2. cables
  3. 974060324

Speaker cable termination

I have a pair of old Audioquest Midnight 2 speaker cables and I need to change the termination from banana plugs to spade lugs. Could anyone recommend where to purchase the spades ? Would the quality of spades make an audible difference ? Can I solder it myself easily ? Is it worthwhile to send it back to Audioquest for re-termination ? Thanks.
lee6ac7
cornfedboy
1,645 posts
 
your cables aren't worth sending to the manufacturer for re-termination. lugs are readily available in all qualities (at least in the us) & are easy to install on your own. if you have trepidations as to your soldering skills, find a friend, ham radio hobbyist or cable dealer to do the job.
trelja
3,226 posts
 
Buy the Audioquest(I forget what the model name is) lugs. They are silver, and were used for all speaker cables, from Indigo on up. They are cheap. Solder them yourself(or have your local tech do it) with silver solder.
ljgj
955 posts
 
Forget the spades and go with a direct connection if possible - it is just one less element the signal has to pass through.
trelja
3,226 posts
 
I agree 100%.
dekay's avatar
dekay
5,704 posts
 
The only downside to bare wire connections is that the ends will need to be cleaned as general maintenance to prevent oxidation. I use and prefer bare wire connections for my speaker cable and currently use De-Oxit though I read that Kontact is a superior one step product. I do not power down when cleaning and am very careful.
More to discover