I may even open the JVC and solder the speaker wire directly since I believe that the CONNECTORS are more important than the actual wire..
Very good point. I might offer a further observation on this topic of connectors and wire. Hopefully I'm not straying too far off topic as this applies to most folks out there even with the most expensive gear/cables.
CONNECTORS:
Often times connectors are a choke point-weak link in the audio system and
almost negate the use of fine quality cables/wire.
For example, let's say you are using pure solid core silver cable; whether it's for your speaker or interconnect cables (Silver is a better conductor than pure copper by about 6% according to IACS).
Now let's say you have this nice silver wire fitted with WBT or any major brand of connector, more than likely that connector core is solid brass with multiple layers of plating-usually a nickel sub plate with gold over that to give it corrosion resitance and a shiny appearance (except for the WBT NextGen RCA's and Eichmann connectors)
These layers of plating offer minute amounts of resistance and brass is no where near as conductive as pure silver(or copper for that matter)...well the fine silver wire conductor you have is no longer as impressive as it's now got a choke point or weak link at either end of it (whether it's brass RCA or speaker connectors the plated brass is the choke point - weak link and you can't get around it).
Now you plug your fine silver wire fitted with nickel/gold plated brass connectors into your amp or other components. What have we here? More connection points with solid brass cores and nickel/gold plating.
So not only do your cables have weak links - choke points at either end but your components and speakers do as well.
So these choke points occur at many points in any given stereo system and the negative effects become additive..so the more points where connections are made with standard connectors, the more harmful they become.
SolutionGet good connectors in there made of solid copper with minimal plating or pure silver connectors with no plating. Pure copper connectors with no plating but that are kept clean and free of oxidation work great too. I might apply a silver paste to them in order to prevent oxidation (do so after thoroughly cleaning the copper connection points).
WIRENow using good quality wire matters once again and will be more effective for the same reasons stated for using good quality connectors. How much you want to spend on wire and what kind is up to you but at least you'll know that your quality wire isn't choked off any more by poor connectors.
I do believe
http://www.stage3concepts.com">Stage III Concepts Cables represent the above outlined concepts very well as do a number of other cable manufacturers. [no I am not a Stage III dealer nor do I have any affiliation with them. I just mention their cables as they use these principles in their designs]
Horizons,
I used to own Magnepan 1.6's and I modded them in a few different ways. When I went to sell them I restored them to almost stock configuration. I did use better wire internally but I also got rid of the horrible STEEL connectors. That was probably the biggest improvement for the money that you can do on Maggies. I just used solid copper core binding posts with gold plating. The sound improvement was immediate and noticeable without any doubt. It wasn't just a change but a true improvement. I'd say it's like the analogy of washing your windows with Windex so they're perfectly clean. That's what kind of improvement happens when you swap out the steelies on maggies. I can't say that type of night&day improvement will occur in every situation where poor connectors are replaced with quality connectors but the cummulative effects should be.
So I guess what I am saying, Horizons, is definitely solder your cables directly to the interals of the F10.You'll be pleased you did. Later on you can always experiment with finer wire.
