Neutrik quality rant!

[it-goes-to-eleven]

Okay.. Just doing a bunch of cable work.  I have used the NC3MX-B Neutriks in the past without issue.  They've modified the design.  It was clearly done to save money and it sucks.

The oh so critical plastic piece that holds the connector pins has been greatly lightened and thinned.  I'm having a little trouble with pins sliding around when hot.  I never had this issue with the old style.  They really took a lot of thermal mass out.

Kinda bummed..  Maybe this is an effort to force people to use a more expensive connector.

[F.O.Bean]

pic of connectors?

[it-goes-to-eleven]

Found another problem with them..  The solder cups are normally all 'level'.  On just one of the connectors, the middle cup was level but the two side cups were rotated out somewhat.

The other thing.. The pins pop back when they reach a certain temp. You're putting heat in, waiting for complete flow and then pop.. The pin backs up about 1/32 to maybe 3/64". It doesn't matter whether there is any force on the pin when this happens. You see it move.

I'll try and post a pic.. gotta finish this cable for a show tonight.

Cheapness for cheapness sake is a drag.

[it-goes-to-eleven]

Pics.  The bag for the old/good version is on the left, new/bad right.

Note the removal of material from the OD in addition to the hole.

[thegreatgumbino]

That's interesting.  I just ordered a good amount of these from Markertek.  They are all the old design fwiw.  Where did you get these Brian?

[it-goes-to-eleven]

Markertek, of course.

The low heat tolerance of the new design is especially troublesome with lead free solders that require approximately 100F more heat to fully wet out.  That's when the pins pop and distort.

The increased heat of the lead free process is a big concern in the industry and it seems like everyone is moving in the opposite direction from N. - toward accomodating that increased heat.

I'll be calling them shortly..

[thegreatgumbino]

+T for pointing this out.  Let us know what their response is.

[it-goes-to-eleven]

I spoke with an engineer at Neutrik USA.  He was surprised at the situation and said he was unaware of any changes.  I just forwarded the photos and am awaiting further info.

If you look closely at the first pic above, you can see how the left solder cup is rotated compared to the others.

He said that they have had some problems with counterfeiting.  Many of the Neutrik Speakon stuff on ebay is fake.  He said Markertek is a distributor and anything from them is legit.  At the NAIM conference, they had a company pushing counterfeit stuff two asiles over.  Their stuff even had the Neutrik logos on it.

[Chuck]

WoW, that's ballsey selling conterfeit stuff with the companies logo on it at an event like that.

[JasonR]

FYI - my last batch from Markertek was mixed.  The NC3MX were all the "new" style, while the NC3MXB (black body, gold pins) were all the "old" style.

You're right - there's really a lot of plastic mass removed in the new design.

- Jason

[bconnolly]

WoW, that's ballsey selling conterfeit stuff with the companies logo on it at an event like that.

Wow.  I didn't think there was a market for counterfeit cable interconnects.  Mics I can see but cables?

That's really crappy.  I guess people should just stick with Markertek.

[JasonR]

Wow.  I didn't think there was a market for counterfeit cable interconnects.  Mics I can see but cables?

That's really crappy.  I guess people should just stick with Markertek.

Well, I've got some "new" or "fake" ones from Markertek.  I don't think there's anything fake about these... just a redesign that Neutrik folks are unaware of or unwilling to admit.

- Jason

[tim in jersey]

[Well, I've got some "new" or "fake" ones from Markertek.  I don't think there's anything fake about these... just a redesign that Neutrik folks are unaware of or unwilling to admit.

- Jason

I just got a batch from Markertek just before the holidays. All of mine were the new design as well...

[F.O.Bean]

thanks for the pics, thats crazy, I always loved my old Neutriks, the HD version is THA SHIZZLE, hope they recall all of those fuckers and get their shit back together

[it-goes-to-eleven]

Thanks for that update, Moke. That is really important.  Could you be more specific in regard to what you're plugging into, etc.

Quick update..

I have had some discussions with an engineer at Neutrik.  He was unaware of this change but has since determined that it is a change.  They have merged a couple of parts. No doubt to cut costs.  The old part is not available.

They seem to think the new part solders okay. The engineer wants me to send samples of the parts I have in case there is a consistency issue.  He is not happy about the change and is passing my concerns up the chain.  This is a large company and I don't expect any quick fixes.

Guess I'm going to have to look at other Neutrik connectors and other vendors.