I hate WBT NextGen Plugs!

[Ammonite Audio]

I have very nearly had enough of the fiddly and erratic nature of WBT NextGen RCA plugs, which unfortunately terminate two of my cables. In theory, they should clamp the socket firmly, but often the ground connector does not make proper contact unless the barrel is screwed down with great force - not easy when RCA sockets are close together.

The NextGens may be one of the best sounding connectors out there, but I don't care and would gladly change them for something more reliable and user-friendly, like the (cheaper) Audio Note silver plugs on my tonearm cable.

Has anyone else had enough of WBT NextGens?

[kininigin]

I've only had them once on some MG cables,which have now been sold,but i know what you mean! They can be a right pain in the ass,especially when space is tight and your using feel alone.I didn't have to remove them that often,but when i did,i didn't look forward to it :lol:

For me though the quality of them was enough for me to forgive them...just :lol:

[Dingdong]

I like mine. Maybe it's your sockets.;)

[clap]

They're not good if you need to keep on taking them off. If you just fit and forget they're acceptable. They sound good, actually they don't sound at all, which is what you want. Either these or Eichmann silver. I wouldn't go back to metal rcas.

[Alex_UK]

Worse if you forget you have them and virtually rip the sockets off your amp trying to remove the interconnect... :doh:

[Marco]

I know what you mean, Hugo. They certainly wouldn't be my connectors of choice if the sockets on my equipment were close together, or if I couldn't easily get at the back of my system.

Fortunately for me, however, neither is a problem and the silver WBTs, sonically, are fab! :)

I think the Audio Note silver (plated) plugs are good quality and well-priced, but remember that the conductors are simply brass, plated with silver. These days, knowing what I know now, I wouldn't use any plugs that didn't have either solid-copper or solid-silver conductors, as I can clearly hear the difference those make over anything 'metallurgically inferior', in terms of conductivity.

Therefore, if you want convenience (and I fully understand why), you'll probably have to compromise a little on sound quality. Of course, that is *only* if you can hear a difference! ;)

Marco.

[MartinT]

In theory, they should clamp the socket firmly, but often the ground connector does not make proper contact unless the barrel is screwed down with great force

Yes, I've had that happen on a few occasions. All my single-ended cables terminate with WBT 0110Ags because I think they are great connectors, but you do have to be careful when tightening them in place. Happily, once they have been made to make good contact, they seem to stay that way.

[Barry]

Frankly, I think all RCA 'phono' connectors are a "pile of poo". A lousy design that unfortunately, thanks to the US and Japan, has become the industry standard, so now we have modern versions that have been "tarted up" with all sorts of so-called exotic plating, conductor materials and construction. Despite this, the basic design, which was made in the late 1940s and intended to be a cheap connector continues as a flawed design, since the geometry has remained unchanged.

The phrase: "you can't polish a turd" comes to mind.

[Marco]

Indeed, Barry, which is why it pays to use the BEST of a bad bunch, thereby, as far as possible, minimising the 'poo effect'! ;)

Marco.

[WOStantonCS100]

I often daydream about replacing my RCAs with BNCs. My Tascam recorder utilizes a quad of BNCs for SPDIF-3.

[Marco]

...until you thought 'fuck it', let's just play some music instead! ;)

Marco.

[Ammonite Audio]

I'd agree that when the NextGens are in place, they tend to be OK, but when swapping different SUTs in and out, they have been a nightmare; and moving one end of a cable can break the ground at the other end, resulting in dramatic hum! Grrrrr!

[Marco]

Which SUTs are you trying, Hugo? :)

Marco.

[Ammonite Audio]

Just started a thread over in Analogue!

[Barry]

Indeed, Barry, which is why it pays to use the BEST of a bad bunch, thereby, as far as possible, minimising the 'poo effect'! ;)

Marco.

True words Marco. For me the best of a bad bunch are the Neutrik 'ProFi' range.

http://www.neutrik.com/website/uploads/images/07/140x140/profi-uebersicht.jpg?v=1

[Marco]

Yup, those are my favourite high 'SPPV' option. Great plugs, but still brass conductors, unfortunately (although at the price one could hardly expect anything else)...

Outside of WBT Next Gen 0110Ag and Eichmann silver Bullet Plugs, if funds were tight, the Neutriks are what I'd use :)

Marco.

[realysm42]

How come no one rates the furutechs?

[YNWaN]

I would also endorse the WBT next-gen and Eichmann, followed by the Neutrik. Personally, my preference is for the copper Eichmann which I actually prefer, in terms of balance, to the silver plugs (Eichmann or WBT).

[DSJR]

No comment on quality here, but beware of using WBT types with some of the moulded phono socket-banks as used by Audiolab and others, since the locking action can rip them apart - been there and dun it guv.....

[YNWaN]

I'm typing on my phone so didn't want to write an essay; but I understand the OP's frustration. The real WBT's are better than their copies, but it is still difficult to undo them.

I've experimented quite a bit with connectors and I've come to the conclusion that the overriding quality is how tightly they grip the socket. Note that I don't mean how tight they feel, but how tight both the + and return actually connect - particularly the return because it is often very lightly connected.


How come no one rates the furutechs?

I've not actually tried any of the Furutech connectors, but their design rhetoric doesn't fill me with confidence.

[WOStantonCS100]

...until you thought 'fuck it', let's just play some music instead! ;)

Marco.

:lol: Exactly. Maybe if I build another preamp................... ......someday.

[Marco]

How come no one rates the furutechs?

Oh but we do, Martin... A few of us use Furutech CF-DIN(R) plugs on our Yannis Tome tonearm cables (not to mention all manner of Furutech mains-related items):


http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/6474/ftech74315.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/835/ftech74315.jpg/)


IMO, there's no other better connector for a tonearm cable!

I reckon that the matching CF-126(R) phono plugs would be pretty special, too: http://www.partsconnexion.com/FTECH-75158.html

I was going to fit them to my tonearm cable, to match the CF-DIN(R), but wanted solid-silver conductor plugs, and the Furutechs are copper, so in the end went with Eichmann silver bullets.

Interestingly, I prefer the Eichmanns on tonearm cables, where they do a really superb job, and the silver WBTs in other applications, which is exactly how I've arranged things in my system :)

Marco.

[Yomanze]

Indeed, Barry, which is why it pays to use the BEST of a bad bunch, thereby, as far as possible, minimising the 'poo effect'! ;)

Marco.

Yes, this can be applied to so much of HiFi.