Without taking sides - Auricle - Cable Asylum

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Without taking sides

In Reply to: Bare wire vs spades posted by Markhh2 on March 9, 2005 at 08:26:31:

Theoretical perfection
Bare wire freshly "de-ox"d is a better conductor that a spade
a spade is a better conductor than any solder (the reason to use solder is to fasten two conductors together and seal them from air and contaminants, not to conduct. Tinning a speaker termination defeats the purpose unless one applies the iron to the speaker post to create a good connection . . . not a good idea with a many of speakers)
Reality
there is no way to prevent oxides/sulfides forming with bare wire to binding post.
there is no way to keep oxides/sulfides forming in a crimped spade connection
there is no way to ensure that a solder joint is done correctly, with the proper time to set when normal DIY folk make the joint (even professionals only "do good" about 80% of the time)
I believe Jon Risch prefers spades, or at least I believe he once did. I concur, though only freshly "de-ox"d (spade too) crimped and sealed from contaminants at the joint (I use a natural varnish or lacquer).
Of course, the spade and the cable should be out of the same material. There are some who like to avoid the mass of the spade, especially in low power SET configurations. One may "de-ox" the wire end (if a ribbon or single strand), seat it directly to the speaker terminus, tighten and then seal with varnish or lacquer. Messy when you want to change, but to my ears, awfully good.
The less fuss there is in the nexus, i.e., the more it is like a wire without connections, the more pure it will sound. That doesn't mean better (bad ingredients will be revealed more blatantly) but more directly.
IMHO, etc.
Feel free to yell at me, Jon.

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Follow Ups Full Thread

Topic - Bare wire vs spades - Markhh2 08:26:31 03/09/05 (14)

Re: Bare wire vs spades - clang 08:02:27 03/10/05 (6)

Teflon tape is gas permeable except as a thread wrap - Auricle 10:29:28 03/12/05 (2)

Re: Teflon tape is gas permeable except as a thread wrap - clang 14:09:37 03/12/05 (1)

Clamping - Auricle 09:20:55 03/13/05 (0)

Re: Bare wire vs spades - Dawnrazor 10:54:00 03/10/05 (2)

Teflon tape over wire - clang 16:28:22 03/11/05 (1)

Re: Teflon tape over wire - Dawnrazor 23:28:07 03/11/05 (0)

Without taking sides - Auricle 15:47:40 03/09/05 (0)

My dynamic loading experience. - Al Sekela 15:43:44 03/09/05 (0)

Re: Bare wire vs spades - Dave Pogue 08:51:04 03/09/05 (4)

Can you elaborate - pburant 13:46:08 03/09/05 (3)

Re: Can you elaborate - Dave Pogue 14:11:11 03/09/05 (2)

Good points - pburant 18:44:02 03/10/05 (1)

Re: Good points - Dave Pogue 03:35:56 03/11/05 (0)

Follow Ups

Without taking sides - Auricle 15:47:40 03/09/05 (0)

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