Chord Ohmic 4mm Silver Banana Plug

Chord Ohmic 4mm Silver Banana Plug 

Sold Individually. For a pair, order two.

The Chord Company (not to be confused with Chord Electronics) are a British manufacturer of high-quality cables and interconnects, designed and engineered specifically for music enthusiasts by music enthusiasts. Chord build award-winning cables for hifi stereo systems, home theatre applications, high definition televisions/gaming, music streamers and for custom installation environments.

For many years chord have been using silver-plated copper conductors in their designs, it is paired with a silver-plated connector. Using silver cables can be misunderstood because people associate the use of silver with a bright, overbearing sound characteristic. In Chords’ experience, the brightness is caused by a poor choice of insulation material rather than silver. The only major exception to this rule has been Chord Company gold-plated (4mm/spade) speaker connectors. The use of gold is generally perceived to be the best plating for a high-quality connector.

Why not gold?
Although gold is generally perceived to be the best plating material for high-quality connectors, its only major advantage is its total resistance to corrosion which is not normally a domestic issue. It is usually mistakingly associated with performance and quality due to gold’s high commercial value. Matters are further complicated by the various other plating materials on offer in the hi-fi industry (e.g. rhodium, copper, brass and nickel) with each having wildly differing prices and claimed performance levels.

The Science
Gold is the third most conductive metal available. It is outperformed by both copper (+140% better) and silver (+148% better). Better conductivity means lower resistance and therefore, less signal loss. Less signal loss means increased performance – as expressed by Ohm’s law! Hence the name of Chord's new speaker plugs.

Audibly Superior
Although pure copper is a good conductor, at room temperature it is susceptible to oxidisation and drastically drops in conductivity when oxidised. Plating the copper can protect it from this process. Plating materials include tin, nickel and rhodium (12%, 33% and 50% as good as gold respectively). Crucially, silver-plating not only makes sense from an electrical point of view, but it also gives an audibly superior result during listening tests when compared with gold plated connectors

These Banana Plugs require crimping and cannot be soldered. Specialist crimping tool required. Termination can be completed in store when purchased with a compatible cable.

If you require solderable Chord Ohmic plugs, please call us on 01432 354921. Highly limited stock is available.

Who is The Chord Company

The Chord Company (not to be confused with Chord Electronics) are a British manufacturer of high-quality cables and interconnects, designed and engineered specifically for music enthusiasts by music enthusiasts. Chord builds award-winning cables for hifi stereo systems, home theatre applications, high-definition televisions/gaming, music streamers and custom installation environments.