Speaker cable termination

Hajime Sato · « **on:** 19 Feb 2005, 06:35 am »

I recently bought AVCable's 10AWG speaker cables and am using them in a double-run bi-wire configuration. My amp has a single pair of rather small terminals and I coundn't fit the cables (10AWGx2) into them. Since I prefer bare wire connection I simply trimmed the stranded wires down to roughly 12AWG at the amp end.

I know this is rather weird but I'm acting on a set of beliefs based on theory and my limited experience: (1) When it comes to speaker cables, (and other things being equal), thicker the better; (2) No termination is better than any termination; and (3) It's OK to make the cable thinner at the end because it does not change the resistance (and other important properties) by much.

But then my audiophile friend told me that whatever I do, I should never cut any strands of wire. He did not offer any scientific reason though I asked. Do you agree with what he says, and if you do, can anyone offer a scientific basis for the claim?

As you can probably tell, I'm no engineer and practically don't know anything about electronics but I would like to learn. Thanks!

_scotty_ · « **Reply #1 on:** 19 Feb 2005, 03:46 pm »

Hajime, If you are satisfied with how your system sounds with this minor
"compromise" which facilitates using this size cable in your system then the less than expert opinions of audiophiles really shouldn't matter to you.
Any competent EE should tell you that in this application a few missing wires
won't matter whereas an audiophlie probably would be unable to sleep at night knowing this "compromise" was sitting there in his system.
I think you should just sit back and enjoy the result of you handiwork and not worry about it. Scotty

Hajime Sato · « **Reply #2 on:** 19 Feb 2005, 10:05 pm »

Scotty, thanks a lot for your comment, and clarifying that my "compromise" is acceptable from an EE point of view. I can sleep better now, and as you said, I will sit back and enjoy the music!

konut · « **Reply #3 on:** 19 Feb 2005, 11:00 pm »

FWIW, by coincidence , I found this today. http://www.padrick.net/Hi-Fi/Hi-FiTips.htm It has the ring of common sense anyway.

Hajime Sato · « **Reply #4 on:** 20 Feb 2005, 01:49 am »

Thanks konut. Yesterday I read some threads in a different forum where the consensus, if any, seemed to favor crimped spade lugs. But the person you referred to advocate soldered bananas. Arguments of audiophiles are infinite, indeed.

Ulas · « **Reply #5 on:** 20 Feb 2005, 03:17 am »

Hajime,
It just goes to show that if you dress anything up with enough pseudo-science claptrap some audiophiles will believe it. Did you know that while crimped connections are the cheapest, requiring the least operator time and skill, and provide a good mechanical connection, they are not the best electrical connection. First, good electrical contact is hindered by oxidation on the wire prior to crimping: Solder flux removes the oxidation and insures direct molecular fusion between the copper and the solder. Second, stressed copper wire does not conduct as well as relaxed wire. That’s the primary advantage of continuous-cast copper: It is not stressed by repeated draws through the dies. And that’s the advantage of slow reduction-oven annealing for drawn copper wire. Relaxed wire and soldered connections are best.

Hajime Sato · « **Reply #6 on:** 21 Feb 2005, 04:35 am »

Ulas,
Thanks for your comment. I didn't know about the stressed vs. relaxed copper difference. I'm not qualified to make clear judgments but I've read an argument that solder should be avoided because its conductivity is less than copper. If this is true, I wonder the benefits of soldering (deoxidization effect, molcular fusion) outweighs. Also, I wonder if can we get around the oxidization problem by treating the wires before crimping?

I'm not trying to refute you here. (Again, I'm not qualified.) But I'll appreciate your further input.

BTW, your system is awesome!

Ulas · « **Reply #7 on:** 21 Feb 2005, 03:55 pm »

Hajime,
I wasn't trying to convince you soldered connections were best; I was demonstrating that it is easy to concoct a technical-sounding explanation for or against anything in audio.

Every audio component has dozens of solder connections. If you believe the increased resistance of one additional solder joint in the signal path is all that stands between you and audio bliss, then you should do whatever it takes to eliminate it.

Hajime Sato · « **Reply #8 on:** 21 Feb 2005, 07:43 pm »

Ulas,

You got me with our "technical-sounding explanation!" I thought you were serious! Anyway, I think you are right about soldering: many solder joints being used in the amplifier and also speaker networks.

Your post taught me an important point: Being non-scientist, I cannot and shouldn't believe ANY of the "technical-sounding explanations!" The logical conclusion is "Just forget about it and enjoy the music!" The only thing is that I still want to learn... I guess I'll have to listen to someone I trust and experiment myself.

Ulas · « **Reply #9 on:** 21 Feb 2005, 08:32 pm »

Quote from: Hajime Sato

Just forget about it and enjoy the music!

By Jove, I think he's got it!

BTW, I was very serious. It's just that for every "technical" claim that "proves" A is better than B, there is a "technical" claim that "proves" the opposite. That's because, in the end, it really doesn't matter.

ohenry · « **Reply #10 on:** 18 Mar 2005, 12:55 pm »

I read konut's linked page from the post above and ordered some of these for a try.

http://www.mouser.com//catalog/specsheets/KC-300067.pdf

They're inexpensive, simple and make good contact. The plastic covers screw on from the plug end after soldering. If you don't mind soldered banana plugs, throw a few in the cart the next time you're shopping at Mouser.

Hajime Sato · « **Reply #11 on:** 18 Mar 2005, 07:34 pm »

Thanks, ohenry.

Since I saw one of my cables coming off, I'm experimenting with spade lugs for stability (and safety). But thanks for the info. If lugs don't work, I might try these bananas.