Isaac Otaiza Posted July 25, 2018 Share Posted July 25, 2018 HI I just received 2x2m worth of van den hul 12 awg hybrid wire. I paid extra to have the solder plugs. I just noticed theyre Nickel Deltron plugs? For some reason i expected them to be gold plated to avoid corrosion I did try googling this , couldnt find any relevant info on the topic. Just lots of google ads an articles written in 2002 lol google sucks these days Anway, Im really trying to reduce interference and distortion in my system. Thats why i bought the cables, as part of trouble shooting steps. Am i back to square one with Nickel connectors? would i be better off cutting them out and just using my gold plated chord banana plugs? or is soldered Nickel plugs more beneficial ? Its Nickel connectors on the amp side only. Speakers ill use bare wire regards Isaac Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiofeline Posted July 26, 2018 Share Posted July 26, 2018 (edited) You mention a few things in your post. First, I haven't had any complaints about Google. Old good information is still useful, particularly when a product is unchanged. Google will also allow you to restrict your search to recent time periods. A good connector is a good connector, and they can be made in a range of materials (eg. Rhodium is popular in high-end connectors). A poor quality connector (even if gold coloured) will probably make contact, but if the metals are not good the sound won't be great. However, it's all dependent on the quality of your system. An entry level consumer stereo won't benefit from exotic cables, whereas higher-end systems will reveal differences. A quick google search suggests that the Deldron plugs are entry level quality, and come in a nickel plate and a flash gold plate (https://www.canford.co.uk/Products/43-001_DELTRON-330-RCA-PHONO-PLUG-Nickel-shell-silver-contacts). At that quality level there is probably little difference in quality. You said that " Im really trying to reduce interference and distortion in my system". A broken interconnect (eg. the ground wire isn't connecting properly) will introduce an earth hum. A phono cable without proper shielding may introduce interference. A cheap cable properly connected shouldn't introduce interference and distortion. Better quality cables can improve on the detailing and the soundstage of the music, provided the amp/speakers/source are of a quality to resolve this musical detail. Speaker wires are unlikely to introduce interference. If your speakers are distorting there may be a problem with the cones (surrounds worn out or voice coil blown). Or the front cover not fixed properly. Or the ornament on top of the speaker needing some felt underneath it to stop it vibrating. It may be that although upgrading cables is often a good thing, you may need to consider the benefits of upgrading your equipment to get greater value and audio quality. Hope this helps and you achieve the sound quality you're after. I've just re-read your post. What I wrote applies to interconnect, but I'm wondering if you are writing about speaker wire? Similar principles apply. Many will say that a crimped connection (held by pressure) is better than a soldered connection. Using plugs on speaker wire makes it easy to plug/unplug, but if your speaker terminals allow the bare wire to be inserted and screwed into place the connection will be good (and possibly technically better than having an unrequired plug in the audio chain). Edited July 26, 2018 by audiofeline 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaphod Beeblebrox Posted July 26, 2018 Share Posted July 26, 2018 21 hours ago, Isaac Otaiza said: HI I just received 2x2m worth of van den hul 12 awg hybrid wire. I paid extra to have the solder plugs. I just noticed theyre Nickel Deltron plugs? For some reason i expected them to be gold plated to avoid corrosion Gold, when used for speaker connectors is vastly over-rated and is far from the best plating material to use. This is for several reasons: * Silver is the best conductor. Gold is far less conductive than silver and copper. * Gold, thanks to it's high cost, is almost always plated VERY thinly. It is, therefore, a fragile coating. Partly due to the thickness and the soft nature of gold. * Nickel is not a great conductor, but it really doesn't matter all that much, because the surface area is relatively large and the plating material is mostly there to prevent corrosion anyway. If you want the best plating material, choose silver for high power connectors, as it can be economically plated quite thickly and is more robust and a superior conductor to gold. Gold and platinum (and rhodium) are appropriate for low level connectors. Rhodium, due it's robustness, is appropriate for high power connectors, but silver is still the best choice. 21 hours ago, Isaac Otaiza said: I did try googling this , couldnt find any relevant info on the topic. Just lots of google ads an articles written in 2002 lol google sucks these days Anway, Im really trying to reduce interference and distortion in my system. Thats why i bought the cables, as part of trouble shooting steps. Am i back to square one with Nickel connectors? No. Those Deltron plugs are an excellent, low cost choice. Nickel is fine. Silver is better. 21 hours ago, Isaac Otaiza said: would i be better off cutting them out and just using my gold plated chord banana plugs? or is soldered Nickel plugs more beneficial ? Are the Chord connectors solder types? If not, stick with the nickel plated ones. You can't beat soldered or properly crimped connections. Forget screw connectors. 21 hours ago, Isaac Otaiza said: Its Nickel connectors on the amp side only. Speakers ill use bare wire regards Isaac Bare wire is an excellent choice where possible. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Otaiza Posted July 26, 2018 Author Share Posted July 26, 2018 Thanks for the detailed replies. I really appreciate the input. Taking your suggestions into consideration, ill leave the nickel connectors on (amp end) . Until i feel theyre corroding . Then ill search out a better option. The chord connectors are only gold plated, not sure whats underneath. Theyre screw on not soldered. I do have one more question if thats ok. I also was given an audioquest Rocket 33 cable that i use for my centre channel. Its solid copper wire. on the amp end i used a screw on chord connector. and bare wire on the speaker end. There was a lot of wire exposed on the end of the cable so i wrapped it in electrical tape to seal it. It sounds fine , but as a novice , i cant help but feel theres a better way to deal with solid copper wire like this. What should i have done in this case? The wire is so hard to twist and bend. there must be a better way of dealing with the cable? My gear: PSB T3s , PSB C3, Richter wizards V series, Richter merlins V series, 2x Richter Thor subs. 7.2 audio, Anthem AVM-60 , W/ 2x Emotiva XPA5 Gen3 amps. regards isaac 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocky500 Posted July 26, 2018 Share Posted July 26, 2018 (edited) 35 minutes ago, Isaac Otaiza said: There was a lot of wire exposed on the end of the cable so i wrapped it in electrical tape to seal it. You can buy some heatshrink in different lengths/colours and diameter size. You would normally get a tube that fits over (with not too much extra diameter) and use say a ciggy lighter to shrink it over the cable. Google/youtube it, for how it works. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD9kBax1DDk Jaycar has it https://www.jaycar.com.au/wire-cable-accessories/cable-accessories/heatshrink-accessories/c/354B You can buy it at many places and online. Heatgun to shrink it too. Edited July 26, 2018 by rocky500 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Otaiza Posted July 26, 2018 Author Share Posted July 26, 2018 5 hours ago, rocky500 said: You can buy some heatshrink in different lengths/colours and diameter size. You would normally get a tube that fits over (with not too much extra diameter) and use say a ciggy lighter to shrink it over the cable. Google/youtube it, for how it works. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD9kBax1DDk Jaycar has it https://www.jaycar.com.au/wire-cable-accessories/cable-accessories/heatshrink-accessories/c/354B You can buy it at many places and online. Heatgun to shrink it too. Thanks for the advice. Ive seen those tubes at jaycar. Had no idea thats what they were for. Ill give it try soon. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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