Many audiophiles scoff about the minor difference they believe
cables make. Over the last few years I have been investigating many cable types and
architectures as well as trying various connectors (Axons, Neotech, Amber, Jaycar,
Radioshack, Monster, etc). At times the living room floor has resembled a snake pit! I too
have been skeptical, but sometimes products come along that help you see the light between
all those conductors.
Keith visited my place some time back with his prototype cables and
filters. Since then I have been keen to see what has developed into production. Keith
proved not only to be a gentleman, but also to have a finely tuned ear. Insertion of his
early level interconnects and power filter in my system at the time made considerable
improvements. We kept in touch and around a year later, in the mailbox came some
literature and four plugs. I read on with interest…
The blurb cited a plug which uses Tellurium Copper (CuTe) contacts,
which are implied to be significantly more conductive than (plated) brass. Brass has 28%
of pure Cu’s conductivity. A learned metallurgical friend did some research for me.
From the American Society for Metals, Metals Handbook 1960 Vol 1: Properties and Selection
of Metals
"Parts that must be highly machined and highly conductive are
made from the free machining coppers. Widely used is tellurium copper 99.5%Cu, 0.5%Te
electrical conductivity 95%"
So the metal technology is hardly new, it’s just a clever
application. Also the plug return is quite unique in that it is a point contact rather
than a cylindrical return, which according to Eichmann reduces capacitative and eddy
current distortions. Also common audio lore would give these the tick of approval in
regards to low mass, since the rest of the plug is non conductive plastic, leaving only
the pins to do the electrical work. Last but not least according to Eichmann, the pins are
designed in the patent pending Eichmann ratio for optimum signal transfer. His cables due
for release shortly also follow this design philosophy in solid core wire. Check out the
website www.eichmanncables.com for more info.
RRP is A$70 (around $38USD) for a four pack incl GST.
I chose a Mil spec solid single core coaxial cable for my tests, as
well as some fine silver strip 0.15mm x 3.0mm much like Goertz that I sourced locally.
Both have shown excellent potential for interconnects and are available reasonably
cheaply. Insulating the silver is a mind numbing task with PTFE tape, but I digress.
The Bullet’s TeCu terminations are parallel at the cable end of
the RCA. I wondered if sinking the centre pin further forward by say 3mm, would help
eliminate the potential of shorts. I fear those using coaxial cables, with large bundled
earth wires may bend the delicate earth pin towards the centre when handling the cable -
obviously undesirable. However, given sensible use of heatshrink particularly for the
centre (hot) this shouldn’t be a problem. Their marketing guru Rob suggested
soldering a short length of copper (leftover resistor lead, etc) to extend the earth may
help in this situation. With the silver strip I did need to prune the ends a little for
the earth and place the centre conductor on a slant in the U shaped centre conductor
receptacle to keep them isolated. After making them, I subjected the cables to around 100
hours of the XLO Sheffield burn in test disc, track 8 before any listening was done.
Before I got that far I found the effort to insert the plugs to my
female RCAs quite high. Eichmann recommends using a hairdryer to warm the plug so it can
mould itself around it’s new home. As I did not warm the plugs on the first set upon
removal one of the RCA housings broke in my hand around the threaded section, being
plastic. The second set when heated went on a treat. I heatshrunk over the entire assembly
just to be sure. Meanwhile, Rob has used a harder plastic material for future production
runs. Further experience with these connectors showed that twisting clockwise slightly
whilst removing makes the process much easier. Anyway, once you put them in your system I
doubt you’ll be taking them out in a hurry…
Sonically my findings have been very positive. I liken the
difference to that between SACD and normal CD. We did such a test at a Melbourne Audio
Club General Meeting in March. Members expected to hear more top end detail from the SACD.
They did not. What was apparent was more information, better spatial delineation, improved
dynamics, better rhythm and pace - basically a more musical performance. Every indication
I have so far shows the Eichmann Bullet Plug enamors similar improvements. It was very
easy to forget about the plugs and relax into the music. A good sign.
I lent this cable to a few audiophile friends to gather their
impressions. One had made up a cable very similar to it, but using Neotech plugs. His
comments:
"I did a comparison of the silver strip interconnects, one with
Neotechs and one with the Bullets. The length of the cables whilst not identical were very
close. The silver strip from the same batch was used in both compared interconnects."
(His system consists of a Cyrus front end, with Cable talk speaker cables, silver strip
interconnects with Neotechs and B&W Nautilus cones. Two bass traps adorn the room.)
"It was eichingly eichvious the Bullets won. He ceichted
improvemeichs in deichpth, less breichtness/heaths and more analeich sound. He found going
from the Neotechs to the Bullets was an easier pick than going back from the Bullets to
Neos." OK, so he didn’t quite say it like that, I digress… Nevertheleichs
he was able to pick it each time and has ordered two sets.
Whilst other tests have shown the Bullet/silver combo is a good
interconnect, it had not yet been put to test with only the connector being the
differentiator. This proved it!
In Audiophile 2’s system he liked the Bullet/silver
interconnect combo too. Vs his MIT interconnects he thought both had positive attributes
yet was less inclined to state the Bullet/silver combo were better overall. He has ordered
two sets also.
Audiophile 3 offered these thoughts of the Bullet/silver combo:
"my impressions were plentiful bass, slight lack of top end
microdetail, but it still had the ability when used as an interconnect from CD player to
headphone amp, to exhibit detail on the tunnel one was traveling through (that’s the
only way I can explain the sound stage I get with headphones)" .
I also took the opportunity to demonstrate it at an Acoustic Meeting
of the club. The gentleman’s system consisted of a single ended 300B Cary amp with a
tube preamp by Verisimilitude. Speakers had the oh so lovely Heil tweeter arrays on top of
homebrew boxes with Scan speak and Phillips drivers. An Audio Alchemy DAC fed the pre
using two very expensive interconnects ($800/pr) from a well respected audio company. Upon
insertion of the Bullets with the silver strip in teflon conductors, several improvements
were apparent, in my opinion. The top end was more in balance with the rest of the music
compared to the others which seemed very ‘hi-fi’ sounding. In my opinion
‘hi-fi’ sound impresses at first but fatigues you quickly sooner after.
Transients had more bite and presence too. However, the most pleasing improvement that was
plain obvious to all in the room was the depth and what I call the far end hall coherence.
That is, instruments in the back of the mix were much more defined and placed in their
unique position. You could follow every instrument in the mix with ease, another good
sign. In my experience, depth is one of the easiest things to screw up in an audio system.
Yet, it is one of the key parameters that takes the performance from a 2D to a 3D
illusion. I took around half a dozen orders for the plug after this demonstration!
Here are that audiophile’s thoughts:
"Fellow music lovers, last Sat we tried Kendrick’s
Eichmann/ DIY interconnects on my stuff between the Audio Alchemy DAC and the preamp. As
for my interconnects, I consider them bloody good. Kendrick’s DIY cables with
Eichmann plugs in comparison, were like this to my ears. Negatives; Not as extended in
either the treble or bass and lacking in bass slam. Positives; They possessed a depth that
I’ve NEVER heard at my place before with a nice and realistic placement. Just to top
off listening enjoyment, they were lovely and musical with nice rhythm. Not quite nirvana
yet, but I believe what they offer is better than my current baby’s deliver. Yep,
I’ve ordered some plugs and the soldering iron is on standby."
As you have probably come to conclude yourself, the performance
trends of this connector are very favourable. Other reviews overseas are also unanimously
positive. Rob is posting these to the website as they come in.
Having gone so far as to reinvent the RCA plug, the question that is
begging is what about binding posts, female RCAs, and banana plugs? Rob indicated these
kinds of projects are on the horizon. Maybe even a silver version guys to match my silver
strips? Please?
The hyperbole surrounding many claims on audio connectors makes it
easy to see why so many audiophiles are skeptical when considering cables and especially
RCA plugs. The Bullet plug is a revolution of an evolution in audio connector terms and
backs up its claims with performance second to none I have sampled. Despite some anomalies
with insertion and removal, a hair dryer makes the original mating of RCA male and female
a cinch. I would also heatshrink each plug and if/when removing, remember to gently twist
clockwise.
Whilst other TeCu RCAs exist, none are as low mass as the Bullet. I
might add, none are as cheap as the Bullets. My gut feel is, they won’t sound as good
either!
In all my cable experiments it has become evident that cables are
components and that connectors are just as important as the wire type and geometry. You
can spend thousands on gear, even cables, but if you’re connecting them with brass
connectors chances are you’re limiting their potential - by a lot!
Support a great Australian invention and improve your audio system. Highly recommended.
Ken P
| Response to the MAC review - Bullet Plug connector |
|
Thanks for the opportunity to respond to your kind review of our new Bullet Plug invention.
Feedback from around the world has been terrific, and we now have
many cable companies testing the plug. Who knows? This small Aussie invention may soon
grace some of the world’s best cables.
Keith Eichmann designed the Bullet Plug as the closest approach to
no plug at all. Finally, we can hear music rather than the (now obvious) colourations
introduced by a gold plated lump of brass - standard RCA connector kit for cables at all
price points.
You’ll be interested to know that Keith Eichmann has also
directed his talents towards a revolutionary cable system. The objective? To enhance
electron flow from wall socket to loudspeaker.
Samples will be shipped to Melbourne shortly. The good news is - the
system is affordable.
Our thanks to all members who have tested the Bullet Plug - we hope
your findings will generate some lively debate, as well as better sound.
Rob Woodland
Eichmann Technologies International
55 Lyndale Rd
Pullenvale
Queensland 4069 AUSTRALIA
e-mail: woodland@powerup.com.au
web: www.eichmannCables.com
Diagram of Bullet Plug
(Click on thumbnail for larger image)
