Questions on stepping up to making higher quality speaker wire

[Snakebitten]

Black and red are my 2 favorite colors, I'm pretty diehard about it. I might need to wrap my cables in this. 1/4" did the trick?

I used 1/4 inch all black flextech on the 14 gauge from BJC and loved the snug fit but it was a pain.

However, I chose 1/2” for the black/red for the 10 gauge pictured. I’m sure 1/4” will work but it will be very snug. With the 1/2” you just have to stretch it so it fits snug over the wire before you shrink tube each end. It will seem too big at first but you can tell by the pics that it works.

What gauge wire you using?

 

[WineOfTheVeins]

I used 1/4 inch all black flextech on the 14 gauge from BJC and loved the snug fit but it was a pain.

However, I chose 1/2” for the black/red for the 10 gauge pictured. I’m sure 1/4” will work but it will be very snug. With the 1/2” you just have to stretch it so it fits snug over the wire before you shrink tube each end. It will seem too big at first but you can tell by the pics that it works.

What gauge wire you using?

14/4 that already has a tight grey jacket around it, kinda plain looking. Plus it can't hurt to heat shrink up close to the naners, they're bare for about 4". So maybe 1/2"? It doesn't come with the heat shrink does it?

 

[Snakebitten]

The black things at the end of the wires on each end that you see are not heat shrinks. They are "pants" that slide over the wires. Since you have the Canares 4 wire you should get the 4 wire pants. What I do is use a thin clear shrink sleave thats about 2 inches long and slide it over the Flexo pet at the end. I put about a 1/4 inch of the clear shrink past where the flexo ends and shrink it over it so it cones in at the top and then tightens down. When it cools then you slide on the "pants" over it and boom it looks like what you see in my pics. Its really simply though my explanation may make it sound complicated.

You can find the pants on amazon....knukonceptz sells them along with some others...

If you want I can post links to the parts I bought from Amazon including the cheap and easy heat gun...

Ill just go ahead since I'm on the computer.

Pants for 2 wire:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004YUIW1Q/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Pants for 4 wire:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009XTOO6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Clear shrinks:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M6YB9CB/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You can use your hair dryer to shrink these shrink sleaves or you can buy this little beast. It doesnt get hot enough to damage the wire but it will sear the Flexo if you leave in one spot too long...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073RK2M2Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Hope that helps.

 

[Snakebitten]

BTW I did a back to back listening between the 14 gauge with Monster banana plugs vs the prettied-up 10 gauge I made with the GLS locking banana plugs. My songs to listen to was Anita Baker - Body and Soul and Lisa Fisher - How can I ease the pain.

I tell you the effervescent soundstage...cough cough...er I mean the 14 gauge sounded better to me. The bass on Body and Soul kicked better and was a little cleaner than on the 10 gauge. I think its the connectors. The GLS looks great but they are hard to lock and they do not have as solid an insertion as the Monster plugs do. I swapped the cables quite a few times to make sure my ears were not lying to me. I will swap the GLS plugs with the Monsters on the 10 gauge and retest and see.

 

[Snakebitten]

I think I may have figured out the difference in sound. It’s the connectors. I did some research and found out that the GLS locking banana plugs are gold plated “brass” while the Monster banana plugs are byrilliym gold leaf plated “copper”.

I love the look of the locking plugs but I will switch the 10 gauge to gold plated copper locking plugs from Nakamichi. It’s the little things eh.

 

[KenM10759]

I've made speaker cables for myself, my son, a few friends and even sold a few to others for a little bit over cost. When I do them for others I make it crystal clear that they are no "clearer" or otherwise sonically better than zip cord. All you get is cool-looking and secure connections.

As for pulling a speaker down because of locking banana plugs, I really do not see a problem. I have mine in with light pressure, they'd pull out long before the 48 lb (21.8kg) speakers are coming down. Yes, they're a bit snug at the back of the receiver.

Most times I use the Monoprice 12 gauge CL-2 jacketed cable with 3/8" TechFlex, though I did want a different look for my desktop LS50 speakers and went with Canare 4S11. I use little snips of heat shrink tubing to keep it all in place. Definitely sounds as good or bad as zip cord or Nordost.

 

[Speedskater]

I think I may have figured out the difference in sound. It’s the connectors. I did some research and found out that the GLS locking banana plugs are gold plated “brass” while the Monster banana plugs are byrilliym gold leaf plated “copper”.

While there are long team mechanical reasons for choosing one connector over another, all connectors that are making good contact will sound the same.

 

[killdozzer]

I think I may have figured out the difference in sound. It’s the connectors. I did some research and found out that the GLS locking banana plugs are gold plated “brass” while the Monster banana plugs are byrilliym gold leaf plated “copper”.

While there are long team mechanical reasons for choosing one connector over another, all connectors that are making good contact will sound the same.

And further blurring the line between joking and being serious lost its appeal. People do have fun here, but it’s mostly an advice giving forum so leaving comments like yours, without clearly demarking them as funny or ironical, can be misleading to some.

 

[Snakebitten]

Interesting. The first post I did with the sarcasm clearly stated things that showed I was joking. Like the $1500 price tag if I sold my cables etc.

In the post you are quoting I was totally serious. No where in it do I hint at it being sarcasm or it being a joke. I do hear a difference when I swap out the cables and connectors. So I thought it might have been the material the connectors are made out of. There is a reason I’m only posting in the audiophile section. I don’t know everything this hobby has to offer.

Speedskater thanks for that insight so I will try to get the locking banana plugs tighter and see if that alleviates what I’m hearing.

 

[mtrycrafts]

.... I swapped the cables quite a few times to make sure my ears were not lying to me. ...

The deception is caused by the brain, not the ears The ear just passes on the info. The canal doesn't change, doesn't think, the brain does. It does with all the senses.

 

[mtrycrafts]

All these beautiful cables mostly hidden behind speakers and racks.

 

[lovinthehd]

All these beautiful cables mostly hidden behind speakers and racks.

No, he's going to turn the receiver and speakers around so everyone can admire the pretty cables. Hearing differences in connectors, that's pretty wild.

 

[mtrycrafts]

No, he's going to turn the receiver and speakers around so everyone can admire the pretty cables. Hearing differences in connectors, that's pretty wild.

Just came to me how to solve the dilemma. Mount a large mirror behind the system so you can enjoy the audio and the cables at the same time without rotating anything.

 

[Snakebitten]

lovinthehd I beat you to that comment. Check post 57 lol.

Man some of you are pretty judgmental.

So I can’t trust my ears. I can’t trust mfg claims. I can’t trust fellow Audiophiles claims. Strangest hobby I’ve ever gotten involved in to date.

One connector is not working right. It will not expand the tip even if it seems to tighten. The pin seems to be stuck. Ill switch to a good one and see if to my ear any difference. From what speedskater said probably not since it still is making contact even if it’s loose.

What’s strange to me is that from what some of you have told me them my mind and ear should be telling me the prettier 10 gauge should be sounding better to me. But it’s the plain Jane 14 gauge that seems to sound better. I think I’m more confused than ever.

 

[everettT]

If the gage is adequate, 16ga, 10ga, 12ga, etc. should sound exactly the same.

 

[KenM10759]

lovinthehd I beat you to that comment. Check post 57 lol.

Man some of you are pretty judgmental.

So I can’t trust my ears. I can’t trust mfg claims. I can’t trust fellow Audiophiles claims. Strangest hobby I’ve ever gotten involved in to date.

One connector is not working right. It will not expand the tip even if it seems to tighten. The pin seems to be stuck. Ill switch to a good one and see if to my ear any difference. From what speedskater said probably not since it still is making contact even if it’s loose.

What’s strange to me is that from what some of you have told me them my mind and ear should be telling me the prettier 10 gauge should be sounding better to me. But it’s the plain Jane 14 gauge that seems to sound better. I think I’m more confused than ever.

Replace the wonky locking banana plug.

I choose to use the locking banana plugs from Blue Jeans Cable. They might be the same as others, but because they offer them as an option for the cables they make and sell I figure they must have a very low failure rate.

In the future I might feel rich and try some WBT brand products, though I can't wrap my head around the function of that 2nd clear plastic post.

WBT locking banana plug

 

[killdozzer]

Man some of you are pretty judgmental.

Not the case at all. I tried to explain. Your comments are starting to resemble a weaselly sort of Trojan horse. A backdoor to snake oil if you will (this is NOT a porn reference ).

This forum, well people in this forum, don’t want to give such advices that would suggest any SQ benefit from cables or bananas as no reliable proof of this has been offered so far (and no, your ears are not such a proof). If this is what you’re looking for, there are hundreds of forums that would welcome such speculation. In fact, forums that wouldn’t are a minority (a sad fact).

Now people here are not dumb. Even if you said a couple of pages back you’re kidding, but then chose to persist with voicing all the SQ benefits from some bananas… Well, it’s not looking good and guess what; it’s not because someone is being judgemental.

 

[highfigh]

Interesting. The first post I did with the sarcasm clearly stated things that showed I was joking. Like the $1500 price tag if I sold my cables etc.

In the post you are quoting I was totally serious. No where in it do I hint at it being sarcasm or it being a joke. I do hear a difference when I swap out the cables and connectors. So I thought it might have been the material the connectors are made out of. There is a reason I’m only posting in the audiophile section. I don’t know everything this hobby has to offer.

Speedskater thanks for that insight so I will try to get the locking banana plugs tighter and see if that alleviates what I’m hearing.

It may or may not have been mentioned, but if you made the change, you can't be an impartial listener as long as you know you changed to the new cables.

This electrical connection thing is governed by Physics, as are all things. You can't explain why a change is "audible", but you think you hear it. Describe the differences- if you can't, or the description comes down to "I can't put it in words, but I hear it", you're fooling yourself. The issue of "better speaker wire" has been debated for decades- if you want to have cool looking cables, go ahead but you're trying to sell ice to an Eskimo if you think you'll make most of us believe the new banana plugs sound different from others.

If you want to know they sound different, or not, have someone else interrupt the connection and either make the switch, or not. In either case, they can't be visible to you and they need to be silent when it happens, so you can't hear anything from the person that might make you think they actually made the change, or didn't. You can't know if it happened because that wouldn't be a hearing test, it would be a connection swap with your own bias being confirmed. If you can identify the new cables every time during a blind test (preferably a double-blind test), there's clearly a difference. If you can identify them more than half of the time, it may be different, but it's not a large enough difference to worry about.

If you like the way the system sounds with either cable, be happy, not neurotic.

 

[Snakebitten]

I thoroughly get that the wires are not the issue. I’llleave this alone since I see you guys are overly sensitive to it. I’ve been accused a few times now of trying to sell this and that. I don’t have time for this. This is a hobby not life and death. Thanks to those that gave some practical advice. Good day folks.

 

[eljr]

Not the case at all. I tried to explain. Your comments are starting to resemble a weaselly sort of Trojan horse. A backdoor to snake oil if you will (this is NOT a porn reference ).

This forum, well people in this forum, don’t want to give such advices that would suggest any SQ benefit from cables or bananas as no reliable proof of this has been offered so far (and no, your ears are not such a proof). If this is what you’re looking for, there are hundreds of forums that would welcome such speculation. In fact, forums that wouldn’t are a minority (a sad fact).

Now people here are not dumb. Even if you said a couple of pages back you’re kidding, but then chose to persist with voicing all the SQ benefits from some bananas… Well, it’s not looking good and guess what; it’s not because someone is being judgemental.

always making new friends I see... lol