Speaker cable binding posts

[completeluxury]

As I'm sure you already know there can be too much silver where things get a little bright. That's why I tone it down with a bit of Rhodium scattered about. Even my existing speaker cables do use Rhodium CF series bananas at each end with the previously mentioned WBT's. Additionally the 3% gold content in the CC's goes a long way preventing brightness. In one case a year or so back on a previous piece of equipment I had to throw in one lowly Gold plated FI-50 15A IEC as it got sickenlngly sweet/bright. Warmed it right up! YMMV and there's lots of work-arounds if it goes a little too far. Amazingly you can also fine-tune things at the component level with power cords using rhodium/gold AC plugs and IEC's which I find much more predictable/repeatable than jumping on the high-end cable-go-round. Lots of ways to skin these cats! And power cords seem more closely related to "an ounce of prevention" whereas interconnects more closely address the "pound of cure."

I am going for silver cable with rhodium furutech connectors mainly!

also all my power cords are rhodium plated. from there i might end up playing with my speaker cable connectors for the final adjustments and alternate between rhodium and gold to see which is preferable.

[kenreau]

Last pic till I'm better at this as it makes me crazy! If this one makes it its the one taken just before buttoning the Dev back up and taking it for a test drive. The new WBT pure silver binding posts are what I use on everything in-house. Most importantly in this case it's also the binding posts on the speakers that the 200 is hooked up to. Of equal importance all my speaker cables are also solid core silver with 3% pure gold content. And all of my internal speaker wire from inside binding posts to crossovers to drivers/tweeters are also solid core silver. Now with the 200 I'm 100% pure silver from inside Dev binding posts all the way to XO's then drivers & beryllium tweets beyond that. As close as I can get to a single wire from Devialet-to-cones/tweets. Yes, even my custom crossover circuit boards are pure silver deposition electrical paths! True story!

Overall about 4 hours spent tho I could put it back to OEM in under an hour and back to here again 45 minutes after that. Most tedious part was modifying the WBT's slightly to make them plug right into the Devialet's internal speaker quick-connects. Tho I will tell you fastening the nuts that hold the binding posts in place from behind is a fiddly/fidgety affair due to a very confined area that doesn't afford a lot of finger/wrench wriggle-room. A 2nd chilled chard helps immensely!

But I've no doubt or concerns about the treat in store for me... not my first rodeo with these by a L-O-N-G shot!

Great job, Manoet!  Do you intend to use spades? or, bananas terminations (and remove the binding post barrels)?  

Kenreau

[kenreau]

Replacing the filtered PEM with a non-filtered PEM made a much bigger improvement.

While you have the amp open, I'd suggest try putting some damping material on the power supply caps.

I'm contemplating the same thing.  I was considering replacing the OEM Filtered PEM Shurter with a non-filtered F'tech PEM as well.  I posted elsewhere some time ago after reading of potential filtering pole conflicts buggering up the sound.  I currently plug my D200 in to a RSA Haley, but after picking up a Triode Wire Labs Digital American pc, I was intending to go straight to the wall outlet (A F'tech GTX-D®).  Time to experiment some.

I'm still noodling around trying the WA Quantum chips. Sprinkle a few on the DAC and Power modules, and the PS Caps.  Both in the D200 and my Aurender S10.

Kenreau

[Manoet]

    I'll be running exactly the same setup as before (click pic) with only difference being WBT's instead of OEM binding posts. My speaker cable terminations consists of F'tech CF-202R banana terminations at all 4 ends per cable pair that feature a black composite damping ring (the black mass between binding post & knurled SS/CF sleeve in pic above) as its specifically designed to work with and compliment a heavier mass as is more commonly practiced than a gutted/stripped down low-mass binding post. My personal opinion is where electrical resonances & vibrations are present mass is your friend. I haven't tried removing the clear plastic barrels recently as when I attempted it several years ago when this particular precept started garnering attention I couldn't hear any positive or verifiable improvement in my system at that time. In fact quite the contrary occurred. Nor was I able to find any valid theory how any lighter object might resonate/vibrate at a lower rate than a heavier object in a similar/identical situation... its kinda 'the law' with audio. I'm presuming that same trend would continue today as only thing that's changed for me is the Devialet but none of the cords, cables or terminations and Devialet boasts a far more rigid rear metal accessory mounting panel being of similar width & thickness to conventional component width/thickness but roughly only 1/4 the height which dramatically enhances rear panel rigidity, further damping vibrational influences on all in/out connections plugged into said panel.

[Pim]

As I'm sure you already know there can be too much silver where things get a little bright. That's why I tone it down with a bit of Rhodium scattered about. Even my existing speaker cables do use Rhodium CF series bananas at each end with the previously mentioned WBT's. Additionally the 3% gold content in the CC's goes a long way preventing brightness. In one case a year or so back on a previous piece of equipment I had to throw in one lowly Gold plated FI-50 15A IEC as it got sickenlngly sweet/bright. Warmed it right up! YMMV and there's lots of work-arounds if it goes a little too far. Amazingly you can also fine-tune things at the component level with power cords using rhodium/gold AC plugs and IEC's which I find much more predictable/repeatable than jumping on the high-end cable-go-round. Lots of ways to skin these cats! And power cords seem more closely related to "an ounce of prevention" whereas interconnects more closely address the "pound of cure."

I am going for silver cable with rhodium furutech connectors mainly!

also all my power cords are rhodium plated. from there i might end up playing with my speaker cable connectors for the final adjustments and alternate between rhodium and gold to see which is preferable.

Hi guys,

I use my tone controls and they can be changed in an instance (when the recording I'm playing is a bit bright or lacks a bit of punch)  Just as a matter of interest. If you were to change out something to change the brightness of the system, how much brightness would you loose compared to changing the treble down (in dB)?

[Manoet]

    One more thing related to my last post covering mass & damping. Over the years I've dabbled with various coax, XLR and rca caps. There 2 different types to choose from. One being simply a cap. The other called a shorting or grounding cap. Basically it shorts an input rca/coax jack to ground but should N-E-V-E-R be used on an rca/coax output jack!!! I've always avoided these out of fear of mistakingly inserting one in a coax or RCA output which could ruin your year!

These are touted as being EMI/RFI noise caps, supposedly shielding the jacks from errant signal input thru the jacks. I used them originally and foremost as simple dust caps as we all know how bad that problem can be, especially if we haven't been down on our hands & knees behind our components for a couple years.

I thought it a bit of a stretch for these to be any kind of an effective EMI/RFI firewall. Not because I believed they wouldn't block such things but moreover that those kinds of things are indiscriminate and don't seek out or find cracks or holes to leak into. I was wrong! My old transport started getting noisy after 7-8 years. Took several days to figure out where the noise originated even tho I had transport nailed within a few minutes. And I had some of these caps in-house but had stopped using them years previously as much adieu about nothing. Turns out the cure for me was not to cap my transport out jacks but rather to cap my amp jacks as the transport was leaking apparently from lots of places. Instant gratification! This is simultaneously when I a developed a profound appreciation for TosLink cables. I always preferred coax digital tho I'm not sure exactly why except perhaps TosLink cables were chintzy/cheesy parts over a decade ago with misaligned lenses, broken internal strands and a plethora of other issues and that mentality stuck with me. Today things are quite different. And great quality TosLinks are LOTS cheaper than similar-end coax cables. I can't hear a difference with eyes wide open, or shut!

Today plain, ordinary caps are a part of my prophylactic repertoire with every component that comes here to visit awhile. They're in EVERY vacant RCA/coax and XLR jack/socket! Only difference is today I tweak em a bit. Big surprise right!?! I stand them on their sealed end, open side up then pour  3-4mm of molten lead into the bottom of RCA/coax and 6-8mm in XLR's as an added hedge towards rear access panel damping. On larger components with many jacks I know I've heard differences but due to the Dev rear accessory panel being already on the order of several times more rigid than traditional components access panels I'm less sure. Tho make no mistake... you'd be hard-pressed to swap me a couple new Cardas caps for my old lead-augmented Cardas heavy-weights on my Devialet

[IGuardianI]

Ken, I'm afraid I'm going to jump out ahead of you on this project. I had an appointment cancel which leaves me free & clear time-wise until Monday morning. My 200 has already been separated from its binding posts and whoever it was that guessed solid brass OEM binding posts was totally correct. I ground a 'V' deeply into one of the spade contacts and its 100% gold-plated brass. Very similar to what I can purchase from Parts Express as low as $16 for a complete set of 4. Shame on Devialet, shame, shame! Tho I will give them kudos on the V-E-R-Y clever binding post mounting technique. VERY cool!! I'm taking lots of high-res pics of this conversion to help followers along and will post them soon as I can get some help figuring out how to get them in a post. My WBT NextGens will work fine tho I have to trim 6mm off the quick-connect male spade. I'm unsure about your F'techs as the socket, because of length and the Dev is a dual-point center contact rather than side contact like a typical Quick Connect female terminal. This will be easier to explain/understand once I can start uploading pics. I can see now that in the future if need be I can go back to stock/OEM binding post setup within an hour which will avoid having to answer any warranty-related questions from uncle Dev.

I also suspect the F'tech IEC is going to be a no-go so I wouldn't spring for one just yet. The pin-out is a totally different configuration in the Dev than the F'tech. Additionally the front-mount bezel surrounds as F'tech is a screw-mount and Devialet uses an internal spring clip. There's no provision for the clip on the F'tech housing which means drilling holes and screw-mounting into the back panel of the Devialet. Probably a deal-breaker.

First things first: I'm amazed by your findings and I'm really looking forward to your (detailed) walkthrough of replacing the stock WBT speaker binding posts on your Devialet. What I like the most is that it seems to be easy enough to do it myself without that much of a risk AND most important of all you can easily switch back for warranty purposes. 

One thing that came to mind: If I may ask, for what reason did you use the wbt 0710 ag instead 0705 ag speaker binding posts? (As far as I can detect: they are more compact and they miss the plastic cover cap. Regarding this plastic cover cap: has this any useful purpose?)

About RCA: does replacing the RCA type sockets involve soldering or other "trouble"? I was thinking of replacing them with WBT 0210 ag's if the same conditions like above apply.

Also I've managed to find this post about an other enthusiastic user:
http://audioshark.org/sonus-faber-80/gua...auRAXi_Kjg

Here he explains he managed to replace the factory speaker binding posts of his speaker with the wbt's. (Notice: his job isn't as easy as yours but seems to be worthwhile as well)
At the moment I'm too busy with other things but in the future I think I'll ask Sonus Faber if they'll be able to do this or if they can redirect me to another company/person who can.

[Manoet]

Thanks for the kind words! I'm afraid I won't be able to move forward on a more detailed walk-thru until/if I'm better able to post pics. But that aside this is not a complex or complicated conversion and all the pics required are already posted. Most anyone should be able to proceed from this initial series of posts comfortably and confidently. And as more & more people do it more will be able to add to it and answer questions about it. Only tool needed to gain entry thru the back cover is a Torx T10 bit and only 8 fasteners. Takes less than 5 minutes to gain entry if one just wants a close look before attempting any work inside or picture-taking. Closing it back up is a tit-for-tat reversal of the removal. Only additional thing I would mention is care should be taken when removing/replacing rear cover as there's lots of little pins that need to be aligned before rear cover snicks into place.

I opted for 0710's for only one reason; its was the only WBT 07 series silver post available in the US when I first did this conversion on an amp in 2008. Its remained my go-to post for one reason only; 'consistency/uniformity' across components. No other reason 'cept it sounds wonderful albeit not significantly different than the 0705 might. Tho I have learned to prefer the additional heft/mass of the larger 0710 and its accompanying damping enhancement with previous full-size amps. Knowing what I know today I would personally opt for the WBT 0703/0708 posts with the Devialet as I love the aesthetic and ergonomics and don't require the added mass and/or damping abilities of the 0705/0710 with the Devialet. Tho ALL of them, ie; 0703, 0705, 0708 & 0710 will require a similar shortening of the spade terminal to adapt to the Devialet. Reason being the Devialet terminals are ~20mm from Devialet rear mounting plate to female terminal clip and all of the WBT and most others like Furutech etc are ~30mm length.

I'm sorry I didn't take a close look at the RCA inner connections while inside as I don't use even a single one in my system... just a power cord, TosLink and speaker cables. I suspect they are soldered and overwhelming odds would agree but I wouldn't bet the farm.

I personally find speaker binding post conversions to be simpler/easier/faster than component post conversions primarily due to a dramatically larger area to work within and most speakers have access panels that binding posts are attached to and are easily removed which hugely simplifies things and offers GOBS of real estate to work in.

Good luck with the upcoming project and feel free to ask questions anywhere along the way.

By the way I'm ready to speak out a little about this conversion today. In a word... INCREDIBLE!!! Tho I'll likely get a little more long-winded/wordy sometime beyond the 96 hour mark.

[Manoet]

Pim van Vliet Wrote:
<<Hi guys,

I use my tone controls and they can be changed in an instance (when the recording I'm playing is a bit bright or lacks a bit of punch)  Just as a matter of interest. If you were to change out something to change the brightness of the system, how much brightness would you loose compared to changing the treble down (in dB)?>>


I had hoped someone would chime in with a response for you as its really not my forte but in lieu of any response I'll offer my take on it in the interim. Adding gold in small doses tends to bring an ever so slightly warmer, more tube-like presentation to the fore. However, gauging how much gold and where to use is the rub. There's no guarantees but its ALWAYS smaller, more precise on the offensive glare than a 2-band equalizer while simultaneously more organically innocuous to the immediately surrounding bandwidth! If I find myself needing a touch of warmth in a specific component I'll typically start with a single gold-plated termination at the component-end end of the power cord. If that proves too much I'll reverse cord ends with the gold terminal. If insufficient I'll add a 2nd gold termination at the opposite end. If still insufficient I'll try another gold terminal at the amp and if even more is desired a 2nd at the wall (or power distributor/conditioner). In exceedingly rare instances an interconnect with gold terminals can be implemented but as I say, I've never needed to commit ANYWHERE NEAR that deeply as I prefer a more detailed, true-to-source presentation and s'why I'm so attracted to Rhodium on well over 95% of my cabling terminations and 100% on the Devialet. In fact, you can count the times on your ears I've ever had to use a 2nd gold termination system-wide and that was years ago with early Class D boards. But the option is there for those who prefer a seriously tube-like warmth to a more true-to-source or 'live' presentation. Additionally, once added and balanced to your tastes you'll find yourself reaching for the treble side of the equalizer dramatically less with the added benefit of affecting far fewer highly desirable surrounding musical micro-details as it takes far fewer clicks of adjustment to achieve a similar result to what you're experiencing today when moving away from hard glare/brightness. If I had my way and all recordings were produced/engineered anywhere close to 'right' I would N-E-V-E-R touch the equalizer! If wishes were fishes...

Conversely, using the equalizer is painting with a broad brush. Much of the otherwise desirable treble micro details get lost with the offensive detail you're trying to rid yourself of when the equalizer is taken to task. Like throwing some of the baby out with the bath water. Typically if I want a minor offensive sheen or glare to disappear the equalizer performs genocide on that glare then commits collateral damage on some otherwise VERY desirable micro detail that exists on both sides of the offensive detail... an equal-opportunity, broad-spectrum neutralizer. The equalizer is a shotgun effect offering little-to-no pinpoint accuracy whereas gold seems to be more surgically precise in it's entirely organic exorcism of offensive brightness/glare with far fewer adverse side effects and subsequent visits to the 2-band "graphic nukralizer" for tweaks.

[Manoet]

   

Ok, I think 'maybe' I've got this pic thing figured out so I'll make a post out of it related to the recent binding post thread and some of the tools I use for such things. Most important and oft-used audio tool in my arsenal is the Panasonic EY 7411 3.6V Li-ion cordless torque-setting screwdriver. EJ Sarmento, designer for Cullen Circuits and later/currently Wyred 4 Sound introduced me to this tool almost 8 years ago. I purchased one immediately and it has been in use at least 3-4 times a week ever since. Damn thing's bullet-proof! Also the most accurate, repeatable and ergonomically friendly tool ever! It just fits the hand perfectly and works every time! And easy to tell this is a professional tool the first time you pull the trigger... reeks of quality, precision and professionalism. A privilege & pleasure to use! Instant torque release at any of 21 settings between .3Nm-3.9Nm (2.6in*lbf-34.52in*lbf) which works out to .2Nm/2.6in*lbf per click of the torque-setting dial. The perfect range for well over 99% of all audio needs. The high-end torque wrench below it in pic is used for the exceedingly rare need to go up to near twice that torque. I think I've used it twice in over 20 years for audio but it had a previous life in another hobby... fuel injectors! But it comes in handy as the verification/calibration tool to insure the screwdriver is within specification as I simply attach a 1/4 square drive with a 1/4" hex and attach that to the screwdriver, hook the two together and squeeze the screwdriver trigger and read the gauge on the wrench. Piece-o-cake! Additionally it tests both right and left hand threaded fasteners. Lastly is the nice little Wiha kit that has virtually every driver, ratchet, extension in SAE, metric, hex/allen, Torx, straight blade and/or phillips driver I'm ever likely to need in audio.

An interesting aside to using Torque settings for assembly, especially with high-end outlets like GTX-D's etc is they are far, FAR better damped, effective and seriously better sounding when torqued equally at both ends than when guesstimated. Not guess-work on my part, I've seen & heard that result first-hand at RMAF on an oscilloscope.

Enuf dawdling, now for the pic test...

**EDIT** YES, YES, YES I did it... FINALLY!!!