Speaker cable and Interconnect BRASS Connectors


I have been thinking about speaker cables and interconnect connectors, in that cable manufacturers don't say what the connectors are made off. When you read the description of cables you are lead to believe that the cables the best thing there is since slice bread. Yes I do know that cables make a difference in your system but i don't understand why the connectors in most cases are made of BRASS. Don't you think Brass will cause a bottleneck in signal flow? if you consider what the best electrical conductors are you might agree:
1. Silver (pure)2. Copper (pure)3. Gold (pure)4. Aluminum5. Zinc6. Nickel7. Brass8. Bronze9. Iron10. Platinum11. Steel
Brass falls in 7th place; so why make the connectors out of Brass? I think we are paying $400 + for speaker and interconnect cables but not getting the full potential of these cables because of the Brass connectors. And don't tell me that the Brass connectors don't affect the signal negatively. You know about the difference that silver solder makes, then what about Brass? have you tested it against other connectors such as copper? I am curious to hear your thoughts.

almandog

Showing 1 response by janmnov


Almandog,

This is an interesting question/concern which I have considered at length in my pursuit for perfection in speaker cables, and I’m glad you bring it up. In my case I use Acoustic Zen Absolute Copper interconnects and Hologram 2’s at the recommendation of Robert Lee, owner of AZ for optimizing my system which includes PASS labs x250.8, XP-20 preamp and among others Focal Scala Utopias. I own both connectors for my 2 sets of Hologram 2 speaker cables, spades on both ends, which are zero copper, and spades with locking banana which are brass. I must say trying to hear the difference between the two is difficult. The zero copper length wires of the 9ft runs of each I feel overrides the small brass terminators on the speaker end in the case of the spade/ banana pair. I don’t hear a bottleneck affecting sound in any way, highs lows detail etc. But I propose to you calling Robert ( his cell number is on their website and he will pick up) and discussing this with him and posting your/his conclusions here, as he is articulate, a perfectionist, engineer and former violinist. It could be very helpful to all.

Best,

janmnov