugs are among the finest available and the new Perfect Harmony should be equally as good

The Harmony Bananas are the best speaker cable connectors I have tried, even performing better than the Furez connectors, which were my previous choice.

They also produce Binding posts and RCA sockets which are proving to be equally as good.

I did try the ETI RCA’s back when they were called the Copper Bullet & Silver Bullet, but I peferred the Copper Harmony better back then

All of the KLEI products use pure copper as opposed to Terilium and Beririlium copper alloys and as such, and they are silver coated (to varying degrees) which improves on their conductivity, so they provide superior sound quality.

Lately I have noticed other low mass products coming to market, but the KLEI products have proven to be so good right from their inception that I wonder just how much better other products will compare.

I have also used the Harmony RCA plugs on digital cables and they work extremely well...

• There is a belief that digital cables have to have a minimum length of 1.5 meters
• However, when using the Harmony RCa’s I have made digital cables from 12" and up and have never experience any issues
• they just sound amazing!

Here are some of my reviews

http://image99.net/blog/files/f6ae775e30339e2b0375b739988237b7-77.html

http://image99.net/blog/files/a8494e8645dea3d750d109f819103099-61.html

For me - KLEI products are No.1

Regards - Steve

I'm going low mass.  First on my speaker cables, eventually on my RCA plugs.  

GR research sells Electra tube connectors which seem a bit pricey to be so imperfect.  

For the speaker cables male it is easy to find the BFA plugs mentioned above.  For the Female, all I find is the KLEI harmony and they aren't long enough to attach through the wood panel of the back of a speaker.  I'm thinking of making my own out of copper rod.  I have a nice machine shop.  I'll bore copper rod to the right diameter (about 4.25mm), turn the outside to the thickness I want, press it into  a delrin rod and thread it to fit into the back of my speaker.  A bit of work but I enjoy it   OTOH, if someone knows of an off the shelf low mass female that will work I'll jump on it, my time isn't free. 

Jerry

I’m using low mass Banana Z Plug connectors from Nerve Audio. I crimp and solder mine to Mogami 3103 speaker cable. I bought the silver plated. I use a golf tee to expand the opening for a snug fit. Love them. Sound great!

Recent convert to low mass plugs/sockets.

When restoring/rebuilding/upgrading my Lenco L70, the tonearm wires got me thinking about signal strength and amount of metal in its path.

Parts Connexion sells the KLE series of connectors, and I decided to get some male/female connectors for the DIY cables/rca plates.

Now, I didn’t do an a/b comparison - not so simple to do with a build :)

About to build a SET integrated amp, and once it’s all dialed in, I’ll be installing the KLE connectors. 

Seems to make sense to not have a big chunk of metal as a connector that has many, many times the amount metal/mass of the wire carrying the signal.

Correction...

That would be the "male" RCA (I'm old and married;-).

DeKay

Im using ETI connectors and v twist from venhaus.The Aeco (aec) are another i really like (parts conn)...i guess cause they are reasonable...I like the copper,plenty of clarity.

So, is there just a low mass RCA that could be recommended?

ozzy

thx rueb...have medium iron as well as hako...got to have shrinkage ✔

dig, I wind the end of the stranded speaker cable pretty tight and tin it first. Then stick it into the "wire end" of the BFA banana plug and apply a bit of solder. I'm guessing my iron is medium heat, but not sure. I finish with red/black shrink wrap to seal the connection and provide a visual queue for proper phasing.

When soldering rueb...are you doing the ends of wire/connector?...you need medium iron?...i have some mundorf and you/NNoise got me thinking.

wow dekay these are interesting stuff indeed.

I use a 47 Labs OTA cable kit.

The only metal mass in the female RCA is the 26 gauge solid core copper wire used for for the interconnect itself.

I suspect that the non-metal RCA is made of Teflon, but not certain.

DeKay

Low mass everything in cable design are the main ingredient in Darwin Cables. From the connectors to the actual wire itself, it's all minimalist in design and execution, which is why I love them.

All the best,
Nonoise

I have no idea if cheaper interconnect ends will be "as good". However, I started using low-mass BFA style bananas after I bought and used a pair of Nordost speaker cables with their Z-Plug version of the BFA style low-mass banana plugs. I think the most important factors for the BFA style banana plugs would be material type and connection type. I've typically soldered mine onto the speaker cables. However, there are also screw on (but they have more mass) and some have crimp tabs on them. I've used the crimp-on type, but I've always soldered them and just clipped off the crimp tab. Not confident in my crimping technique.

I've been very satisfied with soldered-on low-mass BFA style banana plugs.

Eti,aeco rca for my interconnects...its got me wondering if knock offs will be as good or close to the big boys...a walk through ebay and theres no shortage of them.

@digsmithd  - Are these RCA interconnect ends or speaker cable termination? Not familiar with them, other than KLE banana plugs.

BTW, I use low mass BFA style banana plugs whenever possible. They are fantastic. However, I used much less expensive versions than what KLE sells.