2. cables
  3. 146550-118236

Please help me clean up this stupid speaker cable mistake

I ordered off Ebay yesterday a pair of new fifteen foot Audioquest Rocket 88 speaker cables, the single bi-wire type with banana plugs for $650. It seemed like a good price. There are two banana plugs on the amp end of the cable, four banana plugs on the speaker end of each cable. They are for my new back ordered Magico A3’s, due for delivery by the end of this month. My stupid mistake is you cannot bi-wire Magico A3’s. So I have to combine recombine the biwire leads into single leads, which you would think would be simple.

I called Audioquest and spoke to a tech there. I asked him if the existing banana plugs on the Rocket 88 could be unscrewed. I could then twist two bi-wire leads together and place them back into a single banana jack if they would fit. Either that or replace them with spades, hoping the individual connectors on the Magicos were big enough to accept two spades. The tech didn’t know if they could be unscrewed. Do any of you know if they could be unscrewed and if so would the existing banana plug be fat enough to accommodate two leads.

His suggestion was to buy a set of four Audioquest 500 series spade or banana connectors, and replace the current ones. He though they would be wide enough to accommodate two combined leads and I wouldn’t have to solder them on which I’d like to avoid. They use Allen head screws to hold the wires in place. They go for $70.00. Do you know of any comparable quality screw on banana or spade connectors that aren’t so pricey? I was trying to be frugal in the first place with this purchase without sacrificing quality. The ones that are on the Rocket 88’s are silver plated if that’s relevant.

Sorry for being so long winded and thanks for any suggestions.

Mike
skyscraper
david_ten
5,480 posts
 
I believe the speaker posts are WBT (?). I would check with Magico regarding which WBTs and then ask Audioquest and WBT for their recommendation on material pairing. Also, given your spend on the A3s, don't 'cheap out' on the connectors.

Any reason why you cannot pick up a correctly terminated speaker cable? Seems like the easiest, and perhaps smarter approach (?).

All the best with whichever solution you choose and the resulting performance.
maxima95
289 posts
 
david_ten is right. 
You should be able to return the ones you bought and seek another set that fits the bill.
I would not put more mechanical connections in the path unless it is absolutely necessary.
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,436 posts
 
I would be willing to terminate them for you.  No cost.  Just parts and shipping.  Contact me here on the Gon. 
markalarsen's avatar
markalarsen
630 posts
 
Ask Audioquest or WBT to reterminate them. Typically a $150 charge. 
skyscraper OP
824 posts
 
Thanks again Thomas. I hadn’t ordered yet, so I’m good. I was only wondering if matching the metals made any difference. You never know what might be important when it comes to cabling.

mental, I was hoping not to have to waste any more money on correcting a stupid mistake after dropping $650 on the speaker cables already. But sometimes you do have to pay for your mistakes, literally.

tubegb, if your ears can’t tell the difference I’m guessing mine won’t either.

David, What does WBT mean? The reason I can’t pick up another properly terminated cable after spending $650 on these is that I have other non-audio related things I’d like to purchase and not an unlimited budget. Sad but true.

maxima, I can’t return these as it was an Ebay purchase from an individual and not from a store. That’s what happens when you think you’ve found a bargain sometimes, and rush a purchase. From what some of you are saying about adding additional connectors to the signal path, maybe I’ll just suck it up and re-terminate these with Audioquest’s recommended 500 series spades. It’s a $69 dollar lesson, could be worse, for four replacement spade terminals.

grannyring so nice of you to offer. The 500 Series terminals simply screw on so I’m comfortable doing that. If I’m lucky I might be able to reuse one of the bi-wires banana terminations to house two wires, but I’m guessing Audioquest doesn’t make them so they can be disassembled, reused or refit like some manufacturers do. It’s difficult  to believe, now that I think about it, the tech I spoke to didn’t know if they could be or not.

markalarsen, Audioquest wanted $100 to terminate them plus shipping back and forth. I simply don’t want to throw away any more money on my own stupidity. Since these are brand new the least they could have done was offer to exchange them. I’m guessing they’re not worried about repeat business.either.

Thanks all for your input.

Mike

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