speaker jumpers and cables

PrazVT
PrazVT Posts: 1,606
edited August 2011 in Basic Hookup/Wiring Questions
QQ - does it matter what I use to bridge the speaker jumpers on my RTi A7s? They're hooked up via Kimber 8TC (blue / black) and I just made some jumpers with some Audioquest X-2 + bananas I had laying around.

I'm not sure if I can tell an audible difference from the old brass jumpers and the DH labs wire Trey was nice enough to provide when he modded the xos.

Also, been pondering swapping in some Signal Ultra bi-wires as I've been very happy with Signal sound on my LSi system. Oddly, I haven't been 100% satisfied w/ the 8TC in this system. Low end seems to be a bit muted (tighter though) compared to previous wires.

Thanks -

Praz
ALL BOXED UP for a while until I save up for a new place :(

Home Theater:
KEF Q900s / MIT Shotgun S3 / MIT CVT2 ICs | KEF Q600C | Polk FXi5 | BJC Wire | Signal / AQ ICs | Shunyata / Pangea PCs | Pioneer Elite SC 57 | Parasound NC2100 Pre | NAD M25 | Marantz SA8001 | Schiit Gungnir DAC | SB Touch

2 Channel:
Polk LSi9 (xo mods), Polk DSW MicroPro 2000 sub | NAD c375BEE | W4S DAC1 | SB Touch | Marantz SA-8001 | MIT AVt 2 | Kimber Hero / AQ / Signal ICs | Shunyata / Signal PCs
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Comments

  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,684
    edited August 2011
    Just about any wire should be better than the plated metal jumpers.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • Drenis
    Drenis Posts: 2,871
    edited August 2011
    I have a question relating to this. Today a friend of mine (He's an electrician) told me that Banana plugs are no good for high power applications. Direct wire screwed down with the posts is the best conductive method. Currently I have my wires into my A9's with 12 awg wire in Banana Plugs into the bottom posts with a single 12 awg wire screwed from the bottom post to the top.

    We argued for 10 minutes regarding this issue. So I'll ask the community, what are you opinions to this claim? Do banana plugs kill performance with high power due to the amount of wire contacting in the plug? If so, what's the threshold?
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  • zingo
    zingo Posts: 11,258
    edited August 2011
    What does he mean by high power? Most HIFI equipment is not high power by electrical standards. Your 12 AWG wire is only rated to 9A, which is not high power in my book.
    Jake
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  • decal
    decal Posts: 3,205
    edited August 2011
    PrazVT wrote: »
    I'm not sure if I can tell an audible difference from the old brass jumpers and the DH labs wire

    There you go. You answered your question with your own ears, not someone else's.
    If you can't hear a difference, don't waste your money.
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  • Drenis
    Drenis Posts: 2,871
    edited August 2011
    This is what I argued with him but he insists that banana plugs are inefficient and with an external amp that wires should be compensated since "not enough of the speaker wire makes contact with the internal plug connection".

    His concept is it should be direct wire to bottom post with another wire to the top post ALL screwed with no plugs or spades. I just wanna slap him...
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  • EndersShadow
    EndersShadow Posts: 17,596
    edited August 2011
    Drenis wrote: »
    This is what I argued with him but he insists that banana plugs are inefficient and with an external amp that wires should be compensated since "not enough of the speaker wire makes contact with the internal plug connection".

    His concept is it should be direct wire to bottom post with another wire to the top post ALL screwed with no plugs or spades. I just wanna slap him...

    Eh, its all about ease of use. It would be even better if the speaker wires were direct point to point the entire way and soldered direct to the binding posts (or the speakers for that matter)....but then you couldnt move them ever lol....

    Personally I use banana's and have never noticed a difference from when I was and was not using them. Not enough of a signal IMHO for it to matter. Plus with as much as most of us switch out our gear, it makes life soo much easier
    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
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  • Drenis
    Drenis Posts: 2,871
    edited August 2011
    Agreed. I too, can't tell of any negative cons to this method.
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  • PrazVT
    PrazVT Posts: 1,606
    edited August 2011
    Hey - thanks for all the replies guys. Since I know different brands / models of wire can make difference in SQ, I just didn't want to inadvertently alter anything. But sounds like a non-issue aside from being an improvement from the stock jumpers.
    Just about any wire should be better than the plated metal jumpers.


    Understood. Then, it's probably a good idea to make some jumpers for the LSi9s as they're using the stock plated ones.
    There you go. You answered your question with your own ears, not someone else's.

    hehe - indeed.
    ALL BOXED UP for a while until I save up for a new place :(

    Home Theater:
    KEF Q900s / MIT Shotgun S3 / MIT CVT2 ICs | KEF Q600C | Polk FXi5 | BJC Wire | Signal / AQ ICs | Shunyata / Pangea PCs | Pioneer Elite SC 57 | Parasound NC2100 Pre | NAD M25 | Marantz SA8001 | Schiit Gungnir DAC | SB Touch

    2 Channel:
    Polk LSi9 (xo mods), Polk DSW MicroPro 2000 sub | NAD c375BEE | W4S DAC1 | SB Touch | Marantz SA-8001 | MIT AVt 2 | Kimber Hero / AQ / Signal ICs | Shunyata / Signal PCs
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  • mikehpolk
    mikehpolk Posts: 27
    edited August 2011
    I recently posted the same query here about my RTi A7's. I made 4 7" lengths and slapped banana plugs on them, and inserted bare wire into my terminals to the receiver. The difference was far greater than I had expected. Used 12g for all.

    I actually wanted to sue spades for the jumpers, but the plugs work well enough. (plus I already had extra banana plugs)
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  • decal
    decal Posts: 3,205
    edited August 2011
    What did the spades do that made you want to sue them? Sorry, I just couldn't pass on that one !!!!
    If you can't hear a difference, don't waste your money.
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  • mikehpolk
    mikehpolk Posts: 27
    edited August 2011
    :P Smartass. USE them.

    Noticed post-post, but no edit button, so...
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