Binding Post Jumpers - New Product!!!

I bought a variant of these from KLE was absolutely aghast their awful quality of construction and workmanship.  They were of worse quality than some of Chinese connectors that sell for a couple of dollars.  I understand KLE makes some fine connectors but in IMO, these are pure crap.  

Steve,
Sorry to speak ill of connectors you fancy.  I bought these connectors to pig back the wires from my sub to my 2-channel amp:  https://kleinnovations.com/kleiclassic-harmony-banana-by-ss/   They cost $135 and were shipped from AUS.  

After receiving them and inspecting them, I sent the following message to KLE:

"I received your Classic Harmony BFA connectors today and I am thoroughly unhappy with them. They are as cheap in construction as the worst of the chinese connectors I have been foolish enough to buy. I find no way to re-open the hinged plastic flap after it has been closed. It is an interesting design, but for the price of $135, the construction is decidedly third-rate. Please send me an RMA for a return of the connectors to a US location (a US dealer) because I am not keen to spend $30 on return shipping costs to AUS."  


The plastic housing was thin and poorly manufactured.  I never connected them the quality of their construction.  I can't see that there was more than a couple of bucks involved in constructing them, but they cost $135.  I had to send them all the way back to AUS on my dime and I can acknowledge that I did get a refund.  Calling them cr*p was a pejorative term that I should not have used, but frankly it is a perfect descriptor of their quality of construction, and I stand by it.  Others like there connectors, including you, so good for all of you.  

I did find these connectors from Radio Shack, which to my eye, seem to be virtually identical to those from KLE and sell for a modest $3.00:
https://www.radioshack.com/products/radioshack-stackable-banana-plugs-2-pack?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1s-zt...

I suspect the metal jacks in the KLE design are better, but the RS connectors were, and are, perfectly functional at a total cost of $3.00 vs. $135 for the KLE connectors.  



  

Steve,
Fair enough, I know you and other audiophiles find sonic joy in their connectors so I don't wish to diminish your zeal for them.  Your ears, and your pocketbooks, will be your guide.  I would be keen to see an A/B comparison of the KLE connectors I bought to the Radio Shack variants.   The KLE connectors I bought were 45X the price of the price of the RS connectors.  I would advise followers of this post to give the RS connectors a fair listen compared to the KLE connectors to see which they prefer, and by how much.  The KLE connectors may well be worth their added cost compared to the similarly-constructed RS connectors, but only a comparison will properly inform one.  Be well, Mark

Steve,
It is all good, my friend. REL suggests a high level connection for my T7 subs so that is the way I have been running it, connected to my amp.  I have used AQ BFA speaker connectors, but the metal male jacks are suffering from metal fatigue (they are quite thin-walled) from repeated connections to various speakers so I took a flyer and ordered these "Nak" BFA connectors today to replace them:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/162846775339

Yping, you have suggested a math error in my comparison.  Two pairs of the RS piggy-back jacks, which are required for a 2-channel audio system, cost $6.00, not $3.00.  Therefore, the KLE's are not 45X as expensive, but only 22.5X as expensive.  It is quite possible that the incremental cost of $129 for the KLE's is very worthwhile.  I, personally was incensed at the quality of construction of the KLE connectors I bought which, to me, had no relationship to their cost. 

If your ears and mind tell you something is better, then that is all that the validation you need, regardless of the cost.  The coin of the realm is limited and it is fair to point out, for example, more modestly priced connectors that may well allow one to fully enjoy their audio systems at much smaller cost. 

Fair enough, lads, we call them as we see (or hear them.)  

Yping, your post above poses an excellent subjective question, but rather nonsensically.  Your caveat "if money is no object" pushes aside the whole issue of quality/performance vs. value.  That makes as much sense as asking if I would prefer a Rolls Royce over my Mazda.  Likely I would, but money is intrinsically part of the decision-making process.  I believe that there are connectors of similar design and quality to the KLE connectors I bought and sent back that are available for a tiny fraction of the cost of the KLE connectors.   The KLE connectors may or may not sound much better, but does their sonic improvement justify their price compared to the alternatives available at a small fraction of the price of the KLE connectors?  I do not know for a certainty where the KLE connectors are manufactured, but I could could make a very educated guess.  I also have a very good idea of their cost of production and can find no justification for the price of the KLE connectors I received, which are the only ones upon which I can comment.   

I have not asserted that the KLE connectors did not sound excellent.  My beef was with the quality of their construction and workmanship relative to their cost.   I reject the conventional audio wisdom that the more expensive a component or piece of gear is, the better is performs.  The $120 fuses that are spoken of so highly on this forum are a prime example.  Or the silly aluminum dots that are glued to walls, purported to enhance the sound of one's system.  I want to inform audio lovers to consider value when they make their purchases because "money is always an object".  

 A pal of mine who makes IC's, as well as Don Sachs, the guy who made my preamp, both are big fans of Dueland wire.  Don now uses it for the internal wiring in his preamp and rewired his speakers with Dueland wire, a definite improvement from his Supra Ply 3.4 wire he previously used.  Both cables are similar in metal construction, but Don clearly prefers the Dueland wire.   I use vintage WE 16 ga. wire for my bedroom system, which is quite similar in all aspect of construction to the Dueland wire, and it is betters far more expensive speaker cables I have used in the past.  It has a "organic" sound -- clean and clear, such as KLE connectors evidently have.

With KLE connectors, Dueland wiring may be a very economical upgrade for ones' system, for jumpers, IC's or speakers wire.