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No idea really. Tellurium added to copper is supposed to make the copper more machinable and perhaps this aids in manufacturing?

Most RCA connectors are machined brass (plated with gold). Copper is supposed to sound better (and certainly has better conductivity) than brass so tellurium copper interconnect connectors may sound better?

I will say that the ones I used appear well constructed.

I used these:

https://www.amazon.com/aeco-PLUG-ARP-40 ... +connector

But these look better and are cheaper:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Star-Line-Rhodi ... Swh-1W4jKV

100pf/m on the RG-223, so call it 35 pf/ft. Moderate, I'd say. Maybe lower than average for phallus-sized tweak cables but I wouldn't know.

If all else fails, look it up, right?

In the case of MM carts, note that there is a recommended load capacitance that the cart wants to see and if you use super low C cables, you might come in well below the recommended C...leading to wicked resonant peaks at HF, or as our friend Stuart calls it "AIR"

Although some consideration should be directed at first order effects such as cable capacitance, I will always say let the ear decide-- in your setup, with your music, tastes, etc...

My cables have rhodium plated Switchcrafts I had made up some years ago. I can't find the barrels I packed up in Texas 8 years ago but I did locate the plug parts. I probably have a few dozen somewhere.

I have some of the latest Eichemann connectors. Not sure I buy the eddy current/low mass spiel but I like KL himself, very nice guy, and asked him for a set over beers in Munich to put on my TT so I can have parts made by my friends.

For me, such considerations trump simple physics calculations....but, hey, I am a humanist.

_________________
Walt

Whatever turns you on, Walt. Gotta use whatever makes the system yours.

My problem is that much of my stuff is "unfindium" Can't find it in my storage pit. All of my moving boxes were marked "parts and misc" and who knows what is inside.

If anybody needs more Hilton Audio cable, paypal me $5 for a computer generated Priority mailing label so I don't have to go to the PO and I'll mail ya some.

The back story on this cable is that I made up some with rhodium Switchcrafts and sexy nickel plated metal braid sheaths and printed heat shrink for Silbatone show use. Took off the writing with some solvent.

A pair went home with Jean Hiraga from one of the European shows and he declared it one of the three best cables in the world. Funny, especially since I now know him pretty well and he is a super careful serious audio dude for sure.

Yes, I could have gone over to the dark side of wire manufacturing but decided to stay poor and happy on the side of light and justice.

_________________
Walt

If you are looking for low capacitance check out Belden 83264 and 83266.

Tom

Made up a pair of RCA-Male XLR cables, preamp to crossover. Used twin cable construction. They sound very nice. Smoothed out the edgy, sort of distorted, dirty high end that the Silver Sonic cables had. I like them very much. Will have to build more cables like this. The only challenges are fitting two cables in to one XLR and one RCA plug. Wanted to be sure that the connection scheme would work before building more. Enough cable on hand for maybe another pair.

Hopefully J-Rob will have enough cable left over for me to grab from him and make up a few more sets.

Thanks for the report, Pete, and for the cable, J-Rob.

Airhead

Stuart,

I got more. Swing by after the 20th when I get back from Korea.

Since it is "One of the three best cables in the world," if you didn't like it I'd be worried about ya.

I snagged a few pairs of the offshore RCA plugs Walt recommended a couple weeks ago. These look like they will take a schlong-sized bundle such as you describe.

Kinda large for my junk, so to speak...

Will do.

Thanks again, Joe.

I am in no position to comment on "one of the three best....." I have no experience there, nor gear to reveal those sorts of claims. But it sounds very, very good to my ears.

Stuart

Well, to be honest, it might only be one of the four or five best now. Hiraga's laudatory comment was in 2001.

While in Korea, I will snag some of the 23ga raw (no outer insulation) silver litz we had made up and try that in comparison for phono connects, where perhaps advantages will be most apparent at the 0.x mV level.

In general though, that smooth top end characteristic of the RG-223 is relatively hard to come by. Most fancy wires seem to artificially jack up detail, often to an unnatural degree. RG223 is UHF/low microwave cable, so you know highs are getting through if drive impedance is low enough for the bulk capacitance.

Back when I was at Excalibur, I sold a lot of Straighwire interconnects. I think the stuff was just teflon aircraft cable. Silver plated teflon. Personally, I thought it was nasty sounding bright stuff but who am I to choose for the other guy? If I lent three cables out for the weekend for a customer to experiment with, more often then not the customer chose the Straightwire over the much more muted MIT or middle of the road Audioquest. Maybe I sold some to Dave M? Sorry, no refunds or exchanges.

Detail sells. Detail stands out in comparison. And although it sounds weird to say you want "less detail," but that is often how I feel about audio gear.