【90% of People Don't Know】The Vivid Sound World Brought by "Unplated" Banana Plugs and Maintenance Tips for Long-Term Use

Hello everyone. This is CABLECRAFT Onkodo.

One of the joys of audio is experiencing a "change in sound!" after replacing speaker cables, but have you considered focusing on the "terminals (plugs)" as well?

This time, we're talking about the choice to "not plate." We'll discuss the appeal of our hidden popular items, the original unplated banana plugs BP-208B / BP-146B, and the "depth of maintenance" that only unplated products can offer.

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1. Why "Unplated" Now? What are the Benefits?

Generally, banana plugs are made of highly conductive copper alloy and are further surface-treated (plated) with gold or rhodium.

The reason is simple. The base copper is highly susceptible to corrosion, so plating is applied to "prevent rust (corrosion)." However, when prioritizing sound quality, there is an undeniable "barrier" that exists.

Why Plating "Colors" the Sound

Common gold plating uses "nickel" as an undercoat. This nickel layer is magnetic and is said to be one cause of sound distortion.

In fact, copper has better conductivity than gold. Although gold plating is for oxidation prevention, in terms of ease of electrical flow, the plating layer acts as a kind of "resistance," slightly reducing conductivity.

Therefore, what I would like to introduce this time is the "unplated" banana plug BP-208B / BP-146B, which eliminates all unnecessary processing.

First, regarding the characteristics of unplated plugs, as the name suggests, there is no plating on the surface.
Unplated plugs were developed to pursue the reproduction of original sound by eliminating the influence of plating.

However, as mentioned earlier, copper is highly susceptible to corrosion, and its conductivity quickly deteriorates.
The points mentioned above can be summarized as follows:

Feature	Typical Plated Plugs	Onkodo Original Unplated Plugs
Conductivity	Plating layer adds resistance	◎
Original Sound Reproduction	⚪︎ (due to resistance)	◎
Maintenance	Almost unnecessary	Regular maintenance required
Cost Performance	Tends to be expensive due to many processes	Excellent cost performance due to simplicity

While offering overwhelming original sound reproduction at a low price, there is also the disadvantage of rusting. However, by regularly polishing them, it is possible to maintain and improve their performance.

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2. 【Practice】Reviving a 5-Year-Old Plug. Unplated Maintenance Anyone Can Do

"But won't it rust quickly and sound bad?"

You might think so. Here, let's look at a BP-208B that has been actively used for 5 years in our testing environment.

As expected, the surface is oxidized and dull, but the part that touches the jack is not as deteriorated, and the sound is not "unbearable."

However, this is where the real magic happens. Just a few minutes of polishing with compound...

Look at this shine! By polishing, we were able to almost completely remove the rust and restore the direct copper conductivity to like-new condition.

Inner Maintenance, Changed with a Single Cotton Swab

Furthermore, please gently polish the inside of the contact area with a cotton swab or similar.

With just this, the clouded high-frequency range immediately clears up, and an overwhelming amount of detail returns.
If you do this for all plugs, the overwhelming high sound quality will return. This "feeling of restoring sound with your own hands" is surely one of the joys of audio, isn't it?

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3. Staff's Impression of the "Depth" of Unplated Plugs

We tried listening with the polished plugs.

• High-frequency extension: The high-frequency range is greatly extended, with good attack and rich vocals.

The freshly polished sound feels vivid and resonates directly.

Interestingly, some staff members find the vivid, freshly polished sound to be "a bit fatiguing to listen to." Conversely, others find that after a little time passes and oxidation progresses, the sound becomes "milder and easier to listen to." These preferences also change depending on the system and genre of music listened to.

"Should I deliberately leave it for a while to let the sound settle to my liking?"

Being able to enjoy it in such a way is a luxury unique to unplated plugs.

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Summary: Bring "Freshness" to Your System.

Onkodo's original unplated banana plugs are a confident product of "low price and high quality" achieved through our in-house design.

"I feel something is missing from my current sound."

"I want to get 100% of the cable's performance."

If you feel this way, please experience the world of "unplated" at least once. Polish it yourself and restore its conductivity. Such a slightly手間のかかる audio life should surely not be bad.

Products introduced this time

 

ONKODO BP-146B Uncoated, Unplated BFA-type Banana Plug (Phosphor Bronze)

• BP-146B (Standard type, versatile and easy to use)
  
  ▶︎Go to product page>>
  

ONKODO BP-208B Uncoated, Unplated BFA-type Banana Plug (Phosphor Bronze)

• BP-208B (Large, high-rigidity type)
  
  ▶︎Go to product page>>