Jumpers - How good do they really have to be?


I’m in the process of upgrading my speaker cables to Analysis Plus Solo Crystal’s. I’ve never bought into the bi-wire hype and the cables that I have purchased are single wire. Currently I’m using AP Oval 9’s with some “light-gauge” Kimber jumpers that were given to me. My thought is that I should buy the Solo Crystal jumpers (synergy and all that good stuff) but since jumpers very seldom if ever come up used on A’gon I would be buying new and the price of new Solo Crystal jumpers is about what I just paid used for the Solo Crystal cables. Somehow I just cannot get that past by pea brain. I’m not aware of any way to audition jumpers so I was hoping someone could give me some guidance

My question is how good do the jumpers really have to be? Speakers are Totem Mani 2’s. Can I get away with a lower priced AP jumper; say Oval 9’s or 12’s? Are my current jumpers ok. Or should I just bite the bullet and buy the Solo Crystal jumpers?
jaffeassc
The best jumpers will be your calbes.
Totem Manis have excellent WBT connectors that do not require any termination of the wire.
I use AP12 and thread the wires through the binding posts.
I can't speak to your particular combination, but can tell you that when I got my Avantgarde Duos, I first hooked them up with the factory supplied jumpers while awaiting delivery of some custom Cardas Golden Ref. jumpers. The speakers were, admittedly, still breaking in at that time. The Cardas jumpers arrived, along with the Cardas speaker cables and interconnects- all the same stuff. Wired the system with that, and after that settled down (cable was used, so break in was not an issue) system sounded better. Then, I thought I heard a hum in one channel, and to isolate that, I tried everything, including at one point, going back to the factory jumpers. At that point, with speakers more broken in, other cables settled, and me used to the sound of the system, changing the jumpers in and out from the factory to the custom jobs was not subtle.
Also, are you sure that the cables you seek are not available for audition and/or purchase used? I would work on that front if the sticking point is paying retail....
there are many feet of standard wire in your speaker, just get something like that.

steve
If you can buy the second pair of wire used for the price of new jumpers buy them and be done with it. The jumpers do have to be as good as the wire you are using to sound the same but you will not have the benifit of the extra guage of wire that you would get with a second run. Many will disagree with me and in the end you will just have to find out for yourself.
Consider that your question considers the effect of using a couple of inches of wire between your speaker cable and the internal wiring (which for sure is not the same). Personally, I would opt for the less expensive version of AP's jumpers as I suspect you would never hear a difference between them and the more expensive ones. FWIW.
If it's only 2" distance then the main difference would come from mechanical contacts. Connect your speaker cables to the tweeter ports and jumper down to the woofer. It makes a difference!

I concur with Newbee. Just look for simple jumpers that'll make decent contact between the binding posts, and "maybe" gold-plated for long-term corrosion concerns. Coming from someone who electronically measures circuits all day for a profession, exotic materials or otherwise, will have no affect on this application. Promise!
I agree with Newbee. I couldn't see justifying spending anything over $20 for a 6" set of jumpers. But I've been called worse things than cheap before.
Thanks everyone…I was away for a few days and was very pleasantly surprised when I got back to see the interest in this topic. Seems like we also have some differing opinions, which doesn’t surprise me at all!

I agree that a few inches of wiring would not appear to make a difference, that’s why I posted in the first place. But what I can tell you is that the Kimber jumpers that I’m currently using sound better than the factory jumpers. I definitely get better definition and balance with the Kimber’s. Actually what I found is that I get better balance by connecting the speaker cables diagonally, one to the high post and one to the low post and then jumping in opposite directions. Whether or not I would hear a difference between the Oval 12’s, 9’s or Solo Crystal jumpers, well that’s the question. And it’s really not about the money. In the total scheme of things, a hundred bucks one way or another really does not mean that much.

Marakanetz – If I understand you correctly you have removed the speaker wire connectors, stripped the speaker wire, and threaded the wire between the top and bottom WBT posts. Interesting…I never thought about that.

And yes Whart, changing the jumpers in and out from the factory to the Kimber’s was not subtle. If you or anyone else knows where I may be able to audition jumpers, I would really appreciate that info.

Philjolet – I’ve also thought about running two separate pairs of cables. Again, it’s not about the money but the results. I actually tried it already, but with two different types (brands) of cables, but it seemed to impact things in a negative way (the timing seemed to be off).

As it turn out the AP Solo Crystal cables that I thought I bought here on A’gon were sold out from under me so it looks like I have more time to ponder. Any other thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Jaffeassc,

Since I can't seem to locate any info regarding the Mani's "stock" jumpers, could you describe them? Flat bus-bar/strip types, or, fork or bannana connectors with short specialty wires, etc?

If they are of quality "strip" types (electrically "dead-short"), them I'm quite curious why "wired" variations would alter the sound, other than coloration. Maybe you prefer these affects, based on your listening environment?

Just curious...
Metro04,

The stock jumpers I speak of are the flat bus-bar strip type. Although I should mention that I’m not 100% sure that these are the same type jumpers that are stock on the Mani’s. I also have the Model Ones and Mites and these jumpers were taken from one or the other. The Mani’s I bought used here on A’gon without stock jumpers and I was given the Kimbers in their place that I mentioned before.

As far as differences, as I also mentioned before, there is a noticeable difference between the flat bus-bar strips and the Kimbers. More definition and detail. The highs also seem to be more extended. I don’t think its coloration, but maybe it is.
FWIW I just went from single run with silver jumpers to bi wire of the same stuff (AN Lexus) and the improvement is great with better integration between the drivers and better tone and the music flies out of the speakers where the single run was more constricted and the tone was off in comparison - hence my recommendation.

have fun and good luck