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Mr Risch et al- What characterizes a pro interconnect termination?

Posted by Coffeecupman (A) on May 18, 2007 at 03:33:29

Hello everyone, and Jon specifically,

I have read your stuff and am confident you know WAY more about this stuff than I ever want to. I would really appreciate any science and objective opinion you could apply to the following topic.

I have just acquired two long lengths of Nordost Quattro Fil XLR (each pair is 9m long). I only wanted one (to take my best shot at multichannel), but the second came along at a price I couldn't refuse.

It looks like I might be having to part out (ie 'chop') the second one in order to sell it. I think it's a shame, long quality ICs being as rare as they are, but I'm not sure about the market for this style of cabling solution. QF's seem to be the ideal choice for long lengths of the Nordost line, having about half the capacitance/ft of the Valhalla and their other top cables. I know capacitance is only part of the equation here, but it seems to be the standout spec of the QF.

Anyway, either way, once one invests enough in interconnects, he/she must wonder about the value of upgrading the stock connectors. And once one wonders about THAT, there involves a great concern surrounding the idea of actually making the cut and optimizing the termination.

Nordost famously charges 500 bucks (or so I hear, anyway) for every termination they do on your behalf at the factory. One can go elsewhere and have a good audio shop do the job for you, but if we don't understand what is going on during a factory termination, how does one evaluate that the job would truly be done right elsewhere?

I think you can see where I'm going with this - what happens during a $500 factory termination that doesn't happen at a good audio shop? Do they have special vacuum chambers or other extreme tooling to hand, that actually genuinely results in a superior termination?

From what I can gather from reading around, there is discussion about what termination methods are best - crimping vs soldering, etc. What, in your research, yields the best terminations possible for an XLR connector to a cable like the Quattro Fil? I am considering using Vampire Xhadow XLRs to terminate, but am also looking at the Furutech FP Rhodium-plated ones. (as an aside, do you have an opinion as to which of these two apparent class-leaders is superior? It is nearly impossible for the non-electrical-engineer to assess the comparison of the two without some help. I have no idea if Rhodium-plated makes more sense than silver coated copper. I am looking for more substantial criteria here than that "it's expensive, and it sounds cool") :)

If these fabled factory terminations are in fact the beneficiaries of a superior proprietary or technological process, surely there must be talented terminators elsewhere in the world incorporating these same ideas/tooling, at a better price point? Do you have any recommendations regarding who you consider to be the top men in this field? Anyone, pleae feel free to email me directly and confidentially if you don't want to get involved in any fights. I'm just after the truth here. It seems absurd to hand over thousands of dollars worth of cable and connectors to a technician with no references, and without understanding exactly what services they are, or are not, providing! Naturally, I want the job done to the best standard possible, in line with the cable/connector choices in the first place.

Well, that was a mouthful. I hope this thread will help a lot of us break some of the mythology associated with exotic IC terminations. I don't by any means mean to suggest that Jon's is the only opinion that I am looking for, but I would definitely like to hear from him. After all the things I have read by him in the past, his opinion matters a great deal to me.

All the best and looking forward to the responses,

ccm

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