2. cables
  3. 181706-4976

Need recommendation for hi-rez xlr plugs for re-termination project

I recently bought a pair of balanced interconnects, here, and am mostly quite pleased with the sound but the seller was mistaken about their length, and I have 3M instead of 2M and that too would have been longer than needed.  I've contacted the builder of these fine cables and he's willing to re-terminate them.  

 

Sonically, these cables have the blackest background I've ever heard and lots of wonderful detail.  They are well-controlled with an excellent bottom end and the images are dense and corporeal.  BUT, I find the top end a bit less extended and open than I'm used to.  The xlr plugs are gold plated and I'm not fond of gold in my system for the most part.  So, I'm looking for recommendations for very detailed and precise xlr's but want to avoid brightness.  

 

I have a pair of male Xhadows from another project and could pick up the matching females for about $150.  The re-term is already going to be pricey as the cables are fairly complex so price is an issue.  I was going to repurpose the Furutech FP 601/602 rhodiums I have on another pair of cables but the builder glues them so can't do that.  I rather like the rhodium plugs I've used, mostly on power cords, so am interested in that option as well.  I have noticed that rhodium over silver sounds quite a bit better (to my ears) than rhodium over copper.  The Cardas CG xlr's are rhodium over silver but I can't find any reviews of these plugs and seems they never get a mention.  Also, looking at AECO plugs.  Partsconnextion (Canada) said they are quite good but really didn't address my question about comparing them to other hi end xlr's so hard to know about these.  They are, however, quite affordable.  The quad costing less than the 2 female Xhadows, if I were to go that way.  Anyway, opinions regarding the Xhadows vs the AECOs vs Furutechs vs Neotechs vs Oyaide xlr would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks in advance.

lcherepkai

Showing 3 responses by mitch2

mitch2
3,697 posts
 

You asked so...having used expensive connectors on the cables I have made for years, I doubt those connectors make that much (if any) difference.  If you don't like the sound of your new cables, changing XLR connectors is unlikely to substantially  improve the sound, IME. 

I suggest using connectors with high conductivity conductors (i.e., those that use pure copper) such as the Xhadows (not the Furutech 601/602) or, for a lot less money, the DH Labs XLR connectors:

XLR OFC Copper, Gold Contact Pin

The DH Labs Ultimate XLR connector features pure copper contact pins for the highest signal integrity. It accepts cable up to 7mm with the included rubber boot, and 9mm with the boot removed.

Also, keep in mind, what you plug them into is likely to be bog-standard Neutrik chassis connectors using brass (25-50% of IACS) conductors.  However, Furutech does make chassis connectors using plated pure copper so, if you also upgrade your equipment, that might be one place to start.

mitch2
3,697 posts
 

The Furutech XLR range does NOT use copper pins, EXCEPT for their very top-of-the-line CF-601/602 NCF XLR connectors.  The rest of them use α (Alpha) Beryllium copper and phosphor bronze conductors, according to their website.  Those copper alloys range from about 20-50% of the Annealed Copper Standard (IACS).

mitch2
3,697 posts
 

3x the conductivity of Beryllium copper and phosphor bronze equals, you guessed it, ETP copper!  😎

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