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Death Grip Cables: Name the worst Offenders

Rob-F

Rob-F

Likes Vintage Gear and DIY
A little browsing through the threads reveals occasional complaints about interconnect offenders that threaten to pull the RCA jacks right off the chassis. In some cases, it actually happened. Can we get a list going of specific cables & connectors to avoid?
 
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Monster cables used to be terrible about this. Since I have not fooled with their crap for years, I have no idea if they've gotten their **** together or not.
 
Just don't get the ones that screw to tighten down on the plug. I thought it was a good idea, till I got some.
 
jimfet said:
Just don't get the ones that screw to tighten down on the plug. I thought it was a good idea, till I got some.
Click to expand...

Bingo. I had some nice Cobalts with srew down plugs. Excellent interconnects, till I forgot to loosen the barrel and yanked the RCA jack off the back of my reciever.

Other than that, I have Avanti Audio's, Tributaries, Starightwires and SoundSilver Trilogys. No issues with any of them. They fit snug, but not overly so.
 
EchoWars said:
Monster cables used to be terrible about this. Since I have not fooled with their crap for years, I have no idea if they've gotten their **** together or not.
Click to expand...

I have a box full of Monster cables that I got for pennies on the dollar, and can assure you - their **** is far from being together yet. Either tight enough to pull out the RCA jack off the chassis, or too loose.

Gently prying the fins apart or together usually breaks them - mine seem to be gold colored plastic. :thumbsdn:
 
I've been a fan of monoprice.com's stuff, but their IC do seem a little too snug for my tastes.
 
These. They are collet locking type and I hate 'em. I don't know who the manufacturer is but they were fitted to 3prs of pricey locally made i/c's I got as a present from a customer. The connectors have totally stuffed up my Tandberg tape deck's phono jacks by loosening them and I'm not looking forward to repair the damage. Another set have pulled-off the goldplated rca jack's earth contact bush on an Arcam amp which I have already repaired.

Their main problem is the knurling on the gunmetal colour section is too shallow and one cannot get a proper grip to unscrew them.

tripod
 

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How does one forget that your jacks are locking type ? I have a couple pairs of such cables. When I'm about to unplug them, I can clearly see the RCAs are locking type and I need to loosen the collars first before I can remove them. My ICs are Acoustic Zen. The diameter of the RCA barrels (probably NeoTech brand) is so large that when plugged in, I can barely slip a sheet of paper between the pair of jacks. Because of this, they're a PITA to tighten and loosen.
 
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Hifirob2 said:
I have a box full of Monster cables that I got for pennies on the dollar, and can assure you - their **** is far from being together yet. Either tight enough to pull out the RCA jack off the chassis, or too loose.

Gently prying the fins apart or together usually breaks them - mine seem to be gold colored plastic. :thumbsdn:
Click to expand...

Is there any way to describe which of the Monster connectors or cable types are the ones best avoided? What about those with the important-looking diagonally cut slots in the ground shell? Are they better or worse than the straight-cut ones used on some Monster cables?
 
Tripod said:
These. They are collet locking type and I hate 'em. I don't know who the manufacturer is but they were fitted to 3prs of pricey locally made i/c's I got as a present from a customer. The connectors have totally stuffed up my Tandberg tape deck's phono jacks by loosening them and I'm not looking forward to repair the damage. Another set have pulled-off the goldplated rca jack's earth contact bush on an Arcam amp which I have already repaired.

Their main problem is the knurling on the gunmetal colour section is too shallow and one cannot get a proper grip to unscrew them.

tripod
Click to expand...

those are WBT locking rca's most folks consider them to be the very best there is.
 
Rob-F said:
Is there any way to describe which of the Monster connectors or cable types are the ones best avoided? What about those with the important-looking diagonally cut slots in the ground shell? Are they better or worse than the straight-cut ones used on some Monster cables?
Click to expand...

Well, of the ones I have, the straight cut ones are the worst offenders of being too loose. The diagonally cut ones are the excessively tight ones - the ones that simply break off if you try to pry them open a bit more.

That said, the diagonally cut ones I have are on thick shielded, low capacitance video cables that work great as upgraded RCAs for turntables. If you can find them for next to nothing, I think they are worth a shot - just for the shielding properties.
 
Rob-F said:
Is there any way to describe which of the Monster connectors or cable types are the ones best avoided? What about those with the important-looking diagonally cut slots in the ground shell?
Click to expand...
I've seen a couple of times when I was servicing VCRs those Monster Cables with the diag cut took off the ground collar around an RCA jack. Bent the tabs straight out that held it in place. Plug was too tight and wouldn't let go before the jack came apart.
 
Rob-F said:
Is there any way to describe which of the Monster connectors or cable types are the ones best avoided? What about those with the important-looking diagonally cut slots in the ground shell? Are they better or worse than the straight-cut ones used on some Monster cables?
Click to expand...

They call that design the "Turbo" something or other.
They sounded really pretty good but the connectors are complete crap.
Yes they are too tight or not tight enough.
Yes they can and did pull a ground contact off the RCA plug.
Yes they will break if you try to loosen or tighten the connector.

I also found that the barrels were too big in diameter. I couldn't grip them well enough to rotate them while removing them or pull on them. I stopped using them when I had to resort to pulling on the cable instead of the connector.
 
Glen B said:
How does one forget that your jacks are locking type ? I have a couple pairs of such cables. When I'm about to unplug them, I can clearly see the RCAs are locking type and I need to loosen the collars first before I can remove them. My ICs are Acoustic Zen. The diameter of the RCA barrels (probably NeoTech brand) is so large that when plugged in, I can barely slip a sheet of paper between the pair of jacks. Because of this, they're a PITA to tighten and loosen.
Click to expand...

After a few Capt n Cokes. :D
 
Tripod said:
Their main problem is the knurling on the gunmetal colour section is too shallow and one cannot get a proper grip to unscrew them.
Click to expand...
Use an elastic band like what you find holding bunches of broccoli together. Wrap them around the knurled parts and your grip improves enormously.
 
RiojaRed said:
They call that design the "Turbo" something or other.
They sounded really pretty good but the connectors are complete crap.
Yes they are too tight or not tight enough.
Yes they can and did pull a ground contact off the RCA plug.
Yes they will break if you try to loosen or tighten the connector.

I also found that the barrels were too big in diameter. I couldn't grip them well enough to rotate them while removing them or pull on them. I stopped using them when I had to resort to pulling on the cable instead of the connector.
Click to expand...
Actually, Monster called them Turbine connectors. And they are by far the the worst offenders among the death-grip cables :thumbsdn::thumbsdn:.

I like the WBT locking connectors, but you have to remember they're there, and they're tough to hook up with one had if you have to reach through from the front of a rack or cabinet.
 
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