Quote Originally Posted by briand View Post
I'm now thinking about upgrading my speaker cables.
Would a bare wire connection to the speaker be preferable to spades or banana plugs since it would be 1 interface rather than 2? Convenience is not a factor since I never change out my speakers. I would still use banana plugs on my amp since the convenience there is is needed.
Hello Briand and Welcome to the Ascend Acoustic forum!

Over the past 40 years, I've had it both ways in my audio systems. Found the sound degraded over the years due to oxidation of the exposed bare copper wire. I had to cut back 1/2" on both ends each year to remove the oxidation and get to fresh bare wire. I then discovered the o-ring sealed compression banana plugs (like THESE) that make a positive connection, sound good and minimize environmental exposure!

FWIW, the Blue Jean Canare 4S11 (like THESE) offer ultrasonic welded connectors that have a lock mechanism to secure the connection to the terminal receptacle! IMHO, these 4S11 speaker cables with that welded/lockable connector yielded the Best sound and performance for the investment! I've found better (Morrow Audio), but had to spend 8X the price!

Hope this all helps!

Ted