[Matt]

Got me some Belden 89259 and some $20 Neutrik RCA caps...am considering using those caps for something else and buying WBT-0108s on the Belden wire...do you reckon it would be worth it? Would the $140 be justifiable?

- Matt

 

[chych]

IMO WBTs are way overpriced. Personally, I'd go for the Cardas SRCAs at $12 each.

 

[Budgie]

I agree with chych. Take the money you save and buy some more music instead.

 

[aos]

>IMO WBTs are way overpriced

Yep, and so are Belden cables.

 

[Matt]

...the solderless crimp thing as opposed to otherwise having to use solder? I've heard that there is a substantial difference (I am picky, if that helps)...

Any thoughts?

- Matt

p.s *are* there any women on this board? Everyday I seem to get the idea that this is a male's sport...I guess they generate it and we appreciate it (beauty, that is).

 

[setmenu]

Quote:

Originally posted by chych IMO WBTs are way overpriced. Personally, I'd go for the Cardas SRCAs at $12 each.

I don,t agree.
WBTs are expensive yes, but they are superbly made conectors
with excellent attention to contact fit strength and low wear
rates etc.
I don,t doubt the Cardas connectors are great too,but I personaly
am a sucker for a well made product,and use nothing else.

Baised you see..

 

[Matt]

...about the WBTs is that you could (from what I understand) do a DIY project with them, decide the cable you used sucks, remove the caps and stick them on some other cables.

Could you not do this with a soldered connection? (please understand that I am extremely new to this DIY stuff...thanks)

Furthermore, what is the sonic difference between crimped and soldered connexions?


- Matt

 

[Audio Addict]

There has been a pricing change on the WBT. Still expensive, but less so. The latest pricing is at Parts Express:

www.partsexpress.com

There was a recent posting on WBT on Audio Asylum where Ray Kimber comment on this.

Good Luck.

 

[chych]

Eh, its your money, you can go for whatever you want really. Both the WBTs and Cardas are teflon insulated and are made of good metals.

Difference between crimp and solder... crimp has an air tight seal between connector and cable. Solder uses solder to bind the RCA and cable. I'm not sure how crimps can be undone though, so I'm not sure if the crimp version is right for you if you plan on reusing the RCA plug (what are these "caps" you speak of anyway?).

 

[Matt]

...RCA plugs called "caps"...maybe it was a site run by foreigners.
Thanks to Audio Addict for the parts express lead. That brings the price of four plugs down to $100. Now I'm tempted to go with these over the $50 for the Cardas'. Maybe.

I wonder what the differences in sound are, especially in light of the fact that I'll either be doing the Belden 89529 (or whatever it's called) cable or the "better" reworked version of it, using double the cable.

- Matt

 

[ringtheorist]

My opinion:
If you're newish to this DIY thing and don't have many (if any) boutique audiophile gear, I would definitely go with the Cardas.

There is probably some sonic difference between the Cardas and WBT jacks. However, for one, you need to be very skilled or else cables employing either jack won't sound good. Second, you really need very, very good sources to hear the difference.

If you're using a Sony CD player with a noisy clock and noisy power supply, the cables may just make you more aware of the imperfections, which is probably not what you want.

These are just my two cents. I latched onto the cable craze, but I decided to put all my cable projects onto the backburner until my sources were of reasonable quality to benefit from them.

b

 

[Matt]

...your avatar is rather...gruesome.

Anyhow, thanks for the advice. I do have equiptment that is nice enough (I think), a Rotel (isn't that a brand of baked beans?) CD transport and outboard DAC. It's OK, I guess. I *have* noticed differences in higher-end cables, all of which did different things to the sound, so I guess what I'm saying is I think the sound is there, it's just delivering it that I'm interested in and I thought maybe the WBTs might offer something extra for my *fussy* ears.

It drives a fellow mad when he hears one cable which has stunning soundstaging and etched highs and then goes onto another cable with airy, lofty highs with ***** soundstaging. Grrrrr!

Anyhow, thanks again for the suggestion. Practicality (especially considering the "just OK"-ness of the wire [from what I understand] and the general DIY ethic of relatively low cost and low voodoo) says I will probably go with the Cardas SRCAs. They look nice, too.

Thanks again.

Best,
Matt