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Has anyone else found the Cardas 1/4" Plug loose fitting?

post #1 of 15
10/5/04 at 12:46am
Thread Starter 
I was reading through Tuberollers HD580/600/650 Cable comparo for the millionth time and noticed something i hadn't before. He states that the Cardas 1/4" plugs are loose fitting, especially in the Neutrik Jacks. Has anyone else stumbled upon this? I was considering putting together a few headphone cables with the Cardas plugs but now I may reconsider if this is fairly common. Thanks for any input.
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post #2 of 15
10/5/04 at 1:07am
What plug goes best with the nuetrik jacks?

Biggie.
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post #3 of 15
10/5/04 at 6:23pm
Thread Starter 
Well my guess would be the gold NP3C would be the best fit, but Cardas would be of better quality (silver rhodium plated > gold)

Does anyone have a Cardas cable that they find to be loose fitting?
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post #4 of 15
10/6/04 at 5:19pm
yeah, sometimes the cardas plug on my DIY senn cable doesnt always get the entire signal out of my MG Head. I thought it was just a bad jack, I didnt know that this was a common problem.
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post #5 of 15
10/7/04 at 11:13pm
I also read this and was a little worried when I ordered my Cardas for the 650s but it seems fine in the MOH. I mean there is a tiny bit of play but no more than I've experienced with any other connector. It never has caused any problems with the sound even when moving around. I actually measured the connector and it came in at a solid 0.25".

BTW... why are the Neutrik jacks considered "locking"? I can't tell any difference in the resistance to remove the plug whether I push the release or not. Is this the "loose" fitting we're talking about? Is that common with all plugs and/or all Neutriks? Does it have to do with the plug tip shape or length?
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post #6 of 15
10/10/04 at 3:10am
that's not my experience. i have used hundreds of 1/4" plugs of many brands, and the cardas ones are the tightest. in fact, a little too tight.
Quote:
yeah, sometimes the cardas plug on my DIY senn cable doesnt always get the entire signal out of my MG Head. I thought it was just a bad jack, I didnt know that this was a common problem.
entire signal? if you get intermmitent signal, then yeah... there might be a loose connection. but if you mean the volume is different, then no, that has nothing to do with a bad connection. if the plug even barely touches the contacts, even by a fraction of a hair, the signal will be just as loud as if you clamped the two parts together. more likely is something is wrong with either the headphones, or the amp.
Quote:
BTW... why are the Neutrik jacks considered "locking"?
normal neutrik jacks are nonlocking--they DO NOT lock. the locking ones have a red tab on top that you have to push down to pull out the plug. audiophile people tend to like the specialized neutrik locking jacks that are normally used for speaker connections... but there really is no advantage in them. and if anything, they are really annoying--it's hard to disengage your headphone... and if you move too much, you would pull the amp with you. have no idea why people like them so much--they definitely were not made to support headphone plugs. you will never see such locking jacks on expensive studio equipment... they only exist on speakers, and maybe power amps. people tend to trip on the cables going to the loudspeakers at concerts or events, and that's why they lock them down.
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post #7 of 15
10/10/04 at 8:14pm

misunderstood

I have the locking ones with the metal locking "buttons". I can't tell any difference in the resistance when just pulling the plug out or when depressing the metal "locks".

This is what I meant by "why are they called locking jacks?" Does anyone else notice this?
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post #8 of 15
10/10/04 at 8:22pm
the only ones i have seen have red plastic buttons, not metal. and it's impossible to pull out the plug without pushing down the button. so... i dunno. maybe yours isn't locking at all... i dunno what that button is for though. (XLR female jacks do have a metal button though... but it's the same thing--impossible to get the plug out without depressing the button.) but if it is truly locking... it really does lock. you'll rip off the cable before you get out the plug, if you don't push down that button.
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post #9 of 15
10/10/04 at 8:24pm
Yeah, if you have a button on the jack and you don't need to push it down to take out the plug, either you have a broken locking jack or it's a fake. The neutrik locking jacks have a red plastic button that's really hard and annoying to push and feel cheap. I would never use one again voluntarily.
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post #10 of 15
10/10/04 at 8:35pm
I agree with both of you, the locking jack push button is too hard to press in it's stock form, it's simply painful in the end:
Solution, another head-fier found a solution: disassemble the jack and release the spring with a spring from a $0.5 lighter (You'll need to destroy the lighter to get the spring out). You may want to cut a 1/3 of that spring to get the desired button push pressure. Substitute the lighter spring with the stock one and assemble it again.
I tried this "mod" and it turned out to make very well indeed. Not to easy to push in so it stays in a half-pressed-in position, and not too hard again. I'll dig up the thread.

EDIT: Original thread by doobooloo: http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=67493
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post #11 of 15
10/10/04 at 11:04pm

Very strange

These are the "locking" jacks on an '04 MOH Reference with stepped attenuator. I am using a Cardas cable (new version) for HD650s. Geesh, I'm not sure what to think now. Anyone else ever had this same experience? I swear there is no "locking" or clicking or whatever that I can discern. Am I pushing hard enough?

I didn't think much about it until I read this thread.
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post #12 of 15
10/11/04 at 1:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daroid
I agree with both of you, the locking jack push button is too hard to press in it's stock form, it's simply painful in the end:
Solution, another head-fier found a solution: disassemble the jack and release the spring with a spring from a $0.5 lighter (You'll need to destroy the lighter to get the spring out). You may want to cut a 1/3 of that spring to get the desired button push pressure. Substitute the lighter spring with the stock one and assemble it again.
I tried this "mod" and it turned out to make very well indeed. Not to easy to push in so it stays in a half-pressed-in position, and not too hard again. I'll dig up the thread.

EDIT: Original thread by doobooloo: http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=67493
I fully concur with regards to the locking jack mechanism.
I have also posted an illustrated guide of an alternative solution to the problem here:
http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=88833
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post #13 of 15
10/11/04 at 2:49am
Quote:
I swear there is no "locking" or clicking or whatever that I can discern.
there won't be much of a difference between the locking and unlocking versions when inserting, in terms of feel or sound. but em, you really should feel the difference pulling the plug out.

..............WAIT A SEC....... is your jack oriented like concentric circles? i mean, you have the round hole you put your plug in, AND another ring outside of that, with maybe 3 smaller holes? heh he... that's the XLR female jack i spoke of earlier. it's for XLR plugs, and the metal tab only unlocks the XLR plug. i remember seeing those on some headroom models (though i have no idea why they use those jacks.) anyway, what you're looking at is called the Neutrik "Combo" jack. just a mostly useless (for headphones), and also incidentally, WRONG, jack to use (female accepts the signal, not sends out a signal.)
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post #14 of 15
10/12/04 at 2:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mycoman
These are the "locking" jacks on an '04 MOH Reference with stepped attenuator. I am using a Cardas cable (new version) for HD650s. Geesh, I'm not sure what to think now. Anyone else ever had this same experience? I swear there is no "locking" or clicking or whatever that I can discern. Am I pushing hard enough?

I didn't think much about it until I read this thread.
I think all newer headroom amps use this king of jacks (one with the silver tabs, not the red plastic ones) and I assume everybody with this kind of jack doesn't lock also, mine doesn't. I think this was discussed before in the old headroom forum, but that forum is gone now.
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post #15 of 15
10/12/04 at 2:18am
yes, like i said, it's a XLR combo jack. the lock is for the XLR, not for the 1/4". dunno why headroom did this. don't know why any locking jack is EVER used for headphone amps. but whatever.
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