[Edwood]

Well, I picked up a couple pairs of some nifty new Xhadow RCA connectors while I was at CES from the same folks at Vampire Wire.

I am quite impressed.

They are going to be available in two different sizes. The smaller one is about the size of a Neutrik Pro-Fi connector. The larger one allows for larger diameter cable.

Beefy Beefy sleeve. Not nearly as polished as the Xhadow XLR connectors.

Notice the set screw for a crimped connection for the signal wire. Nice!

Each connector has four parts (not counting set screw). The back part comes off to allow a small anodized colored ring to be set in place. Or the back can be left off for even larger diameter cable, with heatshrink over the housing to be used for strain relief.

I had a nice chat with Stuart Marcus of Vampire Wire, and he said that they use a thick silver plating. I don't remember whether or not they use OFC for the bulk of the connector, but from the weight, I'd say it's at least copper for sure.

He also said that there will be a Xhadow version of the Vampire RCA OFC chassis mount jacks everyone loves. And it will have the same crimping set screws as well.

-Ed

 

[Dreamslacker]

Thanks.. You just saved me from ordering the CM2F/ OFC jacks for my next amp.. LOL.. Those connectors look good.. First saw them on Partsconnexion although they're kinda pricey..

 

[Edwood]

Wow! Didn't realize how expensive retail was going to be!
A group buy directly from Vampire would be a good idea. Because the wholesale/dealer price is less than half of what Partconnexion is selling them for.

Well, there's going to be a group buy for the Xhadow RCA jacks for sure. Whenever they come out that is.....

-Ed

 

[saab]

I would love to be in a buy for those connectors. They look fantastic! Please keep me posted Edwood.

Thanks
-John

 

[Jon L]

Sonically, I don't understand why Vampire went with silver-plated copper connector. It would have been a lot more FANTASTIC news if they went with pure silver connectors (a la Neutrik Nextgen or Eichmann Silvers) with Crimp(which I love!) connection. I don't care if the barrel/cover is made cheaply. If they priced the pure silver version at close or slightly below Eichmann silvers, they would be my choice since there are no other reasonably priced pure-silver connectors with crimp connection anywhere..

One can dream..

 

[HiGHFLYiN9]

Yeah I saw them at PartsConnexion too but way too expensive for me. The inside looks familiar to the Cardas RCAs but hopefully they won't be as annoying to solder. I'd be in for a group buy though if anyones got the time to organize one

Jon, some believe that the majority of the signal only travels on the top portion of the connector, kind of like skin effect. So according to this theory the only big difference between a heavy silver plate over OFC and pure silver would be the pricetag. I dunno if I buy it or not but I figured I'd throw it out there.

 

[tiberian]

as expensive as WBT nextgen...whoa.

 

[Jon L]

Quote:

Originally Posted by highflyin9 Yeah I saw them at PartsConnexion too but way too expensive for me. The inside looks familiar to the Cardas RCAs but hopefully they won't be as annoying to solder. I'd be in for a group buy though if anyones got the time to organize one Jon, some believe that the majority of the signal only travels on the top portion of the connector, kind of like skin effect. So according to this theory the only big difference between a heavy silver plate over OFC and pure silver would be the pricetag. I dunno if I buy it or not but I figured I'd throw it out there.

Well, I know that's the theory, but to my ears, most (all?) of these silver-plated conductors have a slight discontinuity between midrange and upper-mid/treble when compared to a pure metal one. Not all that bad, as I use one (Nordost Quattro Fil) in my system. In some cases, the strengths outweigh this downside.

Oh, well, I'll likely keep using Eichmann silvers or the good-old Vampire OFC RCA's..