|   Is cheap cable or banana plug do as well as expensive ones? | DummDoug
Jun 22, 2002 12:59 PM | | Is cheap cables or bananas plug do as well as expensive ones?
Like for instance a radio shack or Home Depot cables or banana plugs work as well as a Monster cable, eventhough you have mid range ($) speakers.
Are "CHEAP" cables or banana plug reliable?
Please give me info you pros recommend that are cheap cables or banana plugs or connectors that does good as expensive ones. |
| re: Is cheap cable or banana plug do as well as expensive ones? | mtrycrafts
Jun 22, 2002 10:12 PM | | b Is cheap cables or bananas plug do as well as expensive ones?
No reason why they would not if equivalent gauged.
b Are "CHEAP" cables or banana plug reliable?
Cables don't break unless you abuse them. Same with banana plugs. |
| re: Is cheap cable or banana plug do as well as expensive ones? | DummDoug
Jun 23, 2002 11:15 AM | | May be your right but is't saying comparing Hyndai with Lexus. They both work but do they feel the same, (handling, performance, and etc., etc., etc.)
thx for your reply but please if you can give me some Articles to prove for facts. |
| re: Is cheap cable or banana plug do as well as expensive ones? | mtrycrafts
Jun 23, 2002 10:39 PM | | b May be your right but is't saying comparing Hyndai with Lexus. They both work but do they feel the same, (handling, performance, and etc., etc., etc.)
Well, this is a very poor comparison. Just because there are huge differences in cars doesn't translate to audible differences in cables, right? How would it? Why would it? Silly, really. And many fall for this silly comparisons. Irrelevant, really.
But, you could compare the wires in both cars and see if either makes a difference.
b thx for your reply but please if you can give me some Articles to prove for facts.
What proof would you like? What will be sufficient to prove a negative?
Do you have proof for audible differences? A claim is not proof. |
| re: Is cheap cable or banana plug do as well as expensive ones? | sam9
Jun 25, 2002 4:02 PM | | "'Are "CHEAP" cables or banana plug reliable?'"
"Cables....... Same with banana plugs."
I have to quibble with the banana plug opinion. I have had an experience where the metal that makes up the "banana" would permanantly deform a little such that they were a nice tight fit for the first couple of insertions but became compressed enough after that that they could fall out with a little help. I don't remember the brand, but it was not a nameless el-cheapo, but a fairly noteworthy brand name. I've become jaded on bananas and spades of late and have pretty much gone back to just giving the wire a good twist and screwing down the binding post. (If it was good enough for Julian Hirsch, ...) Since the cables are just pennies/foot I just leave enough slack so I can trim them if they start looking ratty. |
| re: Is cheap cable or banana plug do as well as expensive ones? | mtrycrafts
Jun 25, 2002 10:22 PM | | b I don't remember the brand, but it was not a nameless el-cheapo, but a fairly noteworthy brand name.
That was the problem, too expensive with a brand name:)
While some can hjave that mechanical problem, no arguments there, it doesn't have to, especially if one doesn't play with it after insertion:) Many things wear out with use:)
b gone back to just giving the wire a good twist and screwing down the binding post.
Nothing wrong with this:) Don't have to worry about the connectors.
Oh, and you may quibble about anything I say, not in concrete, except DBT protocol:) |
| re: Is cheap cable or banana plug do as well as expensive ones? | skeptic
Jun 23, 2002 3:40 AM | | The electrical performance of even the cheapest banana plugs far exceeds anything demanded of an audio system. Anything more is a waste of money that could be put to better use. |
| re: Is cheap cable or banana plug do as well as expensive ones? | DummDoug
Jun 23, 2002 11:07 AM | | If that's the case what about THX speaker or high end equipment. Is your comment appliable to any a v equipments and cables, & accessories.
Please give me proof as in reading articles in any reliable a v magazines.
I don't mean to be naive "facts is facts"
Thx Skeptic, like myself D.D. |
| DD | Abex
Jun 23, 2002 7:01 PM | | I would not get into the Naysaying\Yeahsaying BS .It is a waste and they will only feed off you like a shark taking bait!
Go by your ears , what you have found to work and just listen to those who want to give you the info your looking for.Just a thought!
As for myself,there is merit to just getting the better known brands,gerneric or otherwise, without going overboard and buying exotic's when looking at the interconnect\Cable\Termination things.Your $$ can be put to better use than spending big bucks on Spades that go for $100+. Like electronics!
Gneric Gold Plated Connectors will work fine.After that you get into brands like WBT.
I was at a Audio Salon recently that had a B&W CDM 1NT's driven by a Rotel Reciever which had a pair of $2800 Transparent Audio Speaker Cable.The Cable was more than the associated equiptment combined.The kicker is that my system sounded better.The speaker's where nice ,but there was SS Glare that hinderd the playback.My system was approx. 1/2 the price they were asking for their's.Point is ,no amount of Cable,interconnects or connectors is going to drasticly realign your system to perform better if there are serious deficentcies with the associated equiptment,like the SS Glare you find in most amps..They can help in certain area's though.Like improve the Timbre,Bass,Sounstage,Focalization to come through more prominently or better.
Hard to put into writing what you hear!
Good Luck! |
| DD | mtrycrafts
Jun 23, 2002 10:52 PM | | b Go by your ears ,
Ohm but a DBT listening Only relies on your ears, not your eyes and knowledge what you listen to that will just confuse you and get unreliable perceptions.
b and just listen to those who want to give you the info your looking for.
Ah, someone who will confirm your beliefs? Why let facts get in the way, right?
b like the SS Glare you find in most amps..
What is this nonsense?
b They can help in certain area's though.Like improve the Timbre,Bass,Sounstage,
You have been reading the wrong posts, listen to the wrong people. Wires just cannot help in thse areas.
b Hard to put into writing what you hear!
Just imagine it. |
| DD | sam9
Jun 25, 2002 4:10 PM | | " 'like the SS Glare you find in most amps..' "
"What is this nonsense?"
Not nonesense, exactly, since SS amps these days are generaly flat and have distortion below audability in most cases, they reproduce highs very accurately. This can sound a bit unnerving if you have become used to (and like) the limited frequency response and high noise level of tube amps. |
| DD | mtrycrafts
Jun 25, 2002 10:24 PM | | b Not nonesense, exactly, since SS amps these days are generaly flat and have distortion below audability in most cases, they reproduce highs very accurately. This can sound a bit unnerving if you have become used to (and like) the limited frequency response and high noise level of tube amps.
But that is not an SS fault but an issue of ones preference and what they are used to. Transpaprency cannot be a glare, just something one doesn't like perhaps:) |
| re: Is cheap cable or banana plug do as well as expensive ones? | mtrycrafts
Jun 23, 2002 10:45 PM | | b If that's the case what about THX speaker or high end equipment.
What about THX speakers? Is that what we are discussing here, speakers? I thought you were asking about wire and banana plugs. Where did speakers get mentioned?
What about high end equipment? What are they? How are they relevant here? But we can discuss them too, if you'd like.
b Please give me proof as in reading articles in any reliable a v magazines.
Proof of what are you seeking? No differences? How is a negative proven?
But, positives can be proven easy, right? You should be seeking evidence for that, audible differences instead.
Besides, I am not aware of any electrical specs for banana plugs other than the metals resistance. |
| Oh look, an answer instead of a berating | Spiky
Jun 24, 2002 7:57 AM | | Funny. I don't see any :) in your post, mtry. What's wrong, somebody who doesn't know all the answers doesn't belong here, or what? Why can't you just answer an f-ing question instead of being a jerk??
DD:
THX speakers are no different from other speakers. They are simply given a certification saying several of their specs match up to THX's requirements. These speakers may be better or worse than others, but the the THX moniker doesn't necessarily prove they're better. And none of this applies to how the speakers sound. Anyway, no special wires are needed for these speakers.
AV mags are not reliable. Mostly they are advertising copy with a couple fairly biased test results from the writer of the article. Not a lot of help. And many of them stay away from rating cables these days.
Mtry is correct about speaker wire from the places you mentioned. None of them really do anything different from the others, they just have standard stranded copper wire. We usually recommend 12 gauge, but anything larger than 18 gauge should be fine for most people's setups.
As to banana plugs, there are several different kinds. Some require soldering, some crimping, some simply twist on. Some will lose their grip over time, but it's kinda hard to know which those are in the store. Just don't be surprised if it happens. Otherwise, they should all work pretty well if you attach them correctly. The gold plating will keep them from oxidizing, which is about the only problem that can crop up. (other than actual damage from ripping, biting, cutting, etc.) |
| You've chosen quite an appopiate moniker thjere. | markw
Jun 26, 2002 6:27 AM | | From your curt response to Skeptic, it looks to me like you don't want an answer but rather affirmation that more $$$ translates to more performance.
Isn't it strange that no manufacturer can actually validate their advertising claims, leaving you to post here for anecdotal evidence to support them? Where science fails, mythology steps in.
You surely can prefer and buy a Rolex, but don't look for any proof that it keeps better time than a Timex.
You pays yer money and you takes yer choice. If it feels good, do it. ... and I think you do it a lot. |
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