2. amps-preamps
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Shorting the speaker wires

I just tripped on the right channel speaker wire which pulled the terminators out of the speaker. Sparks flew and my heart dropped. Bought the ARC 150.2 just 2 weeks ago here on Audiogon.

Live in Fresno so no dealer. Took it to a local electronics store who said no problem we will fix it.

The store was an utter mess.

Speakers are Linn .

The cables are ARC Litz and have lugs terminating on Monster X-terminators.

Suggestions for new termination?

Thanks
mendota9811
hotsauce
108 posts
 
Some amps are tolerent of shorting, and many are not.

Some amps also are not tolerent of having no load on the speaker terminals at all.

I have also seen a friend damage a speaker by hot swapping a RCA cable. The connection thump caused an arc in his Quads.

John C.
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
My CarverPro ZR1600 amps have Neutronic output terminals, which I have never used. I use the binding posts with bare wire terminations (or should I say non-terminations). The Neutronic connectors are a twist-lock design, with a contact wiping action when you mate them, and where there is no exposure of the metalic terminations. They are widely used for pro audio.

However, when I installed in-wall wires for a second system I used Neutronic connectors, jacks mounted in the wall and plugs on the speaker wires. I am impressed with these devices.
mendota9811 OP
8 posts
 
Well it's August 10th and the electronic repair store says they need more parts and have them on order.

Can someone suggest a thin, flexible, good value speaker wire.

Thank you.
johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 
08-10-08: Mendota9811
Can someone suggest a thin, flexible, good value speaker wire.
What do you have now? I take it that the thickness and inflexibility of the speaker cable you tripped on contributed to the spark-shooting damage you incurred?

What cable was that? For more flexible and easier to handle, there's Kimber 4TC or 8TC. Very neutral, fast, transparent, and harmonically right when broken in. Matches well with a wide variety of components.

For way thinner and more flexible, there's Crystal Cable, but at a much higher price.

There are also very light, thin, foil ribbon cables, but they might break when you trip on them, which could be as expensive as what you're facing.

I had a spark-shooting incident once too. Fortunately it only blew an internal protection fuse in my amp, so it was a same day cheap 'n' easy fix. Sorry. I guess that wouldn't make you feel any better.
mendota9811 OP
8 posts
 
Received the amp back and it sounds great. It took 2 weeks and $550 but I'm happy for not having to ship the unit to ARC.
Thanks for all the comments.
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