Why, Decades Later, Do We Still Use RCA Plugs & Jacks?

Grainger49 · 6878

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Offline Grainger49

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Reply #15 on: September 19, 2013, 06:31:56 AM
Nice, I wouldn't even think of soldering the cartridge.  Sadly there is not a better connection at the lowest voltage level in an audio system.

I suspect that the tiny hole wicked the solder up like solder braid.  I'll ask my wife about these connections.  She was an Outside Plant Engineer (South Central Bell) when we met back in 1982.



4krow

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Reply #16 on: September 19, 2013, 07:52:25 AM
  I would be a little shy of soldering to a cartridge pin. It had better be quick and perfect. I agree, there is probably no more important connection, given the voltage.



Offline docbob52

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Reply #17 on: September 21, 2013, 07:00:32 AM
Yes Paul is correct i think.  the XLR is considered the best by engineers. The RCA plug was not even designed for audio , but RCA designed it for disassembly of stages for service work.  It is at best a sloppy conection. 

Garrard 301/ high mass plinth, SME 312S tonearm/ Sleeping beauty cartridge/ Denon AU 320SUT. Transcendent audio GG preamp and OTL SOB power amp. Blumenstein Orca/Dungeness Speakers

Second system.  BH Paramount 300B amps.  BeePre.  Sony SCD777ES, Wyred4 sound Dac. Mac mini.


Offline Grainger49

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Reply #18 on: September 22, 2013, 08:52:47 AM
Bob,

You made me look back.  Paul said they were the standard, didn't say best.  But maybe that is implied.  The RCA connector, the subject of my rant, is the standard for home audio and is a POS.  I should consider XLR connectors in my phono loop.



Offline docbob52

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Reply #19 on: September 23, 2013, 02:40:45 PM
Grainger, RCA plugs are standard and makes it difficult to interconnect otherwise on my equipment. .  I use them here exclusively but for only compatibility. XLR are tighter connections, but I see no value in balanced connections except for very long runs. Cold welded pressure joints are the best, according to Bruce Rosenblit.

Garrard 301/ high mass plinth, SME 312S tonearm/ Sleeping beauty cartridge/ Denon AU 320SUT. Transcendent audio GG preamp and OTL SOB power amp. Blumenstein Orca/Dungeness Speakers

Second system.  BH Paramount 300B amps.  BeePre.  Sony SCD777ES, Wyred4 sound Dac. Mac mini.


Offline Armaegis

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Reply #20 on: September 23, 2013, 05:50:39 PM
I don't mind RCA... if I had to get rid of one connector, it would be TRS. A plug that shorts by its very nature is just bad mojo.



Offline HF9

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Reply #21 on: September 24, 2013, 07:30:25 AM
Why?
Probably because accepted standards are very hard to move away from, just look at the piston-based internal combustion engine which was developed in 1858(!); it's estimated that by 2040, 90% of new cars will STILL have one. Without some organization like the Electronic Industries Alliance or Consumer Electronics Association stepping in and dictating a new standard like they do for HDMI, or market leaders gathering and creating their own alliance, it's highly unlikely it will ever change.

My DIY Audio Electronics Blog: DIYAudioBlog.com


Offline corndog71

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Reply #22 on: September 24, 2013, 10:31:23 AM
I wish speaker connections were a bit simpler.

I think car audio did speaker connections better.

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