Binding Straps vs Jumpers

12-16-10: Tmsorosk
Johnnyb53 ... your comment ( SERIOUSLY fast ) brings up a question , I always believed , electricity traveled at the same speed regardless of size or type of conducter , correct me if i'm wrong .

We're not talking about electricity per se. We're talking about electronic signal. It's the difference between electrical and electronic technologies. As far as different speeds for conductors, why would you believe that they're absolutely uniform regardless of size or type of conductor? It's well known, for example, that no metal conductor is as fast as the speed of light, and that silver is about 8% faster than copper. Nordost publishes the speeds of all their cables as a percentage of the speed of light. Furthermore, different frequencies travel at different speeds, and there is a relationship between wavelength and conductor depth at which point signal transmission is affected by skin effect. This is where the Mapleshade jumpers shine, as they are so thin that it takes skin effect out of the equation (or so I've heard).

When I say "fast," I'm referring to signal rise time. It has a lockstep relationship to high frequency bandwidth, but it also has an audible influence on the leading edges of transients and how much of notes' beginnings are audible. If a conductor's upper frequency response limit is 20KHz, its rise time is 1/40,000 of a second at best. This is nowhere near fast enough to transmit SP/DIF signals or video, which need rise times measured in microseconds, let alone HDMI 1.4 content.

And as far as all that goes, I'm reporting what I heard and its influence on the rest of my system. It does sort of fly in the face of conventional wisdom, but those little Mapleshade ribbon jumpers were game-changers.

Johnnyb53 ... your comment ( SERIOUSLY fast ) brings up a question , I always believed , electricity traveled at the same speed regardless of size or type of conducter , correct me if i'm wrong .

If you want some SERIOUSLY fast, transparent jumpers at a near giveaway price, the answer is the Mapleshade copper ribbons at $25 or $35 a pair. I had been biwiring my Mirage OMD-15s for two years when I decided to get a single run of Zu Libtecs last May. That then set me on a quest for jumpers. I tried basic Monster, AudioQuest Type 4, Kimber 4TC, and AQ Type 4 + Kimber 4TC combined. Tried 'em with the main cables going to the woofers, then going to the tweeters, and then one to each. Still wasn't quite satisfied.

So for $35 I got the Plus version of the Mapleshade Ribbon Jumpers. Holy cow! Who would ever think that 2-1/2" of any kind of conductor could make that much difference? Everything snapped into focus. The soundstage expanded. My system reached a new level of clarity and revealed that the amp section of my switching integrated amp was a little too dry. Fortunately I had a nice big class A/AB transconductance amp handy and inserted it and that fixed things the rest of the way. This LP-sourced 2-channel system now delivers a level of resolution I never heard in my home before. Even digital sounds more organic.

I have the Salon ones , and got a small but important improvement after purchasing matching Transparent jumpers , spade on one end locking banana on the other , so not to interfear with the primary wire . To long ago to tell you what I heard different , but I recall being happy with the money spent , $500. Not much when you consider the total cost of the system .

I can barely afford one set of KS 3033'S let alone another pair!
I will try the jumbers in preference to the gold plated steel.

Dotto what Elizabeth said. The question is, if you can bi-wire, why aren't you already? Then again, you could take the next step and bi-amp. As long as we're blowing money unnecesserily.

My panels came with Chrome Plated steel jumpers.

I replaced them with #6 copper hand whittled into shape....the #6 was just a touch too large.

Nice help....and even though it my be psychological, I feel mucho better knowing that steel is out of the circuit.

Next step?
Remove 'em altogether..and the fuse as well.

Thank you all, as always thoughtful advice at the GON. I shall dive in yet again. Happy Holidays!

I made my own Jumpers out of Home Depot multi stranded 12awg copper wire. Which worked quite well and were an imporovement over the Aluminum Bar Jumbers provided by Focal. Then I ran into a bargain set of Cardas jumpers which were even better, I think so anyway.
As for worth it ?? I would say yes if small to moderate improvements mean anything to you and of course you think the price is in line with others. If you want a recommendation I love Jena wire which is what I use for speaker cable. The jumpers are called the Dussys I believe. They are not cheap by any stretch.
I agree with Ncarv here- is this hobby worth it? It appears, that as a general rule, that even a small improvement, is important to most people who are into the hobby.

You could just use wire coat hangers for jumpers. It would work. That's how I look at manuf. binding strips. They designed the spkrs. to be bi-wired or bi-amped (or whatever) so I think they would sound better w/the same cables. They include the jumpers so you can listen w/a single set of cables.

If you use single wire w/jumpers, you can try it both ways.

You really won't get a definitive answer unless you actually try it, regardless of what you read here.

I've always found that cables, especially matching your speaker cables, improves the sound over binding straps.
As for blowing dough unnecessarily . . . is any of this really necessary? Hmm . . .