petedgr8Don't use the included. It puts so much weight and strain on whatever you plug it into. It's not worth it. The heavy cable with all that hanging off from the plug and attachments will screw up the port of anything you insert it in.
6EQUJ5I already got 3 Sennheiser & 2 Grado adapters (back when I bought HD 518, 558, 598). Didn't get Hosa due to lack of gold plating , just didn't make sense to cheap out on a jack adapter, when I already spent so much on headphones
6EQUJ5If the manufacturer really uses gold alloy, it makes a better connection for electrons to flow across, also less distortion / connection loss if the cord is moving around, tugging on that jack
DropThisGold plating is used for corrosion resistance. A nickel plated plug eventually develops a surface layer of oxidation, which does cause connection problems. Way back in the old days we used to scratch or scrape the corrosion off the audio plugs to get an audio connection. These days rhodium seems to be the premium material for corrosion resistance, durability and good electrical connection.
DropThisAny science to back up those claims? As far as I have read, the gold plating is only there to keep the connection point from being tarnished and be corrosion free to prevent the distortion. Other than that there is no sound difference if you use one that is not gold plated.
The only sound difference from what I have read is from using silver litz cables but some of us don't have $900 to spend on the purest silver money can buy.
6EQUJ5I'm even inclined to think that silver cables are snake oil. At some point you're going to be held back by the components used or the run-of-the-mill rolled copper used to make the PCBs in your source and amp.
roscI'm not so sure they're snake oil. I would love to have a chance to go to an audiophile meet and try a Danacable myself to see if I can hear the difference. The cost is high because there supposedly is very few suppliers that sell the purest silver. That is why the Danacables and the Double Helix silver litz cables are very expensive. Can't really call shenanigans until you try it yourself.
6EQUJ5Look am not here to do your research for you. Gold is the most tarnish/corosion resistant out of top 3 conductive metals. Use whatever you want if you think I'm feeding you bs