I think I reused the same connectors for the headphone extension cable, they
certainly weren't anything special, it was the cables that made the
difference. I didn't need fancy wires to get a better sound, just shorter
ones with individual unscreened wires loosely spot tied instead of those
horrible sprung coil leads.

I don't believe a competition would have any merit at all as I'm convinced
most listeners don't listen properly and no offence but how do I know you
aren't in that category? Sorry, but listening is a skill that I'm willing
to teach to anyone with an open mind but only on my system which is far from
perfect, but has been tweaked over the years to give its best and I know it
inside out.