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

[Grainger49]

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]

  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.

[docbob52]

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. 

[Grainger49]

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.

[docbob52]

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.

[Armaegis]

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.

[HF9]

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.

[corndog71]

I wish speaker connections were a bit simpler.

I think car audio did speaker connections better.

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