Is that an optical cable with gold plating to improve the electrical connection?
Yes.
It’s also for digital signals, so interference doesn’t matter (up to the point it stops everything).
But hey, it also has a silver ABS grip.
I do kinda see some point in gold plating electrical cables. Gold doesn’t tarnish so much and is also often used on computer edge connectors.
The issue has always been “audiophiles” telling you they can tell the difference with a gold or gold plated digital connector. Of course you cannot, you either are getting bit errors or not with digital audio. But they do generally provide a more reliable connection overall.
Now don’t ask me about my opinion, you’re talking to the guy that makes radio antennas with speaker wire. I am truly uncultured in terms of electrical connectivity.
Gold doesn’t make an external oxide layer when exposed to air. So, any bit of the plug that touches your contact will conduct well, instead of being a toss up on how much insulating oxide is between them.
But again, that’s only important in electrical cables…
Isn’t that pretty much what I said?
That’s compatible with your words. I guess I can’t read right at the first time :)
It’s called SCIENCE sweaty
I love sweaty science.
You gotta pronounce it schweaty science… Source: My ex used to lug 50lb buckets of mud up 3 flights of stairs several times a day…
You’re gonna love my schwetty balls.
And if you don’t, you might wind up shot, who knows.
Better than 🦇 wings?
I would ask how you know that guy sweats a lot, but then I saw his username.
Fair enough.
It’s a joke, Noodle isn’t actually calling Enigma sweaty but ironically using it instead of “sweetie”
Giving them the benefit of the doubt, I would think it’s to resist corrosion, but there are plenty of cheaper metals to plate with that don’t corrode, so even that’s a stretch.
Or, you know, plastic.
If you wanted to make a high quality plug, you’d use a stainless steel guide. It has to be steel because it’s elastically deformed during insertion, and any plating will be scratched with enough use.
Most plugs don’t work that way, but this one model does.
I once had a Best Buy sales person tell me “the improved shielding helps with magnetism”. I stared at him for a sec and said “if there is enough magnetism in my house to bend light, how my stereo sound really won’t be one of my main concerns”
But how many people do you think he used that line on and it sealed the deal?
Given the results of the 2016 and 2024 elections in the United States? Way way WAY too many!
You can sell aluminum free baking soda and convince someone baking soda contains aluminum. Fads and marketing are becoming an epidemic
I’m so glad this is illegal where I’m from
Not sure if that’s the case elsewhere, but here truthful statements that aren’t exclusive to your brand also must have a warning. For instance, if I want to add “rich in calcium!” to my yogurt’s packaging, I must also add right next to it “like all other yogurt”
Where do you live? It sounds sane there!
So regardless of the fact that it’s about an optical connector here, and hence completely nonsensical, gold is actually a worse conductor of electricity than copper or silver. The point of gold plated connectors is not so much to improve the immediate audio quality, but to prevent oxidation of the connector over time, which can degrade quality and lead to bad contact. Gold is a noble metal, so doesn’t oxidize. I would think most audiophiles know this?
I used to have to replace the cable of my electric guitar every few years because the sound would get crackly or drop out intermittently, I eventually got one with gold plated 6.35mm plug and I’m still using that same cable 15 years later.
