RCA jacks too close together

jimfreschi

New Member
I've got a early sixties Scott tube amp and a 60s Revox Reel to Reel as well as a number of other items from that era.

The RCA jacks are so close together on these items that I cannot connect good cables to these jacks without bending them.

Can anyone suggest a good quality cable that is small enough in diameter to fit on these types of female inputs without having to bend them?
 
There are a couple of ways to deal with that... one is to use metal 90 degree RCA adapters so you can increase the angle and create enough space to use premium cables.

I personally just unscrew the metal covers on my cable ends and let them slide down out of the way. The jacks inside the covers always fit tightly spaced RCA jacks like that.

John
 
Thanks

Yes I could make my own cables but I would prefer not to.
Than reminds me, need to order soilder.

The "unscrewing the cover" idea is good, if you have those kind of cables.
I think I have maybe one set of these types of cables.

So, you know of no one who makes and sells cables of these types?
I have more money than time plus I'm lazy.
SO, I would prefer to just order some.
 
What is the diameter that is causing problems and what do you estimate for diameter need for plugs that fit?
 
kimber cable's recent entry level offerings have a very thin profile. Should work well in that case I bet.
 
Here's the rear panel of a TR 2055, which has the RCA crowding issue. These are close enough together that even cheap cables with skinny molded ends often have to be trimmed with a razor knife to allow them to be plugged in without jamming into each other and putting stress on the jacks.

Because I use the same series of cables from my company on all of my systems (convenient and inexpensive that way), I just un-thread the covers anytime I have to use them on one of these units. And our ends are not gigantic, just average diameter for a "premium" metal RCA jack I would say.

John
 

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No, the part of the shield that grips the ground part of the jack is still there but the shroud that threads onto that part of the jack and covers the soldered connections (and that makes the assembly much wider than the body of the jack) is gone.

There are some RCA jack designs that wouldn't work correctly with the covers slid back, and theoretically it exposes the center conductor to more radiated noise, but I haven't heard any issues related to that in my own systems.

There is also an older thread somewhere here on AK that shows the use of the metal right-angle jacks to solve this problem, with pics. A google search might turn that up.

John

When you unscrew the outer part of the plug don't you lose your grounding?
 
No, the part of the shield that grips the ground part of the jack is still there but the shroud that threads onto that part of the jack and covers the soldered connections (and that makes the assembly much wider than the body of the jack) is gone.

There are some RCA jack designs that wouldn't work correctly with the covers slid back, and theoretically it exposes the center conductor to more radiated noise, but I haven't heard any issues related to that in my own systems.

There is also an older thread somewhere here on AK that shows the use of the metal right-angle jacks to solve this problem, with pics. A google search might turn that up.

John


Thanks. It just depends on the style of rca's I guess.

Neutrik among others makes a nice slim line nickel rca that works well on some of my receivers with close spaced jacks.
Not a high line connector but good surface contact nonetheless.
 
Who ever designed the RCA plug ought to be shot. If you've been into component HiFi for any length of time, you've probably discovered that plugging a cable into a live amplifier results in a horrible buzz coming out of the speaker. This results from the signal prong making contact before the ground connection. There are many other plug designs where the ground "makes" before the signal "makes". I venture to say that even seasoned audiophiles sometimes make this mistake (Whoops, I left the amp on!). This is more than just an annoyance. You could wreck your speaker!

Bobby D.
 
I'm glad i'm not the only one with this issue, although mine may not be as severe...its a pioneer sx-727. Its unfriendly with the newer cheap rca's, way too close. Maybe just the cable though, the 525 is just fine :dunno:...I agree that this probably wasn't a issue before the "fat" rca jacket was popularized. May have to go diy for this...not too hard to do, and can get great results for a low cost, I plan to make some this coming year:yes:.
 
I finally decided to order some plugs and wire and make my own cables. I looked every where and could not find any that were specifically made for older equipments like the 60s Scott and Dynaco stuff I have.
 
Add the Garrard Zero 100 turntable to that also. Skinny cheap gray old style cables barely fit side by side on the RCA jacks underneath.
 
I've encountered this too. In past setups, a particular IC and/or input panel have prevented me from using the gear as I want to. Sometimes it isn't worth the trouble of modifying the input RCAs....
 
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