What benefit do bullet plugs add to ICs?


I am in the market for relatively inexpensive ICs, and as such I wonder if bullet plugs add any significant good? Stated another way, are they worth the $25? If it helps (as I admit it would), what are they anyway?
tim_embry
I tried them and absolutely hated them. They made the highs shrill. Of all the tweaks that I"ve tried, they had the greatest impact. It was immediate. The sound was more detailed but the bass was reduced. I've seen that trick used before in amplifiers. I spoke with a well known cable company and was told that you can get the same effect by opening up the barrel of a locking interconnect. Reducing the ground contact has the effect of reducing the bass. With the bass reduced, you do hear more treble and midrange detail. It's a change that clearly audible. If you have a speaker that is dark and tilted toward the bass end, I could see where they could help in such a case. Otherwise, I'd say stick with the metal RCA's.
I have found that the Eichs are the easiest Plugs thus far to work with,but like others here I do think the plug has to be mated with certain types of wire to sound best.

I was really surprised to find that I liked the sound of the Dayton WBT knockoffs. I will try Homegrowns plugs next.

The worst sounding Plug I tried is the Cardas SLVRs. They had the slowest and grainiest signature I have encounterd when mated with Silver wire. I had hoped and thought they would be the fastest and clearest,but the Daytons did what I thought the Cardas would at below half the price.Blew me away!

JMO
You have to be very careful when soldering the wires onto the Bullet Plugs. The plastic melts very easily and if you do a little too much heat or too long, you melt the plastic. They also have a very poor strain relief system. I thought the sound was ok, but a pain in the ass to work with.
Some folks like these plugs especially for DIY projects. The plastic housing does affect the sound (dielectric absorption).
Yet metal plugs have their character so it depends on the user. I still like metal plugs. The Cardas GRMO comes to mind.
Plastic has a totally different resonance signature then metal. It is far easier to tune a metal RCA to the wire harness than plastic one.
I auditioned a set of cables with Eichmann bullet plugs recently & was very much impressed with the quality of the sound & the excellent connection they made. As for the noise/shielding issue, these particular cables sounded so good I ordered a set, although I opted for XLR ends.

As for them being plastic & cheap, back when I rode Harleys & they came out with a non-metal primary belt, both the old man at the shop I took my bike to & I scoffed at the idea. Now the belt has replaced many final drives as well as timing belts on automobiles. They're not plastic but neither are they metal. Personally, after trying them out, I'd have no problem with them in my system.
Just the opposite Bigkids. Since there is more plastic than metal, the cables have a higher potential to pick up RFI since they are not shielded as well. Plastic is also far more fragile than metal, so you're paying more and getting less for your money. I'm not going to go into specifics as to how silly the idea behind this type of plug is. Sean
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Since there is more plastci than metal they are less conductive than metal ends so they help to reduce RF, etc.