Don't try this at home hElP


One of my finer Idiotic moments of audio. I just received from another member a pair of long Straight Wire Maestro RCA cables. When I plugged them into the input of my pre, I realized they not very snug. I pulled out the plyers and a tshirt and tried to bend them inward. Nothing, then I got rid of the tshirt and plyered them direct and 2 of the outer gold sleave things broke off. The cables still sound fine, can anyone tell me how a signal is passed thru a RCA cable? Is it just through the male pin? What does the outer portion of the RCA do?

thanks and please learn by my mistakes
128x128justlisten
The center pin is typically referred to as the "hot" side of the circuit while the outer "ring" or "clamp" section is "ground". As such, the signal passes through both parts of the connector. While the cables might not look like new anymore, i sincerely doubt that the performance has been altered one iota so long as they make a solid connection to the components' RCA jacks. Relax and enjoy. Next time, DON'T eat your Wheaties before trying to "crimp" or "tighten" : ) Sean
>
.... so that's what they mean by "breaking in" your cables. I'm runnning down to the basement right now to get my plyers and some shirts, and I promise to report back how the new cables sound.

.... I'm back ....just tried this with my Nordost Valhalas and it works great when I use a genuine Fruit of the Loom 100% cotton T shirt. Sound is smooth, laid back and comfortable. Tried a 50-50 polyester/cotton mix from and the sound was harsh and grainy but at least the soundstage was smooth with no wrinkles. :)
lornecherry: thanks for your post.... that made my morning. I wouldn't be surprised to see a similar finding in one of the leading stereophile mags!! :-)
After years of research I have found that 100% cotton "T" shirts work best and the black dye contained in AC-DC and Blind Pig Records "T" shirts to sound much better than all others....I would suggest a bit of triple Virgin olive oil be used on the pliers or you will end up with ugly connectors.....If you have trouble finding the Olive oil then central Asian Canola oil will do and is available from Mothra Research Unlimited.....I would send the manufacturer an email and see how much they want to reterminate the wire as well as an estimated turnaround time.....I think you will be surprised how responsive they will be.....
Contact the manufacturer and ask what a repair would cost. I've had damaged cables before, and the manufacturers offered to repair them for free if I shipped them in. Can't hurt to ask.
I ripped an RCA almost clean off (dont ask) my beloved H.T. Prosilway MK 2... I sent it in with enough stamps for a return trip back to NY from Calif.Jim Wang had it re-terminated for free for me.Total cost $9.00
Wesson oil and grain alcohol parties reminds me of my college days of thirty years ago.....See the Mothra website www.mothraresearch.com for complete details as believe that they sell the proper Canola oil from virgin Eurasian canolas...
I have to say that the t-shirt ideas have to be some of the easiest tweaks I've come across. I couldn't wait to try them, however, this discussion fails to clarify the plier
issue. Sears perhaps?. Insulated or non-insulated handles?.
Channel lock or regular?. The twist wasn't mentioned either.
R hand, Lt hand?. Rythmic combo-yank?. Please let's get this dealt with. Thanks.
Twist depends on the phase of course.
I just ordered some Paracrystal Brightline 4.6 pliers. It's kind of a splurge at $5500, but my dealer insisted I listen to some older Coincident cables he'd modded with them and I was blown away. Very lucid and fast, the emotion in the music just leaps out.
I'm going to audition Paracrystal's Toneforge hammer on Friday. You use it to chip the veneer on the cornerers of your speakers. You can also store them in you equipment's boxes to shorten it's break-in time.
watch it guys. you're getting awfully close to the line where the size, strength and "brand" of one's tool is important. can you say: "racial profiling"? -kelly
Kelly, somehow I am not surprised at your input. But, keep it up; I would be disappointed with anything else!
Update: The wires are now lacking bass, so I dropped the t-shirt idea and went for some Jockey Briefs, the bottom end just tightened right up.
If you want the sound to jump right out atcha, try using a thong on the connectors
I was perusing the Techni-Tool catalog last night and found a proper set of pliers made from depleted uranium which would not leave marks on the RCAs at all and as a bonus the RCAs will now glow and insertion in the dark confines behind equipment racks will be much easier. Techni-Tool mentioned something about a health hazard, but what a bunch of whiners as what are hospitals for?
What the hell, Bob, you told me the "pinch" marks on your "T"-shirts were from good looking Texas chicks!?! And are those high speed racing pliers?
Thanx for the thong idea, Jeff. I tried it and it certainly straightened my bottom end out.
I have given up on women and now keep cats as I find them easier to train.....All the women in my past have been cheap, mean and easy BTW.....Have to be careful what I say as some of my exes are in Texas.....Also, Stan sure likes your new preamp as he has camped out inside it all morning.....
I gotta admit, when I saw the title of this thread one thought entered my mind........KUBLAKAHAN