Best RCA female output connector.....a CD player ?


Boy...we all search for great cables..copper vs. silver..even the end of the cable..silver over copper..etc. So, why don't we worry about these CD players that have zinc/steel into PC boards with partial gold-plate over steel/zinc for female RCA outs?

My question is two part...isn't this a bit of a problem..and if you agree..what is the best RCA female out connector to solder in place of the stock one..ie: OFC with a silver(alloy)plate? (of course this doesn't even touch the op-amp audio sections of all of your cd players....)
whatjd

Showing 2 responses by pilar

The idea of connectors in general always makes me think that there has to be a better way to interface cables with their respective components. With the thousands of dollars some consumers are spending on IC's, speaker wires, etc... And the R&D cable manufacturers do with metallurgy, dialectrics, winding geometries and such, it surprises me that there hasn't been more innovation in the seemingly critical joining of wire and component.

You certainly don't see many people using two .5 m pairs of Valhalla joined in the middle with an adaptor to make up a 1 m length, but the RCA's, male and female, at the component ends don't seem to cause much concern.

That said, I am a big fan of the Eichmann Bullet Plugs and pray that they will make a female RCA that is just as innovative and minimalistic as the male. If they build it I will buy.

I have been toying with hardwiring my IC to my CD player just to see if it really does make any difference.
Sean, I'm surprised that you would summarily dismiss a product you have never used. The Bullet Plugs are the real deal, I've replaced more "robust" (and expensive) plugs and in each case noticed an improvement. For me the robust quality of the bigger RCA's is the problem, do I want 1 oz. of metal terminating my cable or 1/10 oz.?

As for being fragile, I've soldered and resoldered them many times with no ill effects. Heat shrink on the cable ends then another piece over the cable and barrel provides strain relief.

P.S. -I'm just another "internet trained" hobbyist with no formal background in this stuff so take my opinion for what it's worth.