Spades or bananas

Re bare wires oxidizing and compromising the sound, I understand the theory, but it sure hasn't worked out in practice. I've used them this way for a year (at least) and for a while was periodically cleaning them with Kontak but couldn't detect the slightest difference.

I submitted a question directly to Ray Kimber at audioasylum with respect to bare wire (am using Kimber 8TC) and he clearly pointed out that once secured onto the binding post, the oxidization occurs but not at the point of contact. If it's ok with Ray Kimber, I figure it's ok with me and have been using bare wire connections at my speakers with very good results-a big improvement over the Deltron bananas (which are, granted, fairly cheap). I also switched at the amp end from bananas (Deltrons) to Kimber post master spades (a lot more expensive) with what I would feel to be worthwhile results. I just couldn't make the bare wire connection effectively at the amp (holes through binding posts too small), or I'd be bare wire all the way.

Funny, that nobody mentioned hardwiring the stuff. The old Quads for example, the predecessors to the 63, of HQD fame, had such horrible and flimsy posts,( as did the earlier 63s) that your best bet was to solder your speaker-cables (you had the choice of Fultons or later those marketed through Mark Levinson, the man, and made in Switzerland by the way, )right to the internal wiring, doing your best to keep clear of the transformer, which still held a hell of a wallop,if you forgot to shunt them to ground and did not wait long enough, after unplugging the speaker from the powerline. Just reminiscing...

I use silver spades and a Craftsman wrench to tighten the posts. Takes a kind touch on the wrench, but that extra 1/8 of a turn really helps with a "gas tight" bond on the connection. The downside is the spades really get mashed and are only good for a couple of tightening sessions.

For those who think the metal used in the connection doesn't make a difference -- I would argue!! But if you can't tell the difference, good for you!! One less thing to worry about (for you).

When I used Kimber 4 and 8TC and other raw wire, I never used spades due to the importance of the connection to the spade. I did use the "wrench" on the binding post. Again, you want a good gas tight bond on the connection surface area.

I would never buy spades or banannas for a cable that didn't come MFR terminated, otherwise I request silver connections.

There is no question that I can hear the detrimental effects of a spade fork terminal on my equipment. The first time I knew there were problems, was when Brisson/MIT released the first super high quality gold spade. I saw they were adaptable to 2 different bolt sizes and had heavy plating over copper. They could accept wire down to # 8 guage. I bought about 20 of them from Steve McCormack of the old "Mod Squad" in California. Anxious to hear an improvement over my cheap Thomas & Betts fork terminals, I crimped them on the wire I use so not to introduce solder to the mix. Both amp and speaker ends were done. I sat down to listen and could not believe my ears. The sound of my beloved system was degraded at a surprising level. I made very sure that I locked on to the sound that I heard. I literally would shut down the system after 20 minutes of listening since the magic was gone. (no this is not some lunatic imaginary problem that many claim is in our head). The goosebumps were gone, so I knew it was absolutely REAL. Upon restripping my wire, I figured I might as well try bare wire to see what that sounds like. WOW!!!!! All, and I mean ALL artifacts of brightness, or in the case of the MIT lug, dullness, were gone. The difference was HUGE. Detlof, you would have eaisily heard this also, so dramatic the difference on the Quad.
Believe me, this is a very important story in the life of a audiophile in pursuit of the most Natural sound.......Frank