[Redcarmoose]

It's an unexpected question. CEMA is famous competitor of ISN/Penon in cable building.
Facts and proofs in audiophile require a lot of investigations. Is anybody who wants to do it? I'm not sure.
I proceed from two facts:
a) gold is softer than rhodium
b) I have many cables with damaged golden plating on the plugs.

After all, there is no reason to worry: inner surface of DAC/DAP out is invisible and very few people distinguish between the sound of rhodium and gold plugs

Still it is interesting as I found Rhodium plugs on CEMA site? And yes Gold must be the softest, as you can see the micrometers fall-off or better yet, give-up placement easily.

 

[Uprox]

Still it is interesting as I found Rhodium plugs on CEMA site? And yes Gold must be the softest, as you can see the micrometers fall-off or better yet, give-up placement easily.

Once I was choosing a new cable and placed an order with rhodium plug. CEMA seller advised me to choose gold plug because there was several cases of dissatisfied customers due to damage of outs plating. Before this case I ordered from CEMA rhodium plugs predominantly for aesthetics.
Edit.
I never met, used and even heard about palladium plugs before. It would be interesting.

 

[Leonarfd]

New Hifiman IEM coming, Svanar Jr.

https://m.hifiman.cn/products/detai...fgpvCGVbS_sxeWQCML8HswB-VlXfPfsjqMBPgrqhCBN34

 

[Kenyon]

Rhodium-plated plugs have obvious changes in sound hearing

Do you have any of this research in writing?

I'm not trying to be critical here, but there are no facts? Rumors only?

Surely this runs both ways

@Redcarmoose can you please provide your written research on Rhodium and audio changes otherwise what you are marketing are just rumors... But this time with a financial interest inserted

 

[Redcarmoose]

Please, please if you quote me use the whole quote:

The confusion is my post has both the sales script from Penon and my own writing mixed, that was fixed, so sorry that could have been confusing.

So sorry for any confusion.

Still you have now edited your entire post to have many more facts.

Let me respond accordingly to your original post, in it's entirety.
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Surely this runs both ways

@Redcarmoose can you please provide your written research on Rhodium and audio changes otherwise what you are marketing are just rumors... But this time with a financial interest inserted

Of course it does, it runs both ways. Yet all I said.............if you go back to my original post is that I would compare palladium plugs, rhodium plugs with regular plugs. I do hear a faint boost in warmness from palladium plugs, a tad extra authority. But...........I am about to review the rhodium plugs once I get them with palladium plugs and normal plugs when I get all three together.

It's just like cables, that...........some hear a difference and some respectively don't. I have no issues with the people who don't believe cables make a difference. I'm not trying to push anything on anyone, this is simply report and explain differences, if any, with how I perceive stuff to be.

"But this time with a financial interest inserted"

Where does the above statement come from? I have never received a thin dime from any of my reviews, products to demo...............but not money?

 

[Redcarmoose]

TINHIFI C0
https://www.linsoul.com/products/tinhifi-c0-1

$17.99 USD or $13.99 USD depending on model


PU+TITANIUM COMPOSITE DIAPHRAGM IN-EAR MONITOR

• Affordable Excellence: Unmatched Price-to-Performance Ratio
• Light Weight and High-quality Material
• Natural and Open: Open-Back Design
• Professionally Tuned
• Versatile Compatibility: Choice of DAC Chip Versions

Technical Details
Driver Unit φ10mm
Sensitivity 105±3dB @1kHz 0.179V
Frequency Response 20-20kHz
Impedance 32 Ω±15%
Rated Power 3mW
Max Power 5mW
Max Distortion 3% @1k Hz 0.179V
Plug 3.5mm black glue gold plated plug / TYPE-C
Cable Length L=1.25M

Housing Color Guns color / Blue to black

This is something that may become quite common, where you have the choice of Type-C USB or a standard 3.5mm plug.

 

[o0genesis0o]

New Hifiman IEM coming, Svanar Jr.

https://m.hifiman.cn/products/detai...fgpvCGVbS_sxeWQCML8HswB-VlXfPfsjqMBPgrqhCBN34

The Svanar “Sr” sounds surprisingly unnatural in the treble, and technically mediocre. Not much hope for a “jr” version of that.

Interesting story: the opinion about Svanar splits at my local hifi store. An older staff member who is really experienced in setting up and tuning hi-fi and home theatre thinks that the Svanar is fantastic. A new staff who is also a part time musician picked out immediate: “mid and upper treble is weird”.

 

[baskingshark]

New iBasso IEM incoming, the 3T-154. Seems to be DD?

https://www.facebook.com/iBassoAudi...Cts2CDq7cPyiKfGG2fSPd1xVUG9TEJf85o4F343wE63gl

 

[Okcerg]

Finally received the Letshouer DZ4. It was bashed a lot due to its passive radiator. And maybe it's a bad design and I don't have a ton of experience in IEMs, but I really do enjoy the sound of these! I put Kbear07 on them and I'm hearing a deep bass and non fatiguing treble and completely mesmerizing mids. There's something really addictive about them, can't stop listening lol. I returned the Quartet which I found a bit congested and plasticky, and I got the DZ4 instead. Glad I did!

 

[Kenyon]

Please, please if you quote me use the whole quote:

Unfortunately your whole message was a long Penon marketing piece so there is no need to repost it as I am not working for them. Salient points are adequate that is unless you do not believe you can stand behind the individual points in your own post in which case why post a marketing piece...?

Also please let's not try to imply that reading the whole post made for any sort of alternate messaging...

Still you have now edited your entire post to have many more facts.

My post has never been edited - it has remained the same throughout...

It's just like cables, that...........some hear a difference and some respectively don't

Sure... but you were the one asking for research when someone provided their own experience and opinion about something you posted that posited much without providing any means of evidence.

I think some consistency would probably be appreciated when you want to state something like:

I'm not trying to be critical here, but there are no facts? Rumors only?

As I said that has to work both ways - the cover of subjectivity cannot just flow in the direction of your own beliefs and not others if they happen to contradict a marketing piece you decided to post...

"But this time with a financial interest inserted"

Where does the above statement come from?

You posted a Penon marketing piece verbatim with a link to the product and a price. Your link is to a store not to an announcement on a company website or social media as others on this forum regularly provide. Surely this is the definition of a FINANCIAL INTEREST being inserted. I was not touching on your own FINANCIAL INCENTIVE to post this marketing piece... That is a wider discussion on how incentives from persistent associations are defined which includes but does not limit itself to monies.

You then tried to suggest another members comments were not factual because they contradicted a marketing piece that you apparently have no play in. Why so sensitive, especially as you state that you have not even tried this product to verify those claims either subjectively or through objective study?

 

[saldsald]

It's an unexpected question. CEMA is famous competitor of ISN/Penon in cable building.
Facts and proofs in audiophile require a lot of investigations. Is anybody who wants to do it? I'm not sure.
I proceed from two facts:
a) gold is softer than rhodium
b) I have many cables with damaged golden plating on the plugs.

Just FYI, most gold plating is not real gold so don't compare the hardness of real gold to real rhodium. The sound depends also a lot on the thickness of the plating, so one rhodium plug can sound drastically different from another.

Also I hesitate to get CEMA's plugs because they make fake Eidolic plugs and they call their purple coloured plugs (just painted with a thin layer of purple paint on their 'gold-plated' plugs) 'red copper'.

The following plugs are fake Eidolic copies made by CEMA, avoid.

 

[Pylaczynski]

From the hardness, or chemical reaction? Do you have any of this research in writing? I only ask because I can't find absolutely one thing written about this subject, and I consider myself pretty good at searching. Do you have sources? Palladium is OK then?

There should not be a problem from chemical perspective as galvanic voltage of both metals (gold plated copper in contact with rhodium plating on the silver plated copper) is very very close, but from friction and material transfer due to hardness difference this pair may cause the peeling of gold plating.

However however - based on the table below the gold vs rhodium pair is in fact quite good in terms of wear and tear. Well, as everything the more you read the more complex the topic gets
https://technology.matthey.com/article/10/1/2-8/

 

[Redcarmoose]

Unfortunately your whole message was a long Penon marketing piece so there is no need to repost it as I am not working for them. Salient points are adequate that is unless you do not believe you can stand behind the individual points in your own post in which case why post a marketing piece...?

Also please let's not try to imply that reading the whole post made for any sort of alternate messaging...

My post has never been edited - it has remained the same throughout...

Sure... but you were the one asking for research when someone provided their own experience and opinion about something you posted that posited much without providing any means of evidence.

I think some consistency would probably be appreciated when you want to state something like:

As I said that has to work both ways - the cover of subjectivity cannot just flow in the direction of your own beliefs and not others if they happen to contradict a marketing piece you decided to post...

You posted a Penon marketing piece verbatim with a link to the product and a price. Your link is to a store not to an announcement on a company website or social media as others on this forum regularly provide. Surely this is the definition of a FINANCIAL INTEREST being inserted. I was not touching on your own FINANCIAL INCENTIVE to post this marketing piece... That is a wider discussion on how incentives from persistent associations are defined which includes but does not limit itself to monies.

You then tried to suggest another members comments were not factual because they contradicted a marketing piece that you apparently have no play in. Why so sensitive, especially as you state that you have not even tried this product to verify those claims either subjectively or through objective study?

First off yes, I apologize for the 2nd half of my original post not being delineated as to being pulled directly from the Penon web site. I have further now put the marketing script in green. And I agree it would be confusing if you were to see that at the top that I’m writing that I have yet to try the Rhodium Plated cable, then the second half talks about benefits from such material.

The reason for such marketing piece is of course that it explains the use of the plug, of course you knew that. If you don’t believe in such products and their qualities, then it could be construed as BS. And I’m perfectly OK with such attitudes. But some of us are believers, that’s all.

As far as financial incentive, every bit of product posted here in the Discovery Thread is for sale, of course you knew that. So? Nothing very different in regards to my post?

The fact is much of this surfacing material does add something to the sound. You are free to believe or not believe such realities take place. I will be the first to include that I have no engineering training, I don’t manufacturer any products myself, I’m simply a listener, so take that for what its worth.

 

[Redcarmoose]

There should not be a problem from chemical perspective as galvanic voltage of both metals (gold plated copper in contact with rhodium plating on the silver plated copper) is very very close, but from friction and material transfer due to hardness difference this pair may cause the peeling of gold plating.

However however - based on the table below the gold vs rhodium pair is in fact quite good in terms of wear and tear. Well, as everything the more you read the more complex the topic gets
https://technology.matthey.com/article/10/1/2-8/

Lol, I can only imagine it starts to get complicated very fast. So do you think a Rhodium plated plug would cause trouble, more trouble than a gold plated plug?

 

[Redcarmoose]

Once I was choosing a new cable and placed an order with rhodium plug. CEMA seller advised me to choose gold plug because there was several cases of dissatisfied customers due to damage of outs plating. Before this case I ordered from CEMA rhodium plugs predominantly for aesthetics.
Edit.
I never met, used and even heard about palladium plugs before. It would be interesting.

Well, palladium is one plug that I do have some experience with, and it makes a small percentage difference, in that the sound has more heft. Though probably in reality it’s very slight. But all of us are adding everything up, the IEMs, the DAP, the cable, the fit from ear-tips.....(and now maybe the plug too) eventually everything does add up. It adds a small percentage of a bigger percentage depending on the synergy and how you are trying to focus the sound. That is if your a believer that this stuff works or not. For me before I only had about 4 aftermarket cables, maybe six years ago, then I started to really believe such things made a worthwhile difference.