>  While I've already written somewhat of a message on this topic, you
 > mentioned Monster Cable, and that brought back a demo I saw from them
 > once.. They had a sound system setup at a convention that was running a
 > "typical" speaker cable and an A/B switch to go into Monster Cable
 > instead. The sound system that had been stable, went into instant
 > feedback as soon as the Monster Cable was switched in. 
       I see where they were trying to go with that, but believe I would 
have taken a different route. I have found the original Monster Cable speaker 
wire to be inexpensive compared to most all yuppie wire products on the 
market, and "in my system" undetectable when A - B tested against all the 
more 
expensive cables I have had the chance to try. This includes a very expensive 
pair of AudioQuest we tried a couple weeks ago. In detecting no noticable 
difference it IS possible that my mostly Carver system is not of a quality 
that a difference could be easily found. Perhaps once up into the higher 
priced systems like Bryston, etc, a difference might jump out and grab you. 
But at my system level, I cannot detect it.
       The exception to this is the digital link cable between a friends CD 
transport and his DAC. Going from a $40 cable to a custom $250 cable made all 
the difference in the world. I would not have believed it if I hadn't heard 
it 
myself. I lost a pizza on that one! I reasoned that digital is digital and as 
long as it gets there in the order it is suppose to...all is well. The cable 
trade brought it from everyday CD player to something extraordinary! Maybe 
at some level there is a difference for speaker wire.
       Have you seen the gentleman who is selling $4,000 patch cords in 
Audio Advisor, which he injects light into as a means of insulating the 
signal from interference? I believe in his picture I detected green CD edge 
pen marks around his eye glasses.
       I use the Monster Cable for my interior wiring on speaker projects. It 
is a lot heavier than anything I have seen from any of the manufacturers and 
specialty shops with the exception of a couple using Monster Cable knock-offs 
like Apature.
       
 > The best cable is the shortest length possible, of the least resistance
 > (largest diameter) and no solder joints or changes in metals anywhere
 > along the length.  Anything less is a compromise somewhere. Like the
 > expensive interconnects that require gold connectors, usually soldered
 > terribly 
 > Forget the gold connectors, the crappy solder joints, and join the wire
 > on one end to the speaker, and to the output terminals on the other
 > end with a good wire, and you'll do better than most of the fu-fu cables
 > out there. Just use excellent solder. 
       Now we are at the interesting part for me. While I agree with 
NOT using connectors on the interior of the speaker, but instead using 
the very best electrical solder you can buy, I have often wondered 
about the terminations and hookups between the amp and the speakers. 
Most of the better five way binding posts will handle a plain wire 
termination, and do so without worries of accidental disconnection. I 
have done it both ways. I have used large gold plated spade lugs from 
Apature. These are easy to connect and lay in the cup just right. These 
have a simple crimp connection that holds very tight and can easily be 
soldered afterwards if desired, although I never have. When tightened 
down they have an exceptionally solid feel with excellent contact. They 
are also quite inexpensive compared to the others I have tried. Kimber 
Kable makes a layered spade lug. It is slightly more difficult to use 
withing the binding post cup on many amps and speakers. The layered 
spade is thought to allow more pressure and better contact as a result. 
I could detect no difference. They go for almost $8.00 a pair the last 
time I looked. The pin ends by Monster Cable are well made and easy to 
use, but have always made me a little insecure with the connection. 
Surface contact within the binding post is minimal. And banana plugs, 
of which I have a couple different yuppie brands, scare the bejesus out 
of me, with the thought of accidental disconnection. I also noticed 
that although quite heavy in weight and gold plating, that where the 
expandable termination is fastened to the base of the connector itself, 
there isn't one hell of a lot holding it together, and it is actually 
quite flimsy. As much as I fool around with my system, I was always 
worried I would pull one all or part of the way out by accident, then 
fire up my system. 
       So.......I am back to plain wire ends and a petro-based 
termination/contact liquid like "Tweek" (which I can no longer find). 
It gives me a warm fuzzy secure feeling.....but.... Do you think it is 
the best way to tie in to the amps and speakers? Here in Arizona we 
don't give corrosion (see, I can't even spell it) a thought. So the 
plain wire termination would seem the ultimate KISS method. I cannot 
think of anything a lug or plug could add. Any thoughts, PLEASE????
Longwinded Cheers,
John
       
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