KLE RCA plugs are the real deal!!

Alex - RE:

What I didn’t like - on some records, the sound is too calm, too polite.

Maybe it’s the actual wire that sounds "too polite" ?

The RCA’s have always responded very well to the various wires I have tried

I have been messing with cables for over 5 years and it never ceases to amaze me how the wire, or RCA or the insulation and even the cable geometry can mess with the sound.

Also - humans tend to attribute a change in sound to the latest change made - in this case the RCA’s - when in fact the RCA’s could be highlighting a property of the wire or cable itself.

The degree of difference you can hear by installing these RCA’s is determined not only by the RCA, but also the wire + the geometry of the cable

So unless you have very good wire and an excellent cable geometry then you may not hear the true benefits of these RCA plugs, or even the differences between them

The Helix geometry is perhaps one of the most transparent out there.
- I use Mundorf Silver/gold solid wire for the signal wire on all IC’s, but Duelund wire is also very good.

See: http://image99.net/blog/files/category-002ahelix-interconnect-cable.html

If the DIY Helix cable is not to your liking, then I would recommend the KLE Innovations Interconnects. I have tried most of their earlier designs and they were all excellent performers. The gZero10 is very good. They seem to have dropped the gZero3/6/20 IC’s

I have not tried the QFLOW or zPURITY series, but I read good things about them


Happy Listening

@grannyring - re:

I have found very, very little difference going from the Copper to Silver to Pure. I feel there are two real choices. Copper Harmony if cost is an issue and Absolute Harmony if you want the best. The other two add unneeded complexity to the line. My honest opinion.

I tend to agree somewhat with this comment - with the exception that the Silver harmony is my starting point, simply because in my system the improvement over the Copper Harmony was most noticeable. Also, the silver does wear off of the Copper Harmony pins, but the Silver Harmony seems to wear much better.

And for the few extra bucks the Absolute Harmony cost (that is compared to the Pure Harmony), it makes sense to buy them in place of the Pure harmony, because otherwise you'll always be wondering just how much better they might be.

Regards - Steve

I hope to have more time to read the entire thread as I like these connectors a lot. I got as far as people finding the thin silver flaking off, and a few other issues. Why would you not tin this MINUTE piece of metal prior to soldering your wire on? I mean, it’s the exact same principle as to why tinning your solder tips after a solder work flow. Flow? Get it? hehe!

Oh yeah, have you taken a look at how small their exposed grounding ’antenna’ is? I do direct runs on all my cables. So, on my receiving end, there is virtually NO exposed EMI/RFI area getting into the KLE. If any noise does make its way in, it’s a direct run cable anyway. To point out that they’re dead quiet with real world experience -listen to an Anna Thorvaldsdottir ensemble recording, and you will hear rats crawling across the stage and laugh at you. Seriously, if you can’t hear the timpani player rub his paws across the drum head, then something in your system is scrubbing the details. For me, I noticed a lot come into full bloom with KLE with only a pinch of hiss with ears at 2 inches (ca. 5 cm) from the tweeter -and I'm an SET guy (one PP). 

The number of amp/preamps I own is a lot (a musician who collects audio and musician gear/nstruments) and I've committed KLE connectors to my entire system. But not telling the cable used w/KLE. :D

Umm, am I late to the party? :DD


robert

Very timely and helpful info here for me. Thanks all!

I know this is a really late post, but I decided to experiment with these RCA and speaker posts.  I was using some decent AQ cables as a phono IC, and swapped it for a home brew silver 23awg cable with the Absolute.  This change really made a big impact on the sound, I then changed the speaker terminals on my DIY speakers and was floored as to the impact they made.  I dont get how these tiny things make a difference, but the same music sounds bigger, with tighter bass, and better instrument separation.