Count Bassy Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 (edited) The subject of 'silent' plugs has come up in several threads so I thought I'd post this as new thread here, for everyone to see, rather than add to all those threads separately. Anyway, as many of you will be aware, the Neutrik silent plugs (the newer red ones with the reed switch) have had a few problems with the sliding sleeve jamming, especially on the right angled ones. I raised this with Neutrik (as many obviously have) and have had a reply which I copy below: "I can confirm that we have made improvements to both the Straight & R/A Silent jacks, the moving magnet sleeve now moves a lot smoother on both. These improvements only come about from feed-back once the product is in use. Please send me your contact details & I will arrange for a couple of the new versions to be sent to you. All the best & thanks for using our connectors." Personally, and apart from the occassional jamming, I found them great, so I'll be very happy if the problem has been solved. Edited April 15, 2009 by Clive Thorne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzz Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 That's quite nice of them. And good for them taking on advice as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_the_bass Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 Fair play to them - personally I've never had an issue and I use right angled ones exclusively I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 (edited) [quote name='Clive Thorne' post='462898' date='Apr 15 2009, 12:23 PM']These improvements only come about from feed-back once the product is in use.[/quote] Beta testing by end-users. But fair play for sending the freebies. Edited April 15, 2009 by skankdelvar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bottle Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 I've made up a couple of leads with the R/A connectors, and have occasionally found the sleeve to jam when disconnecting (embarassing to say the least, as the amp goes 'thump'!!!). Seems to have sorted itself out though. Wouldn't hesitate in buying more when needed and certainly can recommend them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 I had a Klotz cable with one of those red silent jacks, lasted about 2 months. Didn't take it back as the kittens had bitten the cable at the other end & I had chopped it & resoldered the black jack back on so thought it might be a bit cheeky to do so. I have another Klotz cable that the cat's haven't been near & it's not all that good. Picks up interference & like the other Klotz cable, always wants to roll itself back up (how annoying is that). Got myself a braided TGI Wired/ Barnes & Mullins cable & it's very good considering it was only a tenner! Maybe in a few years when they sort the problems out with the silent jacks I might try em again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 Ah .. I need a couple of neutricks and my local Maplins only had these in .. How do you tell the old ones from the new better ones? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bassy Posted April 15, 2009 Author Share Posted April 15, 2009 [quote name='OldGit' post='463186' date='Apr 15 2009, 05:28 PM']Ah .. I need a couple of neutricks and my local Maplins only had these in .. How do you tell the old ones from the new better ones?[/quote] I didn't ask that question, but I'll compare them when I get the new ones their sending me, and report any obvious differences. I agree with what others have said about beta testing by the public. There's no real excuse for it - after all its not like one in a thousand failing, from my experience with the right angle ones it's three in three.! Perhaps the prototypes were made on different machines to the production parts, or perhaps it's a quality control problem, perhaps tahy made the prototypes and 'outsourced' the production. Who knows? At least they seem to be doing the right thing now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.young Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 I've had two, and they both broke - the straight one jammed, then went open circuit. The angled one just fell to bits - the sleeve collapsed into 3 parts and they all fell out on the floor one day. Count me as one dis-satisfied customer who won't be buying any more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synaesthesia Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 [quote name='Clive Thorne' post='463327' date='Apr 15 2009, 07:22 PM']Perhaps the prototypes were made on different machines to the production parts, or perhaps it's a quality control problem, perhaps tahy made the prototypes and 'outsourced' the production. Who knows? At least they seem to be doing the right thing now.[/quote] Neutrik moved all their manufacturing to Ningbo years ago. Switchraft used to use negative advertising to make fun of Neutirk Ningbo plant. Before all this current China investment craze, German industry has always had a foothold, and they have been there historically, though this is not a well known fact in the Anglophone world. In Beijing and you will see a strong German industrial presence. Tsingtao beer, the standard chinese beer, is brewed with German investment & technology and has been for ages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krysbass Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 I've been using a Neutrik silent jack on the same (VanDamme) cable for a couple of years and so far have had no problems whatsoever. I bought my cable from Award Session, but I hasten to add that other suppliers of very good cables are often recommended on this forum! I now use Neutrik connectors on my speaker leads too - it's nice not to have jack plugs fall off or totally disintegrate, as always happened to me before the Neutrik stuff came along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bassy Posted May 31, 2009 Author Share Posted May 31, 2009 Well, after a few delays I received the samples from Neutrik - a couple of straights and a couple of right angled. The straight one they sent has a rubber coated body (don't know if the non rubberised one is still available), but the right angle one looks identical to the older version. However the sleeve mechanism on both, despite looking the same as before, is a noticably looser fit and has a weaker spring, which will help with the reported problem (not seen it myself) of them self ejecting. More importantly, I've tried bending the plugs sidways and always, and have not been able to get a sleeve to stick, so it would seem that that particular problem has been resolved. Hooray! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eightball Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 [quote name='Clive Thorne' post='502425' date='May 31 2009, 06:10 PM']However the sleeve mechanism on both, despite looking the same as before, is a noticably looser fit and has a weaker spring, which will help with the reported problem (not seen it myself) of them self ejecting.[/quote] exactly the problem i had with them. not particularly with mono jacks, but absolutely awful with stereo (as in all active instruments). granted, i only tried them with switchcraft jacks (others may be ok), but not acceptable to have them just pop out mid track; ooer mrs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisS Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 i owned a silent cable for about 3 weeks before it broke now i just use cheap 1's from my local music store and have a boss noise supressor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezzaboy Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 [quote name='Krysbass' post='463864' date='Apr 16 2009, 12:49 PM']I've been using a Neutrik silent jack on the same (VanDamme) cable for a couple of years and so far have had no problems whatsoever. I bought my cable from Award Session, but I hasten to add that other suppliers of very good cables are often recommended on this forum! I now use Neutrik connectors on my speaker leads too - it's nice not to have jack plugs fall off or totally disintegrate, as always happened to me before the Neutrik stuff came along.[/quote] All the guys in the band use Award Session cables and have done for a couple of years now. Speaker, guitar leads, mic cables the whole shooting match and have never had any problems with them. Fast delivery and good price as well. Of course, other cable manufacturers are available. (Very BBC like). Jez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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