Which RCA To Use for VH DIY Silver Interconnects


Hi, I'm about to construct a pair of VHAudio DIY silver interconnects to go between my Parasound pre-amp and amp but, given the high cost of silver RCAs, I'm unsure which RCAs to pick. I've read that Eichmann silver bullets are wonderful in that recipe but would a lower price choice come close in a mid-fi system? For example, would good copper RCAs (e.g., Eichmann, WBT) work as well as silver RCAs? Any and all suggestions would be welcomed. Thanks.
kencalgary

Showing 2 responses by vandermeulen

Here is the deal on the eichmanns...if you TWIST them in any way while pushing on or off, you're done for. The cap screws into the barrel. The barrel has ONE screw that "holds" the cable in place. BUT, the connections from the cable to the cap (plug) are not held in place to avoid the twisting which WILL occur if you are not carefull when plugging in and out. The cap grips amazingly tight, so when you twist the opposite way, the barrel turns INDEPENDENTLY of the cap. You do this a little too much (depending on how you solder the ends) and short circuit city! Just be very careful and inspect the situation If you go that route. My advice to you would be to either SUPER GLUE the caps onto the barrels, OR heat shrink the cap and barrel together with adhesive lined heat shrink. Vampire plugs have a draw back also...they dont have a realy good way to clamp the cable to the plug. If you dont use adhesive lined shrink wrap, you're going to pull your cable out of the plug. Shrink wrap from a one inch below the plug (on the cable jacket) to almost the end of the plug itslef to keep this from happening. They also have 2 sizes available to fit regular or FAT cables. WBT are good plugs...get the copper ones. DHLabs have good plugs. Cardas makes good plugs. Audio Note makes good plugs (cute too). HGA (home grown audio) makes some REALLY CHEAP BUT EXCELLENT sounding plugs. Rhodium plated silver's are the ones to get. Dont buy those and complain about them. They are very good from a cost vs performance perspective.
Oh, here is a little secret if your crazy enough to do it. Are you good with a dremel? Dremel a hole INTO the pin (length wise) through to the other end where you would normaly solder the wire. Solder the wire, but bring the end of the wire to the tip of the pin (inside the pin that is) before you solder the wire to the NORMAL soldering position. Expand the wire slighly out and over the pin exterior. I dont know what the VDH cable looks like. Is it solid core? I doubt that anyway. Most likely stranded. Just observe the situation carefully...and dont have a thick abundance around the pin. You dont have to use all of the stranded wires either. If they are too thick, use half as much. The point is to be able to push the plug in without much resistance. There usually isn't much pressure internally on the component side of the connection onto the pins (female plugs). Its the ground that makes the connection feel tight. Dont be scared...just do it if you feel you can drill a hole through the center pin without all hell breaking loose.