Cables for Emotiva XPA-5

[highfigh]

Yeah, I agree. Like I said, if my reciever wasn't going on ten years old, I would have opted for XPA-3 too. Since you were the only one who answered my question, is there any difference in using COMPONENT VIDEO cable for audio jacks? Is there that much signal loss going with regular RCA Cable compared to the Blue Jean Cable you showed me? I don't mind buying the Blue Jean, just want to be sure, that's all. Thanks

Is ten years a magic number for receivers? My Sony ES integrated amp is over 20 years old and works fine. If it was OK then, it should be OK now unless it took a big surge or had the speaker sires shorted repeatedly with iffy protection.

 

[highfigh]

I went on the Emotiva website forgetting that they sell cable. Well, to be safe since I bought the Amp from them,(thinking they wouldn't send junk cable to plug into it), I bought 5 of their RCA cables, the 5.99 each ones. Works great.

You mentioned using component cables for audio- any decent shielded cable will work and that includes RG-59 and RG-6, along with regular mic cable, guitar/instrument cable (if it's not one of the instrument-specific types Monster likes to sell as being best for bass guitar, etc). For that matter, if you want to do an experiment, solder some RCA plugs onto a piece of Cat5e- you'd be surprised by how little it affects the sound.

 

[son-yah-tive]

You mentioned using component cables for audio- any decent shielded cable will work and that includes RG-59 and RG-6, along with regular mic cable, guitar/instrument cable (if it's not one of the instrument-specific types Monster likes to sell as being best for bass guitar, etc). For that matter, if you want to do an experiment, solder some RCA plugs onto a piece of Cat5e- you'd be surprised by how little it affects the sound.

You're right, I did mention Component Cable. But I found out I needed to use it for the TV on another hook up. Good memory. So to make it neat I just bought all the same cables. Emotiva even has color coded o-rings you can match each plug to. Looked like 6 different colors if I remember.

 

[oppman99]

Emotiva even has color coded o-rings you can match each plug to. Looked like 6 different colors if I remember.

I like the colored o-rings for the ease of identifying which cable is for which speaker. My big complaint on the ultra series interconnects is that one of the stereo pairs I have fit so tightly I was afraid I would break the jacks on my AVR and amp. Have to figure out a way to loosen them up a little.

 

[j_garcia]

I like the colored o-rings for the ease of identifying which cable is for which speaker. My big complaint on the ultra series interconnects is that one of the stereo pairs I have fit so tightly I was afraid I would break the jacks on my AVR and amp. Have to figure out a way to loosen them up a little.

You could try some dielectric grease. Will make them go on easier, but won't make them any less snug. You could also contact them and see if they will exchange that one since it shouldn't be that tight.

 

[son-yah-tive]

You could try some dielectric grease. Will make them go on easier, but won't make them any less snug. You could also contact them and see if they will exchange that one since it shouldn't be that tight.

What J said. That's what I was going to tell you. That is WAY to tight.

 

[highfigh]

You're right, I did mention Component Cable. But I found out I needed to use it for the TV on another hook up. Good memory. So to make it neat I just bought all the same cables. Emotiva even has color coded o-rings you can match each plug to. Looked like 6 different colors if I remember.

Good memory, my butt. I read that post about 2 minutes before I replied.

I'm a fan of making cables as needed but the Ultra looks like a reasonably priced line. The X-Series- not as much, because it's more about cosmetics and that makes no absolutely difference in performance. Nylon sleeve and heat shrink tubing can be bought pretty cheaply if someone wants that. As far as the balanced cables with XLR connectors, I prefer Neutric and just about any cable with those will be fine, at any reasonable price. Parts Express has many to choose from. Shiny plugs don't do anything for me, especially since they're almost always hidden.

 

[oppman99]

You could try some dielectric grease. Will make them go on easier, but won't make them any less snug. You could also contact them and see if they will exchange that one since it shouldn't be that tight.

I just got them yesterday, and calling to exchange them was my plan. They were free since I had to wait to get my XPA-5 at the Dec sale price, so I can't complain too much.

 

[croseiv]

Using copper VampireWire between my SC-27 and XPA-5 with great results.