Spade vs bare wire

@ieales, "Tremendous improvements in sound quality can be effected by removing ALL crimps / headers / connectors from the audio path and soldering the connections"

Tremendous?

Perhaps, but only if after 25 years or so they had become terribly pitted.

For many of us going that long without changing gear is beyond comprehension.

I'm sure you mean well but what you're suggesting is risky to say the least, and in most cases I believe, totally unnecessary. 

cd318:
Back in the 80s, I became design engineer for a newly built private recording studio. We had identical MCI JH-24 multi track recorders. As best we could tell, they differed very little. Note that we had first rate, phase correct tri-amped monitors, so playback was pretty pristine.

Having auditioned connectors for a couple of decades and finding 'none' better than 'any', I removed every connector from the console to the MT rack cards: Patch bay -> console connector -> machine wall plate -> MT input -> MT rack cards.

Once completed, we tracked some sessions simultaneously to both machines. No one but myself and the owner knew there was any difference in the two paths. On playback, all but the owner and I were astounded at the increase in clarity, detail, punch, etc. IOW, Tremendous!

I did several other studios after other owners heard the delta.

Look inside your typical gear: One may find connectors to/from the power supply, input connectors, switches for Bal/UnBal/Bridged operation, etc. Many fall into the "Best connector you can buy for under a quarter" class and are definitely not HiFi.

Having the luxury of multiple units in the studio and the ability to A/B modified against not, no connectored device ever beat a Un!

NOTE: Only the qualified and competent should attempt hardware modifications.

I had my XLO 5.1 connected to my ESP speakers directly, through wire soldering. I then for convenience sake replaced that with WBT 0702.12 on the speaker's side and direct on the amp binding posts (Luxman m900U). Result: the connection via the WBT sounded much better: better-defined bass and better dynamics. I cannot explain that but it made music more alive and fun to listen to.