[edwardsean]

I’m looking at both eidolic and furutech balanced connectors. On paper it seems to me that furutech would outperform eidolic because they use copper for their conductor instead the brass used by eidolic. As I understand it copper is far more conductive than brass. However, I know that eidolic is also very highly regarded.

Would anyone be able to tell me a little bit about the strengths of weakness of the two designs in terms of their relative sound quality. I am less interest in durability as it seems I regularly reterminate with new standards and new gear. I am especially concerned about soundstage, clarity over warmth and treble extension over bass.

 

[HiGHFLYiN9]

Hi Edward. Eidolic uses Tellurium copper for 4 pin XLRs, and Furutech uses an "alpha" copper alloy... most likely Beryllium copper. On paper the Eidolic would most likely have a higher conductivity. In practice most people wouldn't hear a difference between the two. I like both, and they both are perfectly functional.

The Furutech is a little heavier in the hand and "feels" a little more expensive... and has an odd red anti-vibration coating where the shell screws together. Occasionally (maybe 1 in 10) is a bear to open because of it and you have to use rubber gloves. They are both pretty to look at. I like the strain relief of the Furutech a little better. Both have very large openings for the cable. The Eidolic has the larger opening of the two. I'd personally just get whichever one is more convenient to procure. You can't really go wrong either way.

 

[edwardsean]

Hi Edward. Eidolic uses Tellurium copper for 4 pin XLRs, and Furutech uses an "alpha" copper alloy... most likely Beryllium copper. On paper the Eidolic would most likely have a higher conductivity. In practice most people wouldn't hear a difference between the two. I like both, and they both are perfectly functional.

The Furutech is a little heavier in the hand and "feels" a little more expensive... and has an odd red anti-vibration coating where the shell screws together. Occasionally (maybe 1 in 10) is a bear to open because of it and you have to use rubber gloves. They are both pretty to look at. I like the strain relief of the Furutech a little better. Both have very large openings for the cable. The Eidolic has the larger opening of the two. I'd personally just get whichever one is more convenient to procure. You can't really go wrong either way.

Thanks so much for replying! I should've specified that I was actually looking for 4.4 TRRRS balanced connectors. I have a couple of the Eidolic 4 pin XLRs which I like a lot. I bet you're right and that their XLRs equal the Furutech XLRs. I'm happy Eidolic went with the tellurium copper for those pins but I couldn't find any information on the conductor for their 4.4 connector. They just advertise it as a "high performance base material." Since they don't specify their use of tellurium copper I think that the composition may be closer to brass.

I did get the Eidolic and didn't end up liking their 4.4 very much. I gave it some time to burn in and my brain to adjust but there was a muddiness in the mids and glare in the treble and dullness in the air/brilliance region. I switched it out for the furutech and ended up being a furutech fan. I have a drawer full of Eidolic connectors as well as Viablue, Ranko, etc. both gold and rhodium plated. This is my first experience with furutech's alpha copper alloy + rhodium design. It is clear where the Eidoic was hazy, smooth where it was sharp, and sparkling where it was dull. This is just my experience but I couldn't be happier with the Furutech.

I appreciate your input though and am glad to be aquatinted with you and your cables. All the best to you!

 

[HiGHFLYiN9]

Ah, gotcha. The TRRRS connector is still relatively young, so I'm sure there will be a couple more players releasing their own versions. If a connector manufacturer doesn't come out and say what the material is, I simply assume plated brass like yourself. Glad the Furutech did the trick for you I frequently recommend their 2.5mm TRRS, it's the best one out there.