Over the weekend I made up some cables using the Neutrik phono plugs supplied by Croak http://www.croak.co.za/Neutrik.html.
Now these are the nicest plugs I have had the pleasure of using. I have used other machined plugs that have a flash gold plating. The gold layer does not last long on these, and then it looks really cheap! But the Neutriks are just built so much better. At R25.00 a pop they are quite a bargain.
I used some RG62 shielded cable that I found lying around. I really prefer RG59 but, seeing that the leads were all less than 60cm long, I did not worry that there would be any difference. These leads would easily beat your run-of-the-mill interconnects found in most stores.
I had only one problem: figuring out how to do the earth connection on the plugs. The plug has a "solder bucket" type lug for accepting the centre conductor, so this was a no-brainer. But the earth tab had no obvious means of connection. It did not look like it was made for crimping, and there was no dedicated soldering area. The Neutrik web site also does not give away any clues.
After puzzling over it a while, I decided to try a jam-fit connection. I separated the braid into 3 tufts of strands, and routed them separately. There is a plastic insert that has 2 "channels" that are shaped like they could be meant for wire. 2 sets of wire strands went here, with a bit lapping over onto the top of the plastic insert; some of the strand also contacted the half-cylindrical earth tab. The third tuft of strands came up next to the back of the earth tab and I made a bit of it overlap the tab.
All this makes for a very very tight fit. This gave me a lot of confidence about the goodness of the connection. A quick check with the old Fluke confirmed that plug-to-plug screen resistance was in the milli-ohm region.
So... how does it sound? Well, the words air, pace, rythm, micro-detail, imaging and analytical come to mind... when I think of how others have described cable sound. :wink: None of that here! All I heard was beautiful music!
The value for me here is the quality of the materials used. And peace of mind that I'll never have to doubt my interconnects.
I would recommend these plugs any day if you're inclined to DIY. And they look super cool! 8) Unfortunately, this plug style has been copied in some mass market leads. But they don't say Neutrik!
NB: I have posted this review at vinylsa.co.za as well.
Now these are the nicest plugs I have had the pleasure of using. I have used other machined plugs that have a flash gold plating. The gold layer does not last long on these, and then it looks really cheap! But the Neutriks are just built so much better. At R25.00 a pop they are quite a bargain.
I used some RG62 shielded cable that I found lying around. I really prefer RG59 but, seeing that the leads were all less than 60cm long, I did not worry that there would be any difference. These leads would easily beat your run-of-the-mill interconnects found in most stores.
I had only one problem: figuring out how to do the earth connection on the plugs. The plug has a "solder bucket" type lug for accepting the centre conductor, so this was a no-brainer. But the earth tab had no obvious means of connection. It did not look like it was made for crimping, and there was no dedicated soldering area. The Neutrik web site also does not give away any clues.
After puzzling over it a while, I decided to try a jam-fit connection. I separated the braid into 3 tufts of strands, and routed them separately. There is a plastic insert that has 2 "channels" that are shaped like they could be meant for wire. 2 sets of wire strands went here, with a bit lapping over onto the top of the plastic insert; some of the strand also contacted the half-cylindrical earth tab. The third tuft of strands came up next to the back of the earth tab and I made a bit of it overlap the tab.
All this makes for a very very tight fit. This gave me a lot of confidence about the goodness of the connection. A quick check with the old Fluke confirmed that plug-to-plug screen resistance was in the milli-ohm region.
So... how does it sound? Well, the words air, pace, rythm, micro-detail, imaging and analytical come to mind... when I think of how others have described cable sound. :wink: None of that here! All I heard was beautiful music!
The value for me here is the quality of the materials used. And peace of mind that I'll never have to doubt my interconnects.
I would recommend these plugs any day if you're inclined to DIY. And they look super cool! 8) Unfortunately, this plug style has been copied in some mass market leads. But they don't say Neutrik!
NB: I have posted this review at vinylsa.co.za as well.
