DIY audio: what are you building?

[mwhouston]

For pairs of rhodium plated, copper centre pin RCAs for $28! Crazy good value and arrived in a few weeks.

[andyr]

59 minutes ago, mwhouston said:

For pairs of rhodium plated, copper centre pin RCAs for $28! Crazy good value and arrived in a few weeks.

 

Very interesting, Mark.

 

Where from?

 

[mwhouston]

1 minute ago, andyr said:

 

Very interesting, Mark.

 

Where from?

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000390822155.html
 

[andyr]

4 minutes ago, mwhouston said:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000390822155.html
 

 

Bizarre, Mark - from your link:

 

 

 

They look like case-mounted RCA sockets ... but the text says "RCA jack plug ... for speakers terminals"?

 

 

[mwhouston]

12 hours ago, andyr said:

 

Bizarre, Mark - from your link:

 

 

 

They look like case-mounted RCA sockets ... but the text says "RCA jack plug ... for speakers terminals"?

 

 

Something gets lost in translation. Just bought three pairs of binoculars, labeled telescopes. 

[Cope]

Not sure if this is news or of interest to anyone, but it seems the LM3886 drought is over and TI are supplying again:

 

https://au.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Texas-Instruments/LM3886T-NOPB?qs=QbsRYf82W3EwP%2FXUhaZp9w%3D%3D

 

Edited September 27, 2023 by Cope
typo

[muon*]

On 25/09/2023 at 8:55 PM, mwhouston said:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000390822155.html
 

Likely not CMC

 

For starters they don't make any rhodium plated ones.

https://audio-cmc.com/rca-jacks-c.html

Edited September 27, 2023 by muon*

[mwhouston]

23 minutes ago, muon* said:

Likely not CMC

 

For starters they don't make any rhodium plated ones.

https://audio-cmc.com/rca-jacks-c.html

What is the plating then? 

[muon*]

42 minutes ago, mwhouston said:

What is the plating then? 

A lot of CMC connectors on aliexpress and ebay are fakes.

[mwhouston]

13 minutes ago, muon* said:

A lot of CMC connectors on aliexpress and ebay are fakes.

What would be a fake metal plating? 

[muon*]

10 minutes ago, mwhouston said:

What would be a fake metal plating? 

I'm saying that a lot advertised as being CMC branding are not.

[mwhouston]

14 minutes ago, muon* said:

I'm saying that a lot advertised as being CMC branding are not.

So is the plating real? 

[muon*]

58 minutes ago, mwhouston said:

So is the plating real? 

If they are fake CMC who knows what they are.

[andyr]

2 hours ago, mwhouston said:

So is the plating real? 

 

1 hour ago, muon* said:

If they are fake CMC who knows what they are.

 

Here we have 2 different philosophies on life, Ian.  

 

The Chinese make a knock-off Roller.  I certainly wouldn't buy it - neither, I suspect, would you.

 

But some people obviously do (otherwise the company would go out of business!) - they like to feel that they have bought a "quality product" at a vastly reduced price.

 

 

 

[mwhouston]

12 minutes ago, andyr said:

 

 

Here we have 2 different philosophies on life, Ian.  

 

The Chinese make a knock-off Roller.  I certainly wouldn't buy it - neither, I suspect, would you.

 

But some people obviously do (otherwise the company would go out of business!) - they like to feel that they have bought a "quality product" at a vastly reduced price.

 

 

 

This is what I have been using. Bring on the Rhodium fakes CNCs. 

[andyr]

 @mwhouston, I don't generally like to use Jaycar stuff - because I think their supply-line is not as well verified as, say, RS components or Element14.

 

But Jaycar also sell a more expensive RCA chassis socket - PS0276/78 - that's the one I have bought in the past.

 

[muon*]

Yeah, I'd likely take a chance on the fake CNC's over anything jaycar have.

[mwhouston]

11 hours ago, andyr said:

 @mwhouston, I don't generally like to use Jaycar stuff - because I think their supply-line is not as well verified as, say, RS components or Element14.

 

But Jaycar also sell a more expensive RCA chassis socket - PS0276/78 - that's the one I have bought in the past.

 

Here’s the rub; I’ve always used the most expensive RCAs Jaycar has but a year or so ago they changed them. You can’t solder the centre pin in the new ones in the previous versions you could and I used 100s of them. The reason I think is the centre pin is made of steel not brass. Even if you file the “gold” off the pin you still cant solder it. Thats why I’ve gone for the cheaper gold versions - they solder. Better still these new Rhodium plated from Aliexpress.
 

The newer non-solder versions have the earth wrap over the front slightly, the better versions did not. I’ve told Jaycar, yep you guessed it they don’t give a sh!t. 
 

 

[mwhouston]

Should add, the centre pin on the fake CMCs is copper. Cant get much better at the price. 

[mwhouston]

Here is the type I cant solder. Notice the earth wraps over the front. 

[andyr]

Hi Mark - I'm afraid you (and Jaycar!) have confooosed me!  

 

This is what you originally posted as what you've been buying from Jaycar - PS0259 @ $2.45 each:

 

12 hours ago, mwhouston said:

 

 

 

Your latest post says these - PS0495 - are what you can't solder ($2.75 each):

 

43 minutes ago, mwhouston said:

 

 

 

As you say ... the earth wraps over the front.

 

Yet the sockets I referred to are these:

PS0276:

 

 

 

... and PS0278:

 

 

 

Note how the earth barrel doesn't wrap over the front.

 

Yet the 2 pairs of each (red & white) that I picked up from Jaycar last week:

• the white ones (PS0278) look exactly like their picture (earth doesn't wrap over the front)
• but the earth on the red ones (PS0276) does wrap over the front!  

 

So - given you say the ones with the 'wrapped over' earth barrel are hard to solder (maybe bcoz they're not brass pins) - I am going to have to go into Jaycar again and take it up with the manager ... as I think their packaging people might've put the wrong plugs in the packaging bags!

 

If so - another reason to keep away from Jaycar ... and buy the maybe-fake CMC sockets!  

 

[mwhouston]

2 minutes ago, andyr said:

Hi Mark - I'm afraid you (and Jaycar!) have confooosed me!  

 

This is what you originally posted as what you've been buying from Jaycar - PS0259 @ $2.45 each:

 

 

 

Your latest post says these - PS0495 - are what you can't solder ($2.75 each):

 

 

 

As you say ... the earth wraps over the front.

 

Yet the sockets I referred to are these:

PS0276:

 

 

 

... and PS0278:

 

 

 

Note how the earth barrel doesn't wrap over the front.

 

Yet the 2 pairs of each (red & white) that I picked up from Jaycar last week:

• the white ones (PS0278) look exactly like their picture (earth doesn't wrap over the front)
• but the earth on the red ones (PS0276) does wrap over the front!  

 

So - given you say the ones with the 'wrapped over' earth barrel are hard to solder (maybe bcoz they're not brass pins) - I am going to have to go into Jaycar again and take it up with the manager ... as I think their packaging people might've put the wrong plugs in the packaging bags!

 

If so - another reason to keep away from Jaycar ... and buy the maybe-fake CMC sockets!  

 

I’ve been buying the cheaper ones because the wrap overs don’t solder. But not a concern any more as the Rhodiums will be my RCA of choice from now on. They come in gold also, 

[andyr]

4 minutes ago, mwhouston said:

I’ve been buying the cheaper ones because the wrap overs don’t solder. But not a concern any more as the Rhodiums will be my RCA of choice from now on. They come in gold also, 

 

Just as a matter of interest, Mark - do these CMC sockets have their fixing nut on the outside ... or the inside of the case?

 

[mwhouston]

1 hour ago, andyr said:

 

Just as a matter of interest, Mark - do these CMC sockets have their fixing nut on the outside ... or the inside of the case?

 

Outside. 

[andyr]

Thanks!