Upgraded banana plugs


I recently upgraded my standard gold plated banana plugs with Audioquest Suregrip bfa banana plugs, which are silver plated over copper, to get a better quality connection and to hopefully add a little extension at the frequency extremes. What I ended up with was a totally different sound. I went from a warm, musical sound to a much bigger and brighter, dynamic in your face type of sound. I lost a lot of the tube "magic" afterwards and it was like I replaced my tube amps with a solid state amp type of change in sound. Can anyone explain how changing just the banana plugs changed the sound so much? Is the gold/silver plating more responsible for the change or is it the better grip/design of the plug?

Here is my equipment lineup:

Tekton Lore 2.0 speakers
Cary Sixpac monobloc amplifiers
Audio Research LS15 preamp
Squeezebox Touch > PS Audio Digital Link iii dac
Speaker cables are Belden 89259 (Jon Risch recipe)
Interconnects are Belden 89259 terminated with Eichmann Bullet rca's
rkc5666

Showing 2 responses by bdp24

For another upgrade (which is what the new plugs are), replace the binding posts on your speakers and amp with Cardas Rhodium over Copper ones. Brass reeks.
If you REALLY want the best, solder your speaker wire ends to the x/o in your speakers on one end, and the circuit board of your amp on the other.