Benfits of upgraded connectors

Well... I took the plunge and replaced the terminations on the Kubala-Sosna Expression power cord that runs to my amp. I replaced them with Oyaide M1 / F1 terminations. The difference is impressive.

One of my reference CD’s is the first cut on the Chris Rice album “What A Heart Is Beating For” (So Much For My Sad Song). On that song there’s a rhythm guitar that comes in on the right channel that either gets more or less pronounced as I make changes to my system. With the Oyaide M1 / F1 terminations, the rhythm guitar is much more pronounced.

that;s strange. What speaker cables are u using? kind to share?

I removed the connectors from my speaker cables and can tell you I was extremely dissapointed with the change in performance. Even my 10 year old daughter could her the difference. She immediately commented - Dad, where did the music go?

I put the connectors back on the cable and connected them again to my speakers - low and behold - music started playing again.

Yes, indeed. No connector is better than any connector. We use connectors because they make life easier, not because they improve the sound.

You mean the patent of 47Labs for RCA plugs I suppose.
It is interesting but very restricted by design, for it is only permits a plain symmetrical solid core configuration.
But for speaker cable, if the conductors (and the braid) are silver, it is true.
Now even if it is true for the power cords, it is also very inconvenient to the point of masochism.

On the other side of the coin, there are those that will swear that nothing beats bare wire connections. LOL

...and very revealing speakers also !

You guys must have fussy electrons.

Well, I admit I don't know exactly why they sound different. But I do know that I can easily hear the removal of a 4 ohm resister from my crossovers, and removing connectors is an even greater change in clarity and depth although they measure much less than 4 ohms.

I take no position on sonic differences among rca connectors. However, some technical misconceptions have been expressed above that should be corrected. Resistance in a connection path will only matter if it becomes a significant fraction of the impedance that is being driven. Also, resistance will be proportional to length, and obviously connectors are very short.

The resistance through any pair of connectors making reasonable contact with each other will be a tiny fraction of an ohm. Component input impedances are usually in the range of 10,000 to 200,000 ohms.

If different metals sound different when used in rca connectors on line-level interconnects, it is not because they have different resistances or conductivities.

Regards,
-- Al

A sonic benefit? Depends on the quality of your System.
The AES (Audio Eng. Society) has made the Standards for the ability of signal transfer
100=copper
90.4= Gold
106=Silver
...and so on, there are also some very low numbers available.
Anyway, no matter what you like or hate, Silver can carry 6% more information than any other material.
When you use gold connectors (pure wire or similar) your loss only based on this will be more than 15%.
When we check the materials in most High End units, in general there is very low number material used (=cheap, like mixtures with brass for example, these will be "improved" with Gold plating). Based on this, it is pretty normal, that most users can't hear any difference when they do a "comparison". the reason is found mainly in these inferior parts which are used. When only AES Standard from 60 is used, what do you expect?
A Signal can't be improved, all you can do is to keep it as good as possible.
Is this the secret to get better sound?
Who knows? I think, Yes, but only when done right.

A friend of mine just upgraded. He has $500 spades on his $200 cables and it changed everything. His CD's now sound like vinyl and the sound stage is in the other room out into the garage. BTW, he is also using the cable elevators, so that may play some part in it.

Well Schipo, I am speechless! 'cause all of us we have so many vivid memories about testing especially speaker cables.
Maybe what this guy said is true about some McIntosh or perhaps a few more set-ups, or as I'm about to suspect, the whole thing depends of electrical charachteristics between components. But everything has a different idiosyncrasy because of this ! So, we have to explore it's matching abilities, trying to control them & bring some balance.
I really appreciate your thought about "changing the guide" and I'm greatful that you remind me this !
Thank you & I have to say that your post somehow acts as a break to my will to purchase some Oyaide 004 unless I can manage to A/B test them with the stock connectors.

You guys must practice this. ;-) I don't disagree that I can not hear any difference between chassis mounted connectors, and no doubt there is a lot of bullshit, over priced accessory items. There is benefit to buying the $5 set, rather than the $3.50 set only in that they grip a little tighter and don't corrode as fast. But on a cable? That, IME, is usually easy to hear because in the least the connector is a resistor in the path.

Try it yourself if you're into diy. You can make an IC from solid strand copper magnet wire, or silver. Also get a pair of copper and silver ends. Swap them around and see what you think.

Or, keep reading what someone else tells you to hear.

ruGeoch: yes you can hear the difference? As long as your doing the changing of the guard. I have been involved maybe a much longer time then you? And I can say when someone else does the change what your perception once was now will change completley. Read Gordon Gow's Speaker Wire Listening Test results. Then say to yourself could I have heard a change over others? And please don't give me the objectivity & integrity bit.Gordon Gow was President of McIntosh Laboratory and I am sure if they heard a difference they would have reported so. They did not, and no one else did either. Unless the gauge was wrong depending on wire length. Also read Images Of the Consumer's Mind by Milton Rokeach. I am amazed on how many are waiting in the wings with daggers drawn when it comes to this topic...lol

Dear Schipo,
We can certainly hear the difference !
The point is that we have to climb over a certain level of performance first.
And this one demands commitment & tenacity, but most necessarily objectivity & integrity about our wrong choises & the courage to step back & perceive them as wrong.
Of course, money is a barrier but this is not an excuse :
It is one thing to say that you can't hear the difference, and another thing to say that "this upgrade is subtle but costly & I would prefer to change my CDP instead of buying plugs".

Can you hear the difference between silver and copper?

Elizabeth just might be right when it comes to the laugh dept. Good connectors keep your gear safe from frayed wire if you go bare when connecting speaker cables.As far as better male or females when it comes to ic's just buy a good basic plug from Cardas if there your supplier of choice. And don't fall for all the hype like different metal's such as rhodium, nickel or copper and brass over platinum and Gold etc etc? I honestly don't think even a bat would be able to hear the difference if there was one..OK I can feel the daggers coming out..

It makes the cable's personality more obvious as it permits a cleaner passing of the signal, providing that has high purity (not Brass) & as few as possible metal parts (not heavy solid bars but hollow tubes) that are direct Gold plated (avoiding the intermediate Nickel plating) or Solid Silver .
Even the quality of the solder matters !
But I think it is not more significant than the cable's conductors at least at Interconnects & Speaker cables as I've had experienced so far.
After all, the manufacturer voiced it's cable with the particular connector that sells it. And certainly it is not adviced to desolder & replace them.
If your cable is available in bulk, you can pre order it with your favorit RCA plugs or you may attempt to proceed by your soldering skills.
On Power cables they say the connectors are of a much more concern & can manage to completely transform the cable's sound ! But I'll have to make my search about this.

Along the line of Greh's question, because the Male AC Plugs and IEC Connectors on my Kabala-Sosna Expression PC’s are not high end, I’ve been thinking about re-terminating one of the PC’s with either an Oyaide or Wattgate product. Anyone think that’ll improve things for the better?

I agree with Stringreen. The connectors have a large impact on how a cable performs, and many times it is the connectors that affect the sound more than the cable itself. The best connector is no connector, but not very practical. There are many other variables that will determine the actual benefit to a system, but in general better connectors will sound better. Lower resistance, better conduction, different alloys. etc.

I wonder what Elizabeth finds so funny. It has been my experience that the connectors are a significant contributor to the sound of the cable. Again, as I have said before in other posts, you must try all cable in YOUR system to evaluate its worth for you.