gold plated XLR

[raven46]

hi, i got a behringer condenser mic it has a gold plated XLR output, they recommend that i use a gold plated XLR lead, whats the difference between a gold plated and an ordinary lead, and is it going to make much of a differene if i get one.

[Track Rat]

Gold is a good conductor. I doubt seriously that you'd hear any difference between any cable with decent XLRs and gold plated ones.

[boingoman]

Gold doesn't tarnish very easily, meaning less maintenance. No real sonic difference, per se.

[OhSh1rt]

Doesn't the use of diffrent metals promote corrosion? Maybe not at such a low power.


-jeffrey

[boingoman]

Gold is pretty inert. It can react with aluminum, that's about it.

[AGCurry]

The only thing better than gold is unobtainium.

[Gnash5150]

Originally Posted by AGCurry

The only thing better than gold is unobtainium.

Actually, with today's fuel prices, it's become a very popular element. I wouldn't plug my LDC into it though.

[PhilGood]

This is a big misconception that gold is good for audio. The only reason to use gold is because it doesn't corrode. The problem is that any time you have two metals running side by side, you have a change in capacitance. That's not really that noticable with one or two, but add a bunch of connecters up and you degrade the audio.

Audiophile producers and engineers really can hear it.

[punkin]

Electrolytic corrosion and simple oxidation would be the only reasons I could say that gold is better than other connections. Two dissimilar metals lend themselves more likely to develop corrosion due to valance electrons moving between the materials trying to make a battery for you and all the while wearing the connectors a bit but I'm willing to bet that you'd wear the cable out before the connectors go. But hey,...what are the connectors on your mic and/or mic pre-made of huh?

I'd say a high quality, rebuildable/repairable, well made, well assembled and tightly fitting connector would take priority of what the pins or sockets are coated with...that's just me.

[dgatwood]

Originally Posted by Track Rat

Gold is a good conductor. I doubt seriously that you'd hear any difference between any cable with decent XLRs and gold plated ones.

Gold is a pretty lousy conductor, relatively speaking, coming in at only three fourths the conductivity of most substances used in wires. I mean, it's not tin, but... you probably wouldn't want to make a wire out of it, given a choice, even if you could afford to do so.

Fun facts:
Electrical conducttivity in (10^6)/(m * Ohm)

Silver: 63
Copper: 59.6
Gold: 45.2
Aluminum: 37.7
Calcium: 29.8
Tungsten: 18.9
Zinc: 16.6
Nickel: 14.3
Cadmium: 13.8
Iron: 9.93
Tin: 9.17
Lead: 4.81
Uranium: 3.8
Carbon: 0.061 (resistors)
Silicon: .00000000000000012 (if I counted the zeroes correctly)

Contacts are plated with gold because a small thickness of gold doesn't do much harm, and gold is basically not reactive. (According to Wikipedia, gold does react with chlorine, fluorine, aqua regia, cyanide and mercury, so don't go polishing it with bleach, toothpaste, or any of the other three things that are all WAY too nasty to have around your home....)