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Eichman RCA's - what makes them so good?

I've just installed a set of these on a silver interconnect I have and the difference in details was very noticeable. The image has become very focussed with more depth and the micro details have also improved consideraby.

I realize the silver is probably responsible for the improved resolution, so is the design responsible for the improved imaging? Will the copper give me the same image improvements?

Has anyone out there tried both the silver and the copper (or gold plated copper)
- if so what difference did you notice?

Alternately - if you have only used copper
- what were you using previously?
- what differences did you notice?

I am using these on my analogue stage, which I thought was pretty good - until yesterday.

I'm thinking of trying the gold plated copper on the digital side - or should I just opt for the silver - the curious side of me wants the copper, just to see what the differences are, but the pragmatic side is saying that if I'm not happy - I'll need to replace them with the silver :-)

If it's the design of the rca that's more responsible for the improvements' then going for the copper would be more cost effective

Any feedback appreciated - thanks
williewonka
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drubin
3,275 posts
 
AES Standard rates copper as Standard for Signal transfer ability (=100%), Silver for example is 106, gold is around 90 and everything else is much worse.
When the unit has very cheap RCA input plugs (brass with gold plating for example), they are in the area of 60, that means, they reduce any input signal by min. 40 % from what is possible.
You sure about that % reduction? What does 106 mean, then?

I don't think much of the Eichmans; A cheap plastic plug,
Eichmann plugs feel cheap but they claim their research concluded that high mass is an enemy of good sound in a connector. So they seem to be cheap plastic for a reason.
williewonka OP
3,082 posts
 
Syntax - i'm not sure I completely agree with your view of the effectiveness of RCA vs DIN or XLR, after all, the pins in the DIN plug I used are silver plated brass ( and who knows what materials are used in the socket in the amp) yet the DIN plug performed so much better than the Eichman Silver Bullet RCA's

Does the silver plating on the pins overcome the reduced conductivity of the brass? - don't know

I do agree that ensuring connectors with the very best materials should be used for optimum performance.

Since replacing the RCA jacks in the amp, as Sonic_genius recommends, is not something I choose to pursue at this time - for me, this will remain an enigma.

A very nice sounding enigma :-)
williewonka OP
3,082 posts
 
Sonic genius - at $140 for 4 - there is nothing cheap about this plastic :-)

Seriously though - have you tried the eichmans?
If yes - how did they compare to wbt and others you may have tried

Any feedback is appreciated - thanks

I do think Eichmann should find a material that is more robust than the "plastic" they have selected - I felt more confident soldering the smaller pins of the DIN socket - never felt there was a possibility of the pins falling out.

But they worked and were cheaper than many of the competition
syntax's avatar
syntax
2,193 posts
 
I used the Plastic Eichmann Plugs (both, the Plastic ones but also their metal ones), they are indeed very, very good. Their grip is superior. Signal transfer is also top level. a few years ago I read a technical paper about their Design, it made sense what they developed.The plastic ones are a bit difficult for soldering, it has to be done professionally, otherwise the heat will widen the plastic around the grounding contact, this can create hum.
SignalCable offers these for their cables, when someone is looking for a very good but not too expensive solution, they do their job right.
Really good are the Eichmann Phono Pods for aftermarket modification, when someone reads this and is looking for a top connector, go for these.
larryi
4,109 posts
 
I know someone who makes homemade interconnects that are very much based on the less-metal-is-better concept for the contact points. The hot pin for the RCA is a small hollow piece of metal that he gets from busting up old tube sockets. That metal tube is soldered to his wire on both ends. He makes two such hot wires for a stereo pair and then uses a single piece of bare wire to connect the chassis' of his two components together for a ground connection (i.e., two hot wires and a common ground). The wire itself looks like magnet wire to me.

This ultra cheap interconnect work extremely well, at least for line level connections (did not hear it as a phono connection), although it is quite delicate and messy. I have no idea as to how important is the low mass aspect of the hot pin to the particular "sound" of this homemade interconnect, but, I do know that the whole thing was very nice sounding in a tube-based system.
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