I started with spades switched to banana's now am going direct wire
and then the comment,
Audioquest Comet biwire 6ft cables w/banana's are not defective
When you said "direct wire", was that just basic speaker wire, and not the Audioquest?
And I'll ask again,
When you say the sound is intermittent, has it ever changed suddenly while listening, or does it seem to be a gradual change toward the end of the day? Also, can I assume that this change is with all sources?
I'm sure the issue can be solved. It's just a matter of taking steps to narrow down to the cause.