Seeking tips from A51 owners

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  • ralniv
    Member
    • Apr 2004
    • 33
    #1

    Seeking tips from A51 owners

    I need to buy some speaker wire for my A51 amplifier and want to know what y'all think about spade and banana connectors on the amp side. Is there enough space between each output to fit spade connectors? Do spades provide a better contact surface than banana plugs?

    I'm a complete newbie on this subject, so I'd be willing to hear any advise y'all have on speaker wire brands or DIY wires. I'm bouncing between DIY wires based on Sound King 12GA wire and those small hand crafted speaker wire companies (e.g. element cable, river cable, cobalt cable). I'm also struggling with the bi-wiring concept. I'm definately not bi-amping because my wife would divorce me for buying another A51. My speakers have the necessary connectors for bi-wire.
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    • MarkStega
      Member
      • Oct 2003
      • 39
      #2
      Wire & connectors -- Probably the one topic to bring more flame, opinions, and wild pseudo science than any other topic!

      I fall into the camp that doesn't believe that you can improve sound by having anything more than adequate conductivity and appropriate structure.

      Other opinions vary widely, but to my knowledge, there are no double blind listening tests that show a positive sonic advantage of exotic cables.

      I used the following article (http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volum...le-5-2003.html) and 'built' my cables to connect my M&K speaker system to my A51 and I'm completely happy with the results.
      Mark Stega
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        • nicholtl
          Senior Member
          • Aug 2003
          • 539
          #3
          Despite everybody who claims they're an audiophile bashing Monster for being overpriced and whatnot, I think their products are solid and very well constructed. Heck, if they won awards for their products (like the Monster Video 3) it must not be ALL talk.

          Anyway, I use Monster XP wire and I have the ends terminated with the Monster "Quick Lock" banana plugs that are gold plated. My speakers too are bi-ampable, but I think that's overkill, especially considering how powerful the A51 is alone. I could not be happier with my system either.
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            • ralniv
              Member
              • Apr 2004
              • 33
              #4
              Ugh. I'm still uncertain and confused about which avenue to go down. On one hand, I do not want to play into the hands of companies that charge 10x the price for a wire that has 1.05x the performance. On the other hand, I do not want something as (relatively) cheap as cables to negatively affect the performance of my C2 and A51 (which cost a bundle and I'll be stuck paying for them for a few years).

              <head spinning>... bi-wire, double run, 10 gauge, teflon wrapped, DIY, Monster, elite brands, banana connectors, spade connector, 99.9999% oxygen free... <passes out>.

              Well, here's to hoping that tomorrow might bring me more insight and get me closer to a decision. As of now I am thinking of rolling my own for cheap and demoing it against some $300 cables at my dealers site. :twisted: Hehe, perhaps I'll make the dealer listen to music with both cables and guess which is which and explain why he is making that guess.
              Last edited by ralniv; 07 May 2004, 03:43 Friday.
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                • Chris D
                  Moderator Emeritus
                  • Dec 2000
                  • 16877
                  #5
                  ralniv, the first thing I would recommend that you talk to Doug, the owner of this forum and the owner of Cat Cables, among other things. (see the links at the bottom of this page) I know this is always the first thing we say here on the forum. But Doug will not only hook you up with the best cables for you at better prices than you think, but even if you don't want to buy he'll help answer your cabling questions as an expert.

                  For the Parasound, I think your system would be fine and be least cluttered by using banana clips instead of spades.
                  CHRIS

                  Well, we're safe for now. Thank goodness we're in a bowling alley.
                  - Pleasantville
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                    • nicholtl
                      Senior Member
                      • Aug 2003
                      • 539
                      #6
                      If I may say, after spending what you have on a C2 and A51, while I don't think you need the ultra elite, high-end $300 cables (although upgrading to nice power cables might be an order), I certainly don't think you'd want to sell yourself short on sub-par cable. Like Chris said, Cat Cables are a brand I've heard only good things about. Granted, not that many people I know own Cat Cable, but still, they have a 100% satisfaction rate thus far.

                      I guess it's like saying what if you bought a new Mercedes SL55 AMG, and the manual said it's possible for it to run on 87 octane fuel, but you get the best performance (possibly not proportional to the extra cost) by using 91 octane. After spending an arm and a leg on a fine thing such as a Benz or Parasound Halo unit, you might as well fork over an extra penny or two to maximize your enjoyment. Not thousands of dollars, but maybe a hundred or two. Even if it is only a 5% performance boost. At least, that's how I see it.
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                        • ralniv
                          Member
                          • Apr 2004
                          • 33
                          #7
                          Originally posted by nicholtl
                          although upgrading to nice power cables might be an order
                          That is one area where I didn't cut corners. I purchased Element Cable Red Storm power cords for my pre-amp and CD/DVD player. I purchased a less expensive (but still high end) Element Cable power cord for my amplifier. I have the Exactpower EP15A on order, so I don't think noisy power will be a problem.


                          Originally posted by nicholtl
                          I certainly don't think you'd want to sell yourself short on sub-par cable
                          Yeah, I will try to make sure that I don't shoot myself in the foot by being too cheap on the cables. Per Chris' remark, I will contact Doug via email to see what he can offer to meet my needs.
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                            • ralniv
                              Member
                              • Apr 2004
                              • 33
                              #8
                              Originally posted by MarkStega
                              I used the following article (http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volum...le-5-2003.html) and 'built' my cables to connect my M&K speaker system to my A51 and I'm completely happy with the results.
                              Mark,

                              Did you use the 2 conductor or 4 conductor variety?
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                                • MarkStega
                                  Member
                                  • Oct 2003
                                  • 39
                                  #9
                                  I used the 4 wire version. I bought the wire online here (http://www.av-outlet.com/en-us/dept_103.html). Godd price & great customer service. Their part number is CL414 for the wire, UL-0534 for the connectors.
                                  Mark Stega
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                                    • netdeveloper
                                      Junior Member
                                      • Feb 2004
                                      • 12
                                      #10
                                      Probably best to buy a 8 ga spool of 100 ft and use banana connectors. The A 51 comes with connectors, but I am not sure whether you will get a secure connection with those connectors. I'd try to solder the connectors to the cable for a secure connection.

                                      I would definitely not use bare wire (ie no connectors)
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