+ Reply to Thread
Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 29

Thread: Quality in Spades

  1. #1
    Join Date: Apr 2015

    Location: Central Virginia

    Posts: 1,736
    I'm Russell.

    Default Quality in Spades

    Check these little doodads out!



    I ordered them from China to re-terminate my speaker wires. They were WBT locking banana's, but the Krell only accepts spade lugs. So, these beautiful polished red copper spade lugs fit perfectly in their place! And get this, less than $8 a pair! Took a month to get them, but worth the wait. I am so very impressed, I may order more just to have them handy. Now I just need some red and black shrink tubing to protect and identify them.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

  2. #2
    Audio Al is offline Pishanto Specialist & Super-Daftee
    Join Date: May 2012

    Location: Dagenham Essex

    Posts: 11,215
    I'm Allen.

    Default

    Are they clamped onto the banana plugs ?
    [

  3. #3
    Join Date: Apr 2015

    Location: Central Virginia

    Posts: 1,736
    I'm Russell.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Audio Al View Post
    Are they clamped onto the banana plugs ?
    No, the copper stranded wire is crimped into brass tubes. The Allen lock screws secure the end on the wire, over the crimped brass tube. Apparently that's the factory method of attaching the WBT connectors? They make an expensive kit, with gold plated crimping tool! I've seen them with a tiny dab of solder at the tip, but the end is very secure and always sounded great to me. Once you crank down on those Allen screws it's a tight fit. And if you put these on the end of a banana plug, it would damage it completely.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

  4. #4
    Join Date: Sep 2014

    Location: Northern Ireland

    Posts: 1,403
    I'm John.

    Default

    Those look SOLID!

  5. #5
    Join Date: Feb 2013

    Location: Switerland

    Posts: 1,199
    I'm rupert.

    Default Link ?

    Hi, they look very nice ! Could you share the link ? Thank's

  6. #6
    Join Date: Jan 2008

    Location: Wrexham, North Wales, UK

    Posts: 110,012
    I'm AudioAl'sArbiterForPISHANTO.

    Default

    Nice one, Russell. Those look great, and almost identical to the ones I use from YA Audio. Both are probably made in China by the same company.

    I've always preferred spades to banana plugs, due to what I consider is the achievement of a superior mechanical connection, over that offered by banana plugs (providing that they're used in conjunction with suitable binding posts), which ideally should also be made from solid-copper.

    Experience proves that removing as many brass-made connectors and sockets from your system as possible, and replacing them with solid-copper or silver varieties, is fundamental in achieving maximum signal integrity, from all connections in your system.

    I did that a while ago, throughout my system, and couldn't believe the difference it made for such a small outlay!

    Aside from the Chinese ones you're recommending, the widely available Cardas copper spades are good, but the opening on them is a little too narrow to be used with some binding posts, so I would recommend these new Gaofel (solid-copper) ones from YA Audio, available from Hi-Fi Collective:

    http://www.hificollective.co.uk/components/spades.html





    Those are superb, and only £20 for a pack of 4!! No soldering needed either. Use them in conjunction with the superb Cardas CCBP-S solid-copper binding posts:





    ...nip everything up nice and tight with a ring-spanner, and you've got as near as possible to the perfect connection!

    I also recently fitted these solid-copper RCA sockets to my Sony DAC (again available from HFC), with similarly superb results:








    Superb and only £17 for two! The Rhodium-plated versions are also the same price. If you want the highest SPPV possible from sockets and connectors, then IMO, you can't get much better than these!

    Marco.
    Main System

    Turntable: Heavily-modified Technics SL-1210MK5G [Mike New bearing/ETP platter/Paul Hynes SR7 PSU & reg mods]. Funk Firm APM Achromat/Nagaoka GL-601 Crystal Record Weight/Isonoe feet & boots/Ortofon RS-212D/Denon DL-103GL in Denon PCL-300 headshell with Funk Firm Houdini/Kondo SL-115 pure-silver cartridge leads.

    Paul Hynes MC head amp/SR5 PSU. Also modded Lentek head amp/Denon AU-310 SUT.

    Other Cartridges: Nippon Columbia (NOS 1987) Denon DL-103. USA-made Shure SC35C with NOS stylus. Goldring G820 with NOS stylus. Shure M55E with NOS stylus.

    CD Player: Audiocom-modified Sony X-777ES/DAS-R1 DAC.

    Tape Deck: Tandberg TCD 310, fully restored and recalibrated as new, by RDE, plus upgraded with heads from the TCD-420a. Also with matching TM4 Norway microphones.

    Preamps: Heavily-modified Croft Charisma-X. LDR Stereo Coffee. Power Amps: Tube Distinctions Copper Amp fitted with Tungsol KT-150s. Quad 306.

    Cables & Sundries: Mark Grant HDX1 interconnects and digital coaxial cable, plus Mark Grant 6mm UP-LCOFC Van Damme speaker cable. MCRU 'Ultimate' mains leads. Lehmann clone headphone amp with vintage Koss PRO-4AAA headphones.

    Tube Distinctions digital noise filter. VPI HW16.5 record cleaning machine.

    Speakers: Tannoy 15MGs in Lockwood cabinets with modified crossovers. 1967 Celestion Ditton 15.


    Protect your HUMAN RIGHTS and REFUSE ANY *MANDATORY* VACCINE FOR COVID-19!

    Also **SAY NO** to unjust 'vaccine passports' or certificates, which are totally incompatible with a FREE society!!!


  7. #7
    Join Date: Feb 2013

    Location: Switerland

    Posts: 1,199
    I'm rupert.

    Default

    yummy, heavy metal stuff
    thx for the link !!

  8. #8
    Join Date: Apr 2015

    Location: Central Virginia

    Posts: 1,736
    I'm Russell.

    Default

    Thanks Marco, those YA spades are almost identical, right down to the little word stamped into the face. Except, mine have a stepped width inside, and the YA's don't. Similar in price, I paid just a little less, and would have paid the $5 each if I could have avoided the month wait from China.

    Those speaker wires I've got, with Legacy brand name on them, when I bought my Legacy speakers second hand, the owner included these cables. They look expensive, but I've always thought he would not have included them if they were? I've tried to price them but they no longer make them, can't find anything on them. But originally came with WBT locking banana plugs. They have an impressive grip on the binding post that accepts them, and aren't cheap! But I like the fact that I can swap ends on these Legacy wires back and forth between the spades or locking bananas with only an Allen key.

    The posts on the Krell are impressive, big wing nuts with a fat post, easy to get a nice tight fit with lots of surface area mating. But, I do believe they are brass. Pure copper would not be tough enough, the threads would strip right off, and the post would stretch. So I suspect that even these copper terminals you've posted here are copper plated something. Or a copper alloy that's harder than pure copper. Pure copper spades are more practical, if they deform a bit that's no big deal. And both copper and brass require a bit of maintenance, they do tarnish over time. A yearly cleaning wouldn't hurt them. I used to tear my whole system down and clean all connections, and open all components and clean the circuits and switches and knobs. A worthwhile undertaking, but I confess I've gotten lazy, I can't recall the last time I opened up any of my components, but I do still clean the connections every year or so.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

  9. #9
    Join Date: Apr 2015

    Location: Central Virginia

    Posts: 1,736
    I'm Russell.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by r100 View Post
    Hi, they look very nice ! Could you share the link ? Thank's
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-PCS-Speake...3D111946178479

    Wow what a link! It's an eBay item.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

  10. #10
    Join Date: Sep 2014

    Location: brighton uk.

    Posts: 4,737
    I'm jamie.

    Default

    it also says does not ship to the uk
    My System
    John Wood KT88 Amp.
    Paradise Phono Stage
    Sony TTS-8000 Turntable.
    PMAT-1010 MK6 Tonearm.
    Ortofon Cadenza Bronze
    Sony X555ES Cd Player
    Yamaha NS1000m Speakers

+ Reply to Thread
Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •