Tarnished Audio Grounds - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: vidarr
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2025, 09:51:18 pm
content: What could cause this tarnishing of the speaker ground jacks? The picture is pretty bad, but you can see the tarnish. It looks worse in person.The jacks were brand new, shiny gold when plugged in. It has only been one month.Thanks!

author: Whales
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2025, 10:24:35 pm
content: I have had the same issue with cheap gold-plated banana jacks and TRS jacks. I avoid the gold stuff now.The suspicion is that they are doing something wrong during plating. Possibly the wrong order/choices of plating metals (the plating will be several layers of different metals), possibly too thin, possibly too fast, possibly contaminated. The gold is only as good as its foundation.

author: SteveThackery
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2025, 10:27:51 pm
content: I wonder if it is even gold.

author: Benta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2025, 10:30:56 pm
content: It's Chinese gold.

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2025, 11:35:06 pm
content: No kidding. That is what it is. Had a bag of "gold plated" RF connectors, shiny when received, few months after turning all dark.

author: vidarr
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2025, 04:50:36 am
content: I don't think it is actually gold, I mean, I see in videos their restaurant workers are scavenging through other peoples' garbage to get disgusting, used cooking oil. I don't think they would use real gold on any of their cheap products. Can't believe I ate the street food when I was there. I want to throw up.Just curious why it only tarnished on the GND jacks? That's weird right?

author: Haenk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2025, 07:40:29 am
content: Quote from: Benta on June 17, 2025, 10:30:56 pmMore precise, this is known as "Chinesium", a material very commonly used,but with somewhat unknown origins and properties. Even some magic or trickery might be involved.Also:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/what-is-fake-gold-plating-on-connectors-made-of-is-it-better-than-nickel/

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2025, 12:34:29 pm
content: I remember seeing some terminals on the CPC website with the plating described as "Colden" (yes, with a 'C'). I could never decide whether it was some kind of typo from the manufacturer or a Chinese in-joke about the crap that they coated them with!Edit: Even 'golden' doesn't imply that there was any Gold content.

author: pardo-bsso
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2025, 02:14:31 pm
content: Quote from: Benta on June 17, 2025, 10:30:56 pmLike the magical copper wires that stick to magnets with no current passing thru them.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2025, 02:30:14 pm
content: All that glisters (or glitters, depending on historical era) is not gold.

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2025, 08:51:19 pm
content: its probobly sulfur bearing forming oil or something contaminating the bathits cheap if you do line plating which means that it goes through plating baths on a conveyor belt and its very easy to screw up and difficult to maintain. They need inline ion scrubbers, more cleaning, lower plating currents, etc.also corrosive oil from machinery (conveyor stuff) contaminating the partsThe biggest bottleneck for high speed production is process time. So they find out how to make it go faster. High speed plating baths have none of the behaviors you love about plating IMO

author: u666sa
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2025, 10:34:19 pm
content: Have the same exact problem with SMA-to-BNC converters. When buying thesethey get dark patina within a month and stop looking cool on the walki-talkiebut thesedon't tarnish with time and look brand new even after a year.I believe there is simlar option within audio connecto realm. At least there is within audio amp power cables. You could get shiny copper once, or you could get chrome looking once.

author: Whales
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2025, 11:18:22 pm
content: @u666sa are your pics the right way around?

author: u666sa
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2025, 12:42:39 am
content: Quote from: Whales on June 19, 2025, 11:18:22 pmWell it's not me, you see. I uploaded gold first and then shiny chrome. But Dave's forum twists it around, so I had to go in and edit, attachment numbers.

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2025, 01:42:25 am
content: The way to do it is to skip the default attachment button. Click Add New Attachment for each picture you want to post.

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2025, 04:31:10 am
content: Quote from: Bud on June 20, 2025, 01:42:25 amThat part of this forum's software is stupidly broken; I end up just copying and pasting the[attachimg=n]tags by hand. (Not Dave's fault, of course; it's the Simple Machines software.) It (the software) puts the first tag in correctly but not any subsequent ones.I'm pretty much convinced this'll never be fixed.

author: jonpaul
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2025, 05:51:23 am
content: Dont buy cheap Chinese junk knockoffs.We use vintage USA made and EU connectors and cables.No corrosion except in 1960s..1970s silver plated, easy to restoreJon