someone save this guy from hgimself !
here for a short while and already tearing shit up !
I HATE those type of RCA connectors (
almost as much as the loudspeaker spring clip connector
) no matter if used for Audio,Video or Digital Coax even though used on 99.9% of commercial gear and your picture shows why-they do not hold up to the death grip interconnects very well
We all know,or should know,the
proper way to "insert" an RCA plug is not a
push it in move but a
twist while pushing in order to get the best contact integrity from a mostly crap audio connector yet this proper method totally wrecks press fit jacks many times when used with high end cables and there is nothing we can do about it.
I understand why they are used :Inexpensive while still having the ability to use the word "gold" in the ad copy,makes for a total board mounted circuit which eases assembly line time,looks good in the pictures and takes the reponsibility for proper wiring from the circuit to the jacks off and may even use the jack frame as a mount for the actual pcb by having it bolt to the panel but be one of those who like to eval various interconnects and it is a matter of time before one pulls out which is enough to piss off even those with patience (not that i am one of those
) when it is found out you have to de-solder and replace the entire jack module to fix a single jack.
I'm looking at your board and it appears there are proper holes to mount the pcb to the chassis bottom but it also looks like there is a threaded hole on the jack module to bolt it to the rear panel and it looks like it is used (I see wear from a lock washer) and that is the bad part.
You need to check how the assembly mounts and if you are comfortable with the amount of pcb support if you were to "lose" the on board RCA connectors and replace them with panel mounts.
If "yes" then you have options from the ridiculously cheap to the "out of your mind dude" expensive with all points in between so you need to look for a couple of key points not the least of which is price.I refuse to pay crazy prices for a damn connector and especially one as flawed as the RCA so mine are in the $8-$20 per pair range though i have seen some at $25-$30 per pair I would consider.
Second on the list is base metal.totally avoid steel and "mystery metal" if possible.If it is not listed chances are it is crap metal.
Next would be the actual plating.Some very high end (or at least high cost
) jacks have such a light coating of the precious metal (silver or gold) that the act of inserting a plug then removing it ONCE tears up the plating or in extreme cases with some of the mystery-no name jacks from the orient the gold plating actually flakes off
Try to stay with known named parts that have a reputation and you should be OK.If gold is not essential you could even look to the Kimber "Utraplate" jacks.Not gold but then gold is not an essential anyway (silver is better
)
The jacks must have insulators which pretty much 100% of the aftermarket jacks do
finally the jacks must have a construction method that allows
Notice I made no mention of dielectric.that is because 99.9% are teflon because the jack manufacturer
knows that it is expected (ad copy again) just as gold plating is even though more B.S. to jack the price in my mind.there may well be some graph somewhere
proving the superiority of the teflon jack dielectric but i'll be damned if I can HEAR this superiority over other plastics used.
I have also read where a polystyrene dieslectric is considered CRAP yet polystyrene capacitors are considered exellant so the ad copy works depending on what it is they are trying to shill at the moment because they can convince a thinking human that likes to beleive they make informed choices that an identical substance sucks in one application while ruling in another and no one makes the connection.
Brainwashing/Propaganda/Reviewers Pet/Fanboyism 101
at a guess the ceramic caps are all digital RF bypass and the blue or yellow caps audio signal coupling with the exception of the big blue single 10uF that I can only guess at its function (likely final power supply bypass ) so best left as is as are the ceramics
maybe.Tough call on the pico range caps and sometimes you do more harm than good.
The two yellow are likely the output coupling and can be any good film and foil,vitamin Q,PIO (paper in oil) and a taste thing depending on the sonic signature of the output stage (though you can NEVER go wrong using PIO caps
).
i would have originally tossed out a guess that the smaller blue caps are bypasses for the yellow caps but the 3.3 uF value is so low it would make no sense so again tough call.Totally depends on function.
The 12AX7 is again a taste thing and an area where you can drive yourself whacko trying every valve known to humans or every valve recommended in a forum since everyone has a favorite.Me being captain for life of
"Team Cheap Bastard" I mostly avoid NOS tubes because they
will eventually need to be replaced and when they do what will the replacement cost of an already expensive tube be years down the road ?
So I stick with current production mostly with a couple of personal favorites being
www.tubedepot.com/ei-12ax7.htmlwww.tubedepot.com/eh-12ax7.htmlcheap enough to buy two of each and eval but remember,change the tubes-change the "tone",change the caps,again you change the "tone" so you need to settle on a combination that works or you could end up with a very fat or lean sound.I suggest leave the caps at first and roll in the tubes then when you get used to the sonics try and decipher where you would improve the sonics and by reading determine what cap would improve those areas
Uh huh,sure you are.And I am a nice guy and pigs DO fly