Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Cables, Power, Tweaks, Speakers, Accessories (DBT-Free Forum) › Do I bother re-terminating my cable?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Do I bother re-terminating my cable?

post #1 of 15
1/24/04 at 11:46am
Thread Starter 
I've purchased new (used) speaker cable & discovered the spades are too small for the posts on both my amp & speakers. As a temp fix, I put one of the spade prongs through where bare wire would go in the post & tightened it down. It sounds fine although I know this is not ideal. When I've checked the price of Cardas' bigger rhodium spades (I think mine are rhodium?), it'll cost 1/3 the price of what I've already paid, if I buy 8 spades. Do I bother re-terminating or just live with it as is?
Reply
post #2 of 15
1/24/04 at 12:17pm
If you've got a solid connection, any retermination you do will be mainly cosmetic. Any advantage you might gain in using the larger spade could be lost if the retermination is not properly done.
Reply
post #3 of 15
1/24/04 at 12:55pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally posted by Hirsch
If you've got a solid connection
A question I am not sure the answer to. Does amount of surface areas in contact constitute a solid connection? I suppose there is now something equivalent to banana plugs.
Reply
post #4 of 15
1/24/04 at 2:50pm
sell the cable. get another one. it's not worth it, and you'll still end up with worse-than-original cables.
Reply
post #5 of 15
1/24/04 at 3:12pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally posted by Orpheus
sell the cable. get another one. it's not worth it, and you'll still end up with worse-than-original cables.
I've had it less than 24 hours !!!! That seems drastic. A proper re-termination is worse-than-original? It actually sounds ok as it is. Of course I don't know what proper sized spades would sound like. Yer scaring me orpheus.
Reply
post #6 of 15
1/24/04 at 3:22pm
yup... Hirsch is right...

i personally would not retouch any finished commercial product... it's either leave as is and use it, or sell it...

look at it this way: the thing probably has heat shrink and all that crap on it... and 50% of the cost of audiophiles cables is the just the looks alone. if you take that off to resolder stuff, it won't look as good. and in my opinion, resolders never feel as good as the original. thirdly, when you do want to sell it, no one will pay 1/2 as much as you did for the same cable cause you messed with it.

so, if it's fine the way it is, then cool... if not, i'd sell it.

however, if it's too small, you can try this... instead of using the bare wire holes, you can kind try putting it as close to the center as possible the normal way, and just clamp down with the binding posts as usual. it's gonna stick out a bit, but i think it would be a better connection than putting it through the hole. i dunno. maybe not. try it and try wiggling it around.
Reply
post #7 of 15
1/24/04 at 3:49pm
Thread Starter 
I think you're both right. I think I'll enjoy it for some time as is, but I'll try your suggestion Orpheus. At some later date I'll get another with correct connectors & sell this one untampered. Thanks Guys, this a help
Reply
post #8 of 15
1/24/04 at 9:33pm
Thread Starter 
Replace binding posts?
Or this adaptor? Hey Im only trying all angles.

I have found this Audioquest accessory: 1002-G and 1002-S Banana Adapters
The 1002 Banana Adapters will attach to any 1/4” spade connector allowing you to connect a speaker cable terminated with spade connectors to a loudspeaker or amplifier that will only accept Banana plugs without the need to re-terminate your speaker cables!

After first tightening the locking nuts finger-tight, use two nut drivers or wrenches to secure the locking nuts. Insert the 1002 tip-first into a socket or nut driver. The hexagonal base will lock it into place. Use the second nut driver or wrench to tighten the locking nuts firmly.

The 1002 Adapters are available either Direct-Gold (1002-G) or Direct-Silver plated (1002-S). This means the high quality copper base material is plated directly with gold or silver to prevent the copper from oxidizing, with no intermediate layer of nickel underneath which would otherwise compromise performance.

The 1002 Banana Adapters are available in sets of 4.
Reply
post #9 of 15
1/24/04 at 10:03pm
sounds interesting. i dunno. if it were me, i'd just sell them and get new ones that fit. but the problem is those bigger cables are rare.... i dunno if you can find one at a good price in a short enough amount of time.
Reply
post #10 of 15
1/25/04 at 12:29am
Quote:
Originally posted by eyeteeth

The 1002 Banana Adapters are available in sets of 4.
I've tried the AQ banana adapter, which is a non-locking budget version of the Monster X-Terminator, and a WBT adapter which does the same thing for more money.

I didn't feel very secure with the connection the AQ adapter made. It simply came out way too easily. OTOH, it will work, and the X-terminators will set you back about $100 or so for four pairs.

You're not going to get a better connection with the Audioquest adapter, although it will look prettier. I suspect the same is true of the Monster.
Reply
post #11 of 15
1/25/04 at 6:51am
Thread Starter 
The funny thing is these partially connected cables sound spectacularly better than my previous cables. I've e-mailed my same questions to the cable manufacturer & hopefully will get a response tomorrow. Prettier? If odour free cow manure worked I'd use it. Orpheus's solution is the best, but I'll wait a while.
Reply
post #12 of 15
1/25/04 at 7:31am
I'd sell the cables now if they were relatively expensive. If they weren't expensive and you'd like to keep them then:

a) keep using them like you're using them (preserving future value).

b) re-terminate them to your liking (possibly damaging future value)

Up to you. My speaker cables aren't terminated btw

-dd3mon
Reply
post #13 of 15
1/25/04 at 8:53am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally posted by dd3mon
I'd sell the cables now if they were relatively expensive.
New $814.US for 2 meter pair. I got them for $475.US. I am definitely NOT re-terminating based upon the wise advice of Hirsh & Orpheus.

Sell & re-buy is the only decent option. Right now Im just curious about how much sonic quality, if any, is being lost with not having the complete connection? It sounds damn fine. As per Orpheus's advice I wiggled as much spade as I could onto the speaker posts which is at most 1/3 in , but the amp was a no go, Im using the bare wire holes. I don't have to completely close my hand around an electrical wire to electrocute myself right. Am I hearing 90% performance? 80%, 70%? This is my only real question now.
Reply
post #14 of 15
1/25/04 at 1:41pm
Quote:
Originally posted by eyeteeth
New $814.US for 2 meter pair. I got them for $475.US. I am definitely NOT re-terminating based upon the wise advice of Hirsh & Orpheus.

Sell & re-buy is the only decent option. Right now Im just curious about how much sonic quality, if any, is being lost with not having the complete connection? It sounds damn fine. As per Orpheus's advice I wiggled as much spade as I could onto the speaker posts which is at most 1/3 in , but the amp was a no go, Im using the bare wire holes. I don't have to completely close my hand around an electrical wire to electrocute myself right. Am I hearing 90% performance? 80%, 70%? This is my only real question now.
If you've got a solid electrical connection, you're probably getting on the order of 99.5% of the performance. More surface area at the connection would be good, but audible differences are minimal. If there's a risk of the part of the spade outside the binding post shorting to the next terminal, you might want to put some electrical tape over the exposed part of the spade. A shorted output is no fun at all. If it sounds good, and you've got the connection secured, I'd simply use them until you're ready to move on. If the cosmetics of the situation bother you, and the manufacturer cannot put large spades on the cable, I'd sell.

I do use the Monster X-Terminators to resolve a similar situation with my speakers. They are biwired, so that takes a fair number of X-Terminators...
Reply
post #15 of 15
1/25/04 at 3:52pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally posted by Hirsch
If it sounds good, and you've got the connection secured, I'd simply use them until you're ready to move on
I consider the issue resolved.

Thanks to you guys I probably saved myself a lot of trouble & money wrestling with various dealers over the truth of the matter.

Big, Big thanks!!!
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Cables, Power, Tweaks, Speakers, Accessories (DBT-Free Forum) › Do I bother re-terminating my cable?