I picked up two mshd rhodium double sockets for my electrician to fit when i had a dedicated hifi mains fitted. It did sound much betterā¦ā¦.but cannot attribute if the sockets had any part in thatā¦ā¦though it made me feel betterš
If I were to mix a silver socket with a regular brass plug, would that give any problems at all? Would this be preferable over a brass socket and a brass plug?
Itās usually always better to have the plug and socket matching same metals.
Coatings are trendy but after used a couple of times they suffer the same as grime from plugging and unplugging ā wiping ā so donāt really last.
Depends on what the plugs and sockets are being used for. If itās for Naim, a good starting point is brass/copper plugs and sockets, as thatās what their whole system is designed around (or just buy their Powerlines). If weāre talking about other brands or something like av, then that opens up a lot of options.
Once we get past the mains copper line coming in, we should really use everything based on solid silver, plugs, sockets, fuses and cables. Obviously this isnāt practical. Using silver does bring many great benefits, even if itās just plated. I have no idea why such an exotic material like rhodium is used. Apart from being resistant to corrosion and being hard, itās a poor conductor. For me, itās one of those materials used for marketing and if there are any benefits, itās because itās hiding a problem elsewhere in the system.
This list shows the conductive order of some commonly used metals and alloys, based on equal sizes.
Pure silver
Pure copper
Pure gold
Aluminum
Zinc
Nickel
Brass
Bronze
Iron
Platinum
Steel
Lead
Stainless steel
Further information from MCRU.
Gold plated, silver plated or pure copper wire end terminals?
Gold is a lesser conductor than copper, by 40%. So, gold plated copper is no better, electrically, than pure copper. Still, there are gold plated pure copper cable end terminals, which are in turn worse than silver plated cable end terminals. Since the un-plated pure copper terminals oxidize over time, gold plated terminals will sooner or later be superior, since they do not oxidize. However, silver plated cable end terminals are the best choice, because they keep their superior conductivity even when oxidized.
Rhodium plated plugs?
Rhodium is a precious metal from the platinum family. It is hard, acid-resistant, and has a very high melting point (1964Ā°C). Compared to other platinum metals, it is a very good conductor, but still only half as good as gold and just one third as good as silver. Therefore, it is misplaced as a coating in a domestic environment. Its sound characteristics are often described as harsh and analytic. It does however have its justification in industrial environments with high temperatures, for instance near blast furnaces, where it reliably does its job at temperatures where gold would already start to melt (which it does at 1064Ā°C).
Nickel plated or ānakedā brass?
Standard brass (40% zinc, 60% copper, CuSn40) is about as good a conductor as nickel, as long as it is not oxidized. With oxide layer, it conducts worse. However, the sound is āsmootherā without nickel ā therefore, naked brass plugs have a justification, as long as the listener is prepared to clean them regularly. The necessity to do so can be removed by silver or gold plating.
Plugs from phosphorus bronze?
Phosphorus bronze is a quite hard material and is held in high esteem for its tonal virtues when used for church bells. However, it is a lousy conductor. Nevertheless, there are now Japanese plugs in the market, which are made from phosphorus bronze, and bear price tags that were unseen before. I have not tried any of these yet, but am quite skeptical based on the aforementioned reasons.
Plugs from beryllium copper?
Beryllium is a highly toxic element. Beryllium copper is a (non-toxic) copper alloy, just as brass or bronze, and is the best conductor among the copper alloys. However, it is still much worse than copper itself. It has remarkable qualities for tools, and because of its springiness it is being user for the balance springs in mechanical watches. Because of this property, it is also a very fine material for banana and BFA plugs, where the quality of the contact depends on how tight the plug will sit in its socket. However, it is misplaced in mains plugs, where we have massive pins, and where the material cannot draw on its elastic properties at all. If looking for a material with better conductivity than brass, pure copper or silver would be the material of choice here ā the two are not only better, but also cheaper, and non-toxic in the production process on top of that.
