[Music Alchemist]

I noticed that many audiophiles were much more impressed driving passive speakers directly from Chord DAC/amps (such as the DAVE and Hugo 2) rather than a power amp.

To do this, you need special cables that aren't so easy to find.

Basically I am looking for cables that are RCA on one end and speaker wire (spades are fine as well) on the other. The only ones I see that you can buy ready-made are short, and I would need longer lengths.

Can anyone direct me to either shops that have them ready to go or those who can custom-build them?

 

[Muinarc]

An RCA connector only needs two wires, and speaker binding posts take 2 wires, so all you have to do is cut an RCA connector off of one end of a RCA cable and strip the 2 wires. Amazon or Parts Express might have some pre-made ones on offer. You could also purchase speaker wire and solder an RCA connector on one end or buy solderless RCA connectors.

 

[Music Alchemist]

An RCA connector only needs two wires, and speaker binding posts take 2 wires, so all you have to do is cut an RCA connector off of one end of a RCA cable and strip the 2 wires. Amazon or Parts Express might have some pre-made ones on offer. You could also purchase speaker wire and solder an RCA connector on one end or buy solderless RCA connectors.

Thanks for the info. I know how to cut and strip cables, but soldering isn't something I want to bother with. That's why I'm looking for links to pre-made ones. (Or someone who can build them in the future.) The only ones I saw on Amazon were short.

 

[ahmadfaizadnan]

Does something like this works?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/16-AWG-Speaker-wire-pair-with-RCA-Female-Black-Red-to-2-pair-Banana-Plugs-6/322903258950?rt=nc&_trkparms=aid=222007&algo=SIM.MBE&ao=2&asc=41376&meid=68093d6f0f9e4b74b5a8685e99606576&pid=100005&rk=3&rkt=6&sd=262674042332&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m2219

or this

https://www.ebay.com/itm/16-AWG-Spe...d=322903258950&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m2219

 

[Music Alchemist]

Does something like this works?

Thanks for the links. The second one with male RCA plugs could work. (Though I'd prefer bare wire or spades on the other end rather than banana plugs.)

When the time comes, I may just end up contacting companies that construct custom cables (yay for alliteration!) to have something made to my specification.

 

[PlantsmanTX]

Something like that?

 

[Music Alchemist]

Something like that?

This just blew my mind. Can't believe I didn't think of this. So I can just connect these adapters, then use normal speaker wire! Thanks so much for sharing.

 

[PlantsmanTX]

This just blew my mind. Can't believe I didn't think of this. So I can just connect these adapters, then use normal speaker wire! Thanks so much for sharing.

You're very welcome.

 

[Music Alchemist]

I'll probably use those adapters at first when the time comes...but Rob Watts (Chord DAC designer) told me this:

"but in the long term get speaker wire soldered to 1/4 inch headphone plugs - that's what I use."

Guess I'll suck it up and eventually learn how to solder cables myself since otherwise I'd have to pay a lot more for the same thing if I hired someone else to do it.

 

[Muinarc]

This just blew my mind. Can't believe I didn't think of this. So I can just connect these adapters, then use normal speaker wire! Thanks so much for sharing.

An RCA connector only needs two wires, and speaker binding posts take 2 wires, so all you have to do is cut an RCA connector off of one end of a RCA cable and strip the 2 wires. Amazon or Parts Express might have some pre-made ones on offer. You could also purchase speaker wire and solder an RCA connector on one end or buy solderless RCA connectors.

 

[Music Alchemist]

.

Whoops, my bad. I just had never seen them before and must have overlooked that.

 

[Muinarc]

It's ok. There are a lot of options out there and they'll all be quite easy and a lot cheaper than messing with RCA cables since speaker wire can be had for pennies per ft.

 

[Music Alchemist]

It's ok. There are a lot of options out there and they'll all be quite easy and a lot cheaper than messing with RCA cables since speaker wire can be had for pennies per ft.

Yeah, I didn't pay much for 50 feet of 12AWG oxygen-free pure bare copper speaker wire.

I got a cheapo wire stripper, though, so I had to work harder than I should have. Next time I'll get a fancier one that lets you do it at the push of a button instead of having to wrestle with it.