Harmonic Technology Magic Link soldering issues

I have a couple sets of Pro Silway 2 and a bunch of others above magic grade. All have been great.. and in use for many years.

One of the solder connections failed on a Magic XLR resulting in low volume in its channel (was my fault). Took to a "Mom-and-Pop" guitar store who resoldered it. Works fine again. Note: Use caution moving ICs around. Apparently, they are not very hardy and will break under load.

I run 2 pairs of 7m Pro Silway II to my amps.  My amps are McIntosh with vertical jacks which stress the cables.  3 of the cables started giving problems, and when I inspected the ends I discovered what I considered to be really poor workmanship in the solder joints.  I ended up taking them to a shop for inspection and repair.  No problems since but it's only been about a year.

Bill

I also have several sets of Pro Silway IIs and after looking at them, they are better soldered and have no problems even after almost 20 years of use.  I re-soldered mine and they seem ok for now.  I would like to buy more, but am apprehensive,  I wrote to Harmonic Technology to see if they had any comments or offered a repair service.  No answer after almost a week.  Thank you for all your comments.

Once Jim Wang left that was the end of the real HT

OK - the issue is that the solder is the "lead-free" solder which is still a requirement in some parts of the globe.  It has almost zero flexibility and will fracture quite easily.  If you take it apart and solder using some decent (WITH lead) silver solder like WBT or Cardas, it will be fine for years to come.

I did try soldering with WBT silver solder with lead, but found that some came loose again with twisting.

if you can‘t solder get a pro to do it - save you in the long run

Wow I had the same issue with a pr of HT Pro Silway IIs many yrs ago, thought it was just b/c I had pulled them in and out when trying different preamps. Sold them to a friend for pennies on the dollar with full disclosure. Never bought another HT cable again.

@rsf507 

I too had a failed solder connection on a pair of Pro Silways long ago- and my pair were not pulled in any way. I desoldered everything as I thought the soldering workmanship was mediocre at best. 

Sounds like the quality has dropped. Really too bad, they were great budget interconnects for their time.