[433521]

Question for you experienced audio folks. The speaker wire I am using has no connectors, just bare cable. Is there any advantage to banana plugs, spade connectors or pin connectors? Do they just make equipment easier to hookup? Also the speaker wire I have (14 gauge bought from Best buy 17 ish yrs ago) has a clear plastic core with which the wire is wrapped around. Is that snake oil, or does it have a legitimate use?

I have had the same bare wire that started at 50 ft for 20 years. I don't know what the plastic inside does but it shouldn't make a difference in sonics. Banana connectors are superior to bare wire if you intend to replace the speakers just for ease of use. But for a single installation I think it's more trouble than it's worth.

If the speaker plugs are close together and you're worried about shorting the amp it isn't much of a hassle.

 

[OldRoadToad]

It seems to me that frAudioQuest rather than stand behind their products prefer to stand behind their customers and boof 'em. And no reach around, Schiit or other wise.
FTN of frAudioQuest.

And no one here take offence but for those of you that have the Valhalla 2, is it normal for the LED to stay on for 45+ minutes after I shut the unit down? Must have some hellacious caps in there...If I do not hear from any one here on this subject, yes I will contact Schiit, but *** I just want to know from owners first. I am NOT putting Schiit down, if I wanted to do that I would do that.

And yes, I like the VN² just fine, I just want to know if this is normal or is it weird? If the latter, will I get super powers from the glow and how can I get it to stop?

ORT

 

[Rensek]

It seems to me that frAudioQuest rather than stand behind their products prefer to stand behind their customers and boof 'em. And no reach around, Schiit or other wise.
FTN of frAudioQuest.

And no one here take offence but for those of you that have the Valhalla 2, is it normal for the LED to stay on for 45+ minutes after I shut the unit down? Must have some hellacious caps in there...If I do not hear from any one here on this subject, yes I will contact Schiit, but *** I just want to know from owners first. I am NOT putting Schiit down, if I wanted to do that I would do that.

And yes, I like the VN² just fine, I just want to know if this is normal or is it weird? If the latter, will I get super powers from the glow and how can I get it to stop?

ORT[/QUOT

It seems to me that frAudioQuest rather than stand behind their products prefer to stand behind their customers and boof 'em. And no reach around, Schiit or other wise.
FTN of frAudioQuest.

And no one here take offence but for those of you that have the Valhalla 2, is it normal for the LED to stay on for 45+ minutes after I shut the unit down? Must have some hellacious caps in there...If I do not hear from any one here on this subject, yes I will contact Schiit, but *** I just want to know from owners first. I am NOT putting Schiit down, if I wanted to do that I would do that.

And yes, I like the VN² just fine, I just want to know if this is normal or is it weird? If the latter, will I get super powers from the glow and how can I get it to stop?

ORT

I know that when I power down the Magni 3 the light lasts for 30 secs or so before completely dimming, and thats with a far lower voltage component. I'm on the local fire department out here. When we tear cars apart with Jaws of Life we also spend time messing with air bags, a car can be without it's battery for a long long time, and there will still be enough power floating around in the system to set airbags off. I think Jason said somewhere those LEDs pull power numbering in the low milliwatts. The Valhalla has 4 high power tubes, I bet it just takes that long for all of the power to leave the system.

 

[MWSVette]

It seems to me that frAudioQuest rather than stand behind their products prefer to stand behind their customers and boof 'em. And no reach around, Schiit or other wise.
FTN of frAudioQuest.

And no one here take offence but for those of you that have the Valhalla 2, is it normal for the LED to stay on for 45+ minutes after I shut the unit down? Must have some hellacious caps in there...If I do not hear from any one here on this subject, yes I will contact Schiit, but *** I just want to know from owners first. I am NOT putting Schiit down, if I wanted to do that I would do that.

And yes, I like the VN² just fine, I just want to know if this is normal or is it weird? If the latter, will I get super powers from the glow and how can I get it to stop?

ORT

Yes, it is normal Uncle ORT. Mine does the same thing...

 

[sublime9]

​

 

[sublime9]

I use 4/0 "four aught" welding cable for my speaker connections. I know, I know, the power wires in my walls are 14 AWG Romex, but I am comforted by the fact that if copper vandals break into my house, they will be fully loaded down with my speaker cable and less likely to tear up the walls for the wire and pipe.

I also keep a 1 foot pool of mercury in my listening room for a ground. No nasty ESD is going to get my MOSFET's. Toxic, schmoxic.

 

[sublime9]

It seems to me that frAudioQuest rather than stand behind their products prefer to stand behind their customers and boof 'em. And no reach around, Schiit or other wise.
FTN of frAudioQuest.

And no one here take offence but for those of you that have the Valhalla 2, is it normal for the LED to stay on for 45+ minutes after I shut the unit down? Must have some hellacious caps in there...If I do not hear from any one here on this subject, yes I will contact Schiit, but *** I just want to know from owners first. I am NOT putting Schiit down, if I wanted to do that I would do that.

And yes, I like the VN² just fine, I just want to know if this is normal or is it weird? If the latter, will I get super powers from the glow and how can I get it to stop?

ORT

Are you sure you are not toggling the gain switch rather than the power switch? That behavior is weird. Or Wyrd.

 

[Pietro Cozzi Tinin]

And no one here take offence but for those of you that have the Valhalla 2, is it normal for the LED to stay on for 45+ minutes after I shut the unit down?

Yup.
That's normal.

 

[winders]

Question for you experienced audio folks. The speaker wire I am using has no connectors, just bare cable. Is there any advantage to banana plugs, spade connectors or pin connectors? Do they just make equipment easier to hookup? Also the speaker wire I have (14 gauge bought from Best buy 17 ish yrs ago) has a clear plastic core with which the wire is wrapped around. Is that snake oil, or does it have a legitimate use?

It all depends. If you are not swapping speakers/amps in and out, bare wire is a fine choice. It comes down to what gauge wire you are using and how much room you have around the posts. If you have the room, nothing will sound better than bare wire, that is for sure.

 

[NorCal]

It all depends. If you are not swapping speakers/amps in and out, bare wire is a fine choice. It comes down to what gauge wire you are using and how much room you have around the posts. If you have the room, nothing will sound better than bare wire, that is for sure.

Agreed, assuming one has binding post that can cinch down tight enough to make an air tight connection.

Copper and silver will corrode/tarnish, which is why the popularity of the gold terminals, like bananas, (or pins for the spring terminals, found mostly on in expensive speakers and amps).

 

[Pietro Cozzi Tinin]

I concur with @Ableza and @winders to bare wire.
Sometimes your setup or wire-changing-frequency doesn't allow for that.
In that case I prefer expandable banana plugs above spades.
The latter tends to fall of with the slightest touch.

 

[johnjen]

My choice for any set of contacts is to go for maximal contact patch.
The greater the surface area in contact from one surface to the other, the more I prefer it.

This means spade connectors for me and more tightening torque than just finger tight.

This is part of my 'plan' to use as many small and seemingly insignificant tweaks as possible.
And to be sure by itself it probably wouldn't be noticeable, but when used with a myriad of other tweaks does add up.
It's like getting something for nothing.
It's like 1% here, 3% there, with a 5% over there, and 4%, and 15%, and and and.
After a while you're looking at a 20-30%+ increase in efficiency or effectiveness or beneficial improvements, all essentially for free.

I have used this approach in a variety of different ways and in a multitude of different systems, all with beneficial results.

JJ

 

[winders]

I do like the convenience of banana plugs, but spades, if you can use them, are better.

 

[Pietro Cozzi Tinin]

I do like the convenience of banana plugs, but spades, if you can use them, are better.

Yes but they always fall off of my rig.

 

[winders]

Tighten them better!