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An electrical connector that electrically connects a first printed circuit board and a second printed circuit board is disclosed, where the electrical connector in the preferred embodiment includes: (a) an insulative housing; (b) a plurality of signal conductors, with at least a portion of each of t

An electrical connector that electrically connects a first printed circuit board and a second printed circuit board is disclosed, where the electrical connector in the preferred embodiment includes: (a) an insulative housing; (b) a plurality of signal conductors, with at least a portion of each of the plurality of signal conductors disposed within the insulative housing; (c) each of the plurality of signal conductors having a first contact end, a second contact end and an intermediate portion therebetween; and (d) a passive circuit element electrically connected to the intermediate portion of each of the plurality of signal conductors, where the passive circuit element is housed in an insulative package and includes at least a capacitor or an inductor.

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What is claimed is: 1. An electrical connector that electrically connects a first printed circuit board and a second printed circuit board, the electrical connector comprising: an insulative housing having a plurality of openings; a plurality of signal conductors, with at least a portion of each of

What is claimed is: 1. An electrical connector that electrically connects a first printed circuit board and a second printed circuit board, the electrical connector comprising: an insulative housing having a plurality of openings; a plurality of signal conductors, with at least a portion of each of the plurality of signal conductors disposed within the insulative housing; each of the plurality of signal conductors including a first contact end, a second contact end and an intermediate portion therebetween, wherein the intermediate portion of each of the plurality of signal conductors has a gap therein; and a passive circuit element electrically connected at the gap to the intermediate portion of each of the plurality of signal conductors through one of the openings of the insulative housing, the passive circuit element housed in an insulative package and including at least a capacitor or an inductor. 2. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the insulative package housing the passive circuit element is made of ceramic material. 3. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the insulative package housing the passive circuit element is made of tantalum. 4. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the passive circuit element further includes a resistor. 5. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the passive circuit clement is electrically connected to the intermediate portion of the corresponding signal conductor by soldering. 6. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the plurality of signal conductors are disposed within the insulative housing as differential pairs of signal conductors, with a first distance between signal conductors of a differential pair smaller than a second distance between signal conductors of adjacent differential pairs. 7. An electrical connector comprising: a plurality of wafers, with each of the plurality of wafers including: an insulative housing having a plurality of openings; a plurality of signal conductors, with at least a portion of each of the plurality of signal conductors disposed within the insulative housing; each of the plurality of signal conductors including a first contact end, a second contact end and an intermediate portion therebetween, wherein the intermediate portion of each of the plurality of signal conductors has a gap therein; a passive circuit element electrically connected at the gap to the intermediate portion of each of the plurality of signal conductors through one of the openings of the insulative housing, the passive circuit element housed in an insulative package and including at least a capacitor or an inductor; a ground conductor member with at least a portion disposed within the insulative housing; and a stiffener that holds the plurality of wafers in parallel to one another. 8. The electrical connector of claim 7, wherein the insulative package housing the passive circuit element is made of ceramic material. 9. The electrical connector of claim 7, wherein the insulative package housing the passive circuit element is made of tantalum. 10. The electrical connector of claim 7, wherein the passive circuit element further includes a resistor. 11. The electrical connector of claim 7, wherein the passive circuit element is electrically connected to the intermediate portion of the corresponding signal conductor by soldering. 12. The electrical connector of claim 7, wherein for each of the plurality of wafers, the plurality of signal conductors are disposed within the insulative housing as differential pairs of signal conductors, with a first distance between signal conductors of a differential pair smaller than a second distance between signal conductors of adjacent differential pairs. 13. An electrical connector assembly including a first electrical connector connectable to a first printed circuit board and a second electrical connector connectable to a second printed circuit board, the electrical connector assembly comprising: the first electrical connector including: a first insulative housing having a plurality of openings; a plurality of first signal conductors, with at least a portion of each of the plurality of first signal conductors disposed within the first insulative housing; each of the plurality of first signal conductors including a first contact end connectable to the first printed circuit board, a second contact end, and an intermediate portion therebetween, wherein the intermediate portion of each of the plurality of first signal conductors has a gap therein; a passive circuit element electrically connected at the gap to the intermediate portion of each of the plurality of first signal conductors through one of the openings of the insulative housing, the passive circuit element including at least a capacitor or an inductor; the second electrical connector including: a second insulative housing; a plurality of second signal conductors, with at least a portion of each of the plurality of second signal conductors disposed within the second insulative housing; and each of the plurality of second signal conductors including a first contact end connectable to the second printed circuit board, a second contact end mateable to the second contact end of the corresponding first signal conductor, and an intermediate portion therebetween. 14. The electrical connector assembly of claim 13, wherein the passive circuit element is housed in an insulative package. 15. The electrical connector assembly of claim 14, wherein the insulative package housing the passive circuit element is made of ceramic material. 16. The electrical connector assembly of claim 14, wherein the insulative package housing the passive circuit element is made of tantalum. 17. The electrical connector assembly of claim 13, wherein the passive circuit element further includes a resistor.