First impressions Eichmann Bullet Plugs

Brad · « **Reply #20 on:** 10 Feb 2003, 10:55 pm »

I'll offer half of what Marbles offered

Marbles · « **Reply #21 on:** 10 Feb 2003, 11:20 pm »

Damn Andy...hard to bullshit an old bullshitter I guess

scottpretti · « **Reply #22 on:** 26 Feb 2003, 06:39 pm »

So, what was the verdict on the Eichmann Bullet Plug connectors? I'm in need of a new digital cable and was thinking of the Bolder digital Cable.

ABEX · « **Reply #23 on:** 26 Feb 2003, 08:51 pm »

Scott,they are good for Digital.Don't believe that Canare's are great for digital although they are good.People say they like the Bullits better.

EProvenzano · « **Reply #24 on:** 26 Feb 2003, 08:52 pm »

The verdict hmm...
Construction wise I still think they are cheap and should sell for half what they're worth. I don't like how fragile they are and they demand top notch construction to avoid shorting out the wires inside. It wouldn't take much abuse to have the tip of the plug do a 1/4 turn and cross the leads inside the plug if the construction were not solid. I would like to have seen a dividing sheild between the solder legs. The set screw is useless IMO. My threshold for high quality DIY IC's is about $100. These plugs start pushing the limits of my budget. There is another thread going on about why Audiophiles hate Bose. One reason is that it is unacceptable to us to support Bose, who makes huge profit margins at the expense of poor shleps by using questionable marketing. I'm getting that distinct impression with the Eichmann Plugs.
Sound wise I'm not sure yet. I only had the cables in my system for a few days before my system was disassembled and the cables were shipped to a friend. They did sound like they needed a touch more break-in. That said, I'm not sure they will sound any better than the Cardas plugs I've used in the past (these are solidly built and cost less). I'm not convinced yet.
Chris VH has made comments on AA that he heard no difference between the Bullet Plugs and most other quality plugs. In fact he often touts a few Parts Express plugs that have quality construction at very resonable prices and he still claims they will "rival any commercially made high end snake-oil IC."
I'm not dissapointed that I built these cables with the Eichmann plugs. These will be my cost no object variation of this recipe. At the very least, I will use these as a reference for the design.

ABEX · « **Reply #25 on:** 26 Feb 2003, 09:05 pm »

EPro
I was thinking of CARDAS as a better source than CANARE for plugs and the cost compared to the WBT is better.

You must have the SILVER Bullits for $100 which is to pricey for me.

As far as BOSE is concerned I would say they are not the worst on the planet,but the cost for what you get is unrealistic.I have been by the BOSE plant in MA. and I know who paid for it.The consumer.To much for to little.

What I like about the Bullits is there is not much meterial.I still think they are overpriced and as a better\cheaper alternative I would stick with CARDAS.WBT's I like ,but to expensive.They have other things that are worth it like speaker binding post.

I never really did A\B's of Connectors ,but I do believe in the Philos that Less can be more in some applications and one of them is connectors along with meterials that make them up.I use OTA and was forced to use something,but I think using the OTA connectors are better.

ABEX · « **Reply #26 on:** 26 Feb 2003, 09:08 pm »

BTW-OTA 47Labs use plastic Connectors which does not add anything just the wire that is used,no metal.I did notice a change when adding the Eichmann connectors to my amp-preamp IC using OTA.

Nothing is something in this case!

EProvenzano · « **Reply #27 on:** 26 Feb 2003, 09:12 pm »

Scott after rereading your post I feel I should add...My opinion is based on my DIY experience with the Bullet Plug used in the Chris VenHaus design IC. I do not know how this would correlate to your experience with any of the Bolder products. You may very well like the Bolder digital cable.
BR,
EP

EProvenzano · « **Reply #28 on:** 26 Feb 2003, 09:29 pm »

Quote

ABEX: You must have the SILVER Bullits for $100 which is to pricey for me.

This is the total cost of the cable that I built (1m pair). I used the copper Bullets.

Quote

ABEX: I never really did A\B's of Connectors ,but I do believe in the Philos that Less can be more in some applications and one of them is connectors along with meterials that make them up.

I agree with you to some extent. I think that if the "system" you are considering is the cable itself a minimalist approch with a good design can be beneficial. I know the Chris VH design is a low capacitance design and the Bullet Plugs may well add to that. However, taking the system one step further to the heavy full metal jacks on the equipment you are connecting to makes the minimalist plug seem moot to me. Remember the connection is 2 part: plug and jack. I'd like to see some capacitance measuements of a Bullet Plug cable versus a Cardas terminated cable (all things being equal except for the plugs) with the measurements being taken at the equipment jack and not the termination.
A complete Eichman system with a Bullet Plug that plugs into a Bullet Jack (?) may be interesting tho. I've never used a balanced cable but maybe they excell in this regard.
YMMV.
BR,
EP

Tyson · « **Reply #29 on:** 26 Feb 2003, 11:43 pm »

I'm suprised, I did an A-B comparison of the Bolder Nitro with Cardas, and with Bullet Plugs. The bullet plugs reduced treble glare to a signifigant degree. To my ears it was a very worthwhile improvement.

EProvenzano · « **Reply #30 on:** 27 Feb 2003, 12:13 am »

I'm not suprised that different cables would benefit more or less from the design goals of the Bullet Plug. Maybe I'm not hearing the benefits of the Bullet Plug in this design. Believe me I wanted to hear it. I've read a ton of stuff about all silver IC's, including the CVH design, where people say they can suffer from brighness(IMO silver is much cleaner than copper not nececarrily bright). However, just in case it were true, I was looking forward to taking this cable to the next level with the Bullet Plugs. It just didn't do it for me.

The cables will soon be arriving at a friends place where they will undergo some serious A-Bing. I'm looking forward to it.

Empirical Audio also uses Bullet Plugs. I wonder what benefits they hear? If I'm not mistaken they also use a Fine Silver design in most of their IC's. Yet another reason why I'm confused that I didn't hear a difference. Maybe audioengr can comment.

BR,
EP

scottpretti · « **Reply #31 on:** 27 Feb 2003, 12:18 am »

Thanks all,

I also posted on the Bolder forum and had some good feedback. I bit the bullet

and ordered the Bolder digital after reading how much attention must be paid to the construction with them. I'll keep my soldering skills to xovers, it's hard to melt such components.