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Defective/faulty 1/4" right angle plugs? (YES, THEY EXIST!)

elgecko

elgecko

Apr 30, 2007
9,063
16,940
Anasleim, CA
#1
UPDATE: The Amphenol plugs were bad! See below.

Are defective or faulty 1/4" right angle plugs a thing? It's hard to imagine that there could be something wrong with something so simple but I think I have three (3) bad plugs.

About a year ago, I switched over four of my cables to right right angle plugs. I bought one Neutrik Rean NYS207 and three Amphenol ACPM-RNs.

s-l300.jpg

Neutrik Rean

s-l300.jpg

Amphenol (bad?)

I've used all four cables on a regular basis since then. The one with the Neutrik Rean has been problem free. In contrast, I've experienced multiple intermittent connection problems with all three Amphenol-equipped cables and have reinstalled each one at least once. On the most recent repair, I experienced a problem upon it's very first use! Here are some random points:
  • I'm a competent solderer. I've installed electronics in four basses and made many speaker and instrument cables (including the Neutrik Rean) with no issues whatsoever.
  • I always cut off a few inches of existing cable to ensure "freshness" and test cables immediately after soldering.
  • Two of the Amphenol-equipped cables were cheap, bargain cables but the the third one was a high quality, Spectraflex cable.
The intermittent connection problems have all resembled bad/shorted cables and seemed to fixed by "jiggling the cable" but in the last instance, I found that the problem could be remedied by pushing straight down on the connector, inline with the jack. It almost seems like the plugs are too narrow. I know it's not the jack(s) because I took the time the bend spring connector thingamajigs on all my basses to ensure a sold connection.

What do you guys think?
 
Last edited:
#2
Not an angle plug thing but a cheap plug thing. They are all made the same size, but are not all made to the same size.
You have done everything right your problem is that cheaper jacks and plugs are not always made to an exact spec, as you can tell a hair off can be the difference between good contact and intermittent contact.
Get all Neutrik connectors for all your cables and problem solved.
 
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#3
Are your jacks good quality, eg, Switchcraft or equal?

The jack tip contact should not have to be bent to provide reliable contact. When it does, it may very well be sprung at that point, and should be replaced.

There should be no free play (looseness) at all when the plug is inserted. If the plug can freely wobble or rotate, it is not making good contact. The simplest way to test the plug itself is to take a new Switchcraft jack and place it onto the the plug. It should fit snugly.

Also, if the jack is a TRS type with a ring contact, the ring contact could be fitting tight on the plug and obscuring the fact that the tip contact is not making good contact.

-
 
#4
S-Bigbottom said:
Not an angle plug thing but a cheap plug thing. They are all made the same size, but are not all made to the same size.
You have done everything right your problem is that cheaper jacks and plugs are not always made to an exact spec, as you can tell a hair off can be the difference between good contact and intermittent contact.
Get all Neutrik connectors for all your cables and problem solved.
Click to expand...

It's a wacky situation. I've owned a plethora of cheap/bargain cables over the years, which I have to assume were built with cheap jacks and I've never experienced this type of problem before. I thought Amphenol made quality jacks but it sounds like maybe I got some from a bad run or something. o_O


megafiddle said:
Are your jacks good quality, eg, Switchcraft or equal?

The jack tip contact should not have to be bent to provide reliable contact. When it does, it may very well be sprung at that point, and should be replaced.

There should be no free play (looseness) at all when the plug is inserted. If the plug can freely wobble or rotate, it is not making good contact. The simplest way to test the plug itself is to take a new Switchcraft jack and place it onto the the plug. It should fit snugly.

Also, if the jack is a TRS type with a ring contact, the ring contact could be fitting tight on the plug and obscuring the fact that the tip contact is not making good contact.

-
Click to expand...

The problems were with Amphenol brand jacks. There was no evident wobbling or rotating. The output jack(s) contact did not have to be bent but I did it just to eliminate that as a possible problem.
 
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#6
So I procured more Rean Neutrik NYS207 plugs (from Markertek.com for $1.25 each, shipped!) and replaced the Amphenols on the bad cables without cutting any existing cable off. I simply unsoldered the old plugs and soldered the new ones on. That immediately fixed two of the cables! There was a short in the third cable (cheap and super thin) so I cut off the bad section, soldered the new plug on, and the third one was fixed too! No amount of jiggling caused pops or intermittent connections of any kind. Conclusion? The Amphenol plugs were bad!

I don't have calipers to determine exactly what's off with them and perhaps it was simply a bad batch but I will declare that
Amphenol plugs suck! Avoid them at all costs!

I will update this thread if I encounter problems with either of the three cables but I honestly don't anticipate that happening except for actual shorts or years down the line, after lots of use!
 
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#7
I have a few cheap right angle cables I got online, that don't look exactly like either of those pictures, but look much more like the first than the second (the right angle part of the construction is made of metal, instead of a plastic-looking material like the amphenol). No issues so far, and are proving durable. When choosing them I went for the ones with the sturdiest-looking jacks, so I guess I did it right. Thank you for sharing your experiences/research.
 
#8
I've had annoying problem plaguing one of my cables made by Planet Waves, which seems to be good quality cable, very well shielded (it has foil AND wire mesh shielding).

But its just constantly buzzing with noise & requires the cable to be jiggled or flexed near the connector to quiet it down.

Just like the OP said:
The intermittent connection problems have all resembled bad/shorted cables and seemed to fixed by "jiggling the cable"

I am a decent solderer, and i re-cut & re-soldered the wires on 4 times. The last time, i was absolutely impeccably careful, but the problem is still there, exactly the same.

There is no doubt about it, there are amphenol connectors out there that look like really good quality connectors, but they are absolute garbage.

I will never buy an amphenol connector again, and wherever possible I will avoid buying any cable which uses amphenol connector.
 
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#10
And just to make it clear, the problem is nothing to do with the plug size or fit into socket. The plug fits perfectly.

It is to do with where the wires solder onto the plug. It's the main tongue of metal coming out of the plug, which you solder the ground wire onto, and also has the lugs that crimp over & hold the cable in place. When you flex the cable you can see this tongue move up & down where it disappears into the main body of the plug, and that should be fine, but I bet the damn thing is not properly connected inside, and when it moves it loses proper contact. Whatever the flaw it's something to do with this area.
 
#12
In my case, I'm fairly certain the shafts on my Amphenol plugs are too short. That's why pushing in on the plugs remedied the problem. Doing so was enough to complete the connection.

Neutrik Rean
IMG_20161030_174624.jpg


Old, corroded, cheap POS that never gave me any problems
IMG_20161030_174544.jpg


Amphenol. The difference isn't much but apparently, it's enough to cause problems.
IMG_20161030_174607.jpg
 
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#13
Amphenol is in the business of making almost every kind of connector imaginable to man.
When you make everything, you may not make everything well.
They are the go-to for coaxial cable connectors used in video and RF.

Neutrik focuses on audio connectors and makes good stuff.

Hands down though, if you want the best and are willing to pay, then Switchcraft is where you want to be.

1/4" plug/jacks in general, just are a sucky design. If you add cheap to that, then you're in for trouble.
Their little brother, the 1/8" aka 3.5mm, is even worse.

When I install or replace a 1/4" Jack, I try to use TRS instead of TS.
I leave the Ring unconnected so they work with TS plugs.
The advantage is that you have two spring loaded contacts pushing on the plug from different directions.
This gives you better holding power. Less likely to wiggle and lose the connection at the Sleeve, or pull out and lose the Tip connection.
 
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#14
DeathToAmphenol said:
I've had annoying problem plaguing one of my cables made by Planet Waves, which seems to be good quality cable, very well shielded (it has foil AND wire mesh shielding).

But its just constantly buzzing with noise & requires the cable to be jiggled or flexed near the connector to quiet it down.

Just like the OP said:
The intermittent connection problems have all resembled bad/shorted cables and seemed to fixed by "jiggling the cable"

I am a decent solderer, and i re-cut & re-soldered the wires on 4 times. The last time, i was absolutely impeccably careful, but the problem is still there, exactly the same.

There is no doubt about it, there are amphenol connectors out there that look like really good quality connectors, but they are absolute garbage.

I will never buy an amphenol connector again, and wherever possible I will avoid buying any cable which uses amphenol connector.
Click to expand...

I noticed you joined today and have, umm...strong feelings towards Amphenol. :woot:

I gotta know. Were you Googling faulty Amphenol plugs when you found this thread?
 
#15
elgecko said:
In my case, I'm fairly certain the shafts on my Amphenol plugs are too short. That's why pushing in on the plugs remedied the problem. Doing so was enough to complete the connection.

Neutrik Rean
View attachment 1089305

Old, corroded, cheap POS that never gave me any problems
View attachment 1089306

Amphenol. The difference isn't much but apparently, it's enough to cause problems.
View attachment 1089307
Click to expand...
The contact point for the Tip is where the plug narrows.
If that part is correct, being a bit longer to the end of the tip doesn't matter.
The plug is only half the problem. The Jack us the other half.
You can't correct any problems on the Plug, however if you have an open design Jack, you can bend the Tip connection to work with the plug. That also means that the Tip connection can get bent out if whack.
 
#20
Old Garage-Bander said:
The contact point for the Tip is where the plug narrows.
If that part is correct, being a bit longer to the end of the tip doesn't matter...
Click to expand...

Looking at the pics, it's evident that the "neck" of the plug and the tip/sleeve insulator occur in different places on all three plugs. I imagine the shape of the flange could even have an effect. Whatever it is, the Amphenol has the perfect storm of it to create a poopy plug.
 
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