[Redcarmoose]

I haven't research reports. This information I got from CEMA after complaints of their clients. Later I met the same statement somewhere here - on head-fi.

But after researching CEMA products many of their cables are still offered with rhodium plated plugs, I find this surprising? So they’re telling you that their clients are complaining, yet they sell them still in abundance?

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.

I agree they look way different than gold plugs, they even look harder?

 

[PhonoPhi]

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.

What is not "real gold"?
Noble metals are used to avoid oxidation that causes severe signal deterioration.
.Hardened gold" is used but still the hardness of this plating (mostly 85+% gold, if you look) is far below that of rhodium:

https://artisanplating.com/rhodium-plating-finishes/

What concerns me more with using connectors with different platings for in/out are the metal heterojunctions with all kinds of potentials at heterointetfaces (e.g. of a thermocouple) created similar to potential problems with soldering that for relaively small voltages used to drive IEM are of higher relative significance.

P. S. The marketing moose is totally xxxx loose - reflects the state of this hobby - shouting even most profound non-sensical gibberish louder gets through the gullible brains as TV ads, profoundly sad...
"That is my personal audiophile/marketer experience but where is your scientific/research documented proof"....

 

[Carpet]

Juzear Clear arrived. Sounds good out of the box, looking forward to having a better listen over the weekend.

 

[Pylaczynski]

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?

Well. I really don't know after this reading.
But by my personal common sense I would rather use 2 same metals in contact. Especially since I cannot really rationalize using different ones because I cannot hear any sonic changes nor I cannot find a good reasons why they would be there in the first place. The only benefit (which is quite questionable) is that rhodium plated connector looks cool with right cable hardware and sheath
At least this is my experience + it is up to my knowledge

 

[saldsald]

What is not "real gold"?
Noble metals are used to avoid oxidation that causes severe signal deterioration.
.Hardened gold" is used but still the hardness of this plating (mostly 85+% gold, if you look) is far below that of rhodium:

https://artisanplating.com/rhodium-plating-finishes/

What concerns me more with using connectors with different platings for in/out are the metal heterojunctions with all kinds of potentials at heterointetfaces (e.g. of a thermocouple) created similar to potential problems with soldering that for relaively small voltages used to drive IEM are of higher relative significance.

P. S. The marketing moose is totally xxxx loose - reflects the state of this hobby - shouting even most profound non-sensical gibberish louder gets through the gullible brains as TV ads, profoundly sad...
"That is my personal audiophile/marketer experience but where is your scientific/research documented proof"....

It's a gold coloured chemical with trace amount of gold, not pure gold.

 

[Redcarmoose]

We just reviewed the new Sivga Luan!

https://www.headfonia.com/sivga-luan-review/

Do you ever get a little behind in your reviews?

 

[PhonoPhi]

It's a gold coloured chemical with trace amount of gold, not pure gold.

What "gold coloured chemical" exactly?? Please explain based on your scientific/engineering background! We are not talking marketing material and "personal experiences" here, right?

The coating must me conductive, so some metal/alloy. Then, if brass/bronze - that will get tarnished fast and will create immediate conductivity problems, as I tried to explain.

If you possibly try to think about titanium nitride, TiN, coating used in tools - not in electrical connectors.

While gold is expensive, the coating is very thin, around 1 micron (do the math, about 2 mg per 1 square cm area, at $3000 per troy ounce - 2 cents of gold) , so even cheaper gold-plated connectors simply use minimal thickness that incidentally wears out fast.

 

[saldsald]

What "gold coloured chemical" exactly?? Please explain based on your scientific/engineering background! We are not talking marketing material and "personal experiences" here, right?

The coating must me conductive, so some metal/alloy. Then, if brass/bronze - that will get tarnished fast and will create immediate conductivity problems, as I tried to explain.

If you possibly try to think about titanium nitride, TiN, coating used in tools - not in electrical connectors.

While gold is expensive, the coating is very thin, around 1 micron (do the math, about 2 mg per 1 square cm area, at $3000 per troy ounce - 2 cents of gold) , so even cheaper gold-plated connectors simply use minimal thickness that incidentally wears out fast.

Some plugs are plated with gold and some are plated with this so called chemical gold. I do not have the chemical composition of exactly what it is but it is called gold-infused palladiim alloy. The gold colour you see on most plugs has a brown tint while the more expensive plugs plated with actual gold are lighter in colour, more towards silver colour likely due to the nickle plating underneath.

Do not keep on guessing, you can ask these makers. The honest ones will tell you they are not really gold plated.

 

[PhonoPhi]

Some plugs are plated with gold and some are plated with this so called chemical gold. I do not have the chemical composition of exactly what it is but it is called gold-infused palladiim alloy. The gold colour you see on most plugs has a brown tint while the more expensive plugs plated with actual gold are lighter in colour, more towards silver colour likely due to the nickle plating underneath.

Do not keep on guessing, you can ask these makers. The honest ones will tell you they are not really gold plated.

"Gold- infused" sound like marketing materials, not scientific.
Why do you ask me to look?
Why don't you look at the current cost of palladium, and basics of electroplating (alloys, specifically) - to understand that it makes most sense just to use pure gold ("hardened gold" is better but requires more efforts). So palladium-based platings are not cheaper now, but remain "niche" targetting gullible audiophiles with "gold-infused" - why cite them instead of scientific evidence?

I did also a simple cost analysis to further support my point that most gold plating is simply gold, cheapened by the thickness, so I will rest here.

 

[saldsald]

"Gold- infused" sound like marketing materials, not scientific.
Why do you ask me to look?
Why don't you look at the current cost of palladium, and basics of electroplating (alloys, specifically) - to understand that it makes most sense just to use pure gold ("hardened gold" is better but requires more efforts). So palladium-based platings are not cheaper now, but remain "niche" targetting gullible audiophiles with "gold-infused" - why cite them instead of scientific evidence?

I did also a simple cost analysis to further support my point that most gold plating is simply gold, cheapened by the thickness, so I will rest here.

Yup, you must be correct with all your marketing researches.

 

[r31ya]

An article on Rhodium vs Gold that i found on quick google, not sure on the validity but interesting read.

https://perkune.com/audiophile-difference-rhodium-or-gold/

Today, which is October 17th 2021, the price of Gold is $56.82 per gram, and the cost of Rhodium is $344.01 per gram. Rhodium is a complex, silvery, durable metal with high reflectance. And does not usually form an oxide, even when heated. Rhodium is used as an alloying agent for hardening and improving the corrosion resistance of Electrical contacts. And great value for small electrical resistance, trim and stable contact resistance. And corrosion resistance.
The connectors of the more expensive electronics cables, such as audio, video and USB cables, are Gold. The benefit of using Gold by audio-visual experts often criticise gold connectors as unnecessary for most consumer. However, the use of Gold in other applications in electronic sliding contacts in highly humid or corrosive atmospheres. And used for connections with a very high failure cost (specific computers, communications equipment, spacecraft, jet aircraft engines).

 

[Ferdinando1968]

yes its color coded it seems,
From their marketing material

Explain something to me, I'm ignorant.
What is the function of these dumpers, and why is their value written in ohm?

 

[r31ya]

Explain something to me, I'm ignorant.
What is the function of these dumpers, and why is their value written in ohm?

on knowles page,
https://www.knowles.com/subdepartment/dpt-accessories/subdpt-dampers

Dampers are acoustic cloth screens for insertion inside acoustic tubing. These damping elements are used between the receiver outlet and the ear canal to smoothen the frequency response.

Features

• Smoothen and shape frequency response
• Various acoustical resistances and sizes

For the Ohm, maybe its to mimic pass-filter for easier comparison?

 

[Redcarmoose]

Explain something to me, I'm ignorant.
What is the function of these dumpers, and why is their value written in ohm?

http://rinchoi.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-effect-of-acoustic-dampers-on-iems.html?m=1

 

[r31ya]

http://rinchoi.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-effect-of-acoustic-dampers-on-iems.html?m=1

I remember reading CVJ is offshoot of TRN,

more i read about Kumo, it feels its a much better value than BA16.
Kumo have new gen Bellsings BAs, DLP soundtube, and knowles filter to smoothen the sound further.

and BA16 seems to have have two 30095 in the nozzle + moar (older) BAs in ol big cavity metal shell

Its kinda crazy that CVJ seems to try to throw everything on the wall in the last few month and seems to improve beyond TRN