Please help me clean up this stupid speaker cable mistake


I ordered off Ebay yesterday a pair of new fifteen foot Audioquest Rocket 88 speaker cables, the single bi-wire type with banana plugs for $650. It seemed like a good price. There are two banana plugs on the amp end of the cable, four banana plugs on the speaker end of each cable. They are for my new back ordered Magico A3’s, due for delivery by the end of this month. My stupid mistake is you cannot bi-wire Magico A3’s. So I have to combine recombine the biwire leads into single leads, which you would think would be simple.

I called Audioquest and spoke to a tech there. I asked him if the existing banana plugs on the Rocket 88 could be unscrewed. I could then twist two bi-wire leads together and place them back into a single banana jack if they would fit. Either that or replace them with spades, hoping the individual connectors on the Magicos were big enough to accept two spades. The tech didn’t know if they could be unscrewed. Do any of you know if they could be unscrewed and if so would the existing banana plug be fat enough to accommodate two leads.

His suggestion was to buy a set of four Audioquest 500 series spade or banana connectors, and replace the current ones. He though they would be wide enough to accommodate two combined leads and I wouldn’t have to solder them on which I’d like to avoid. They use Allen head screws to hold the wires in place. They go for $70.00. Do you know of any comparable quality screw on banana or spade connectors that aren’t so pricey? I was trying to be frugal in the first place with this purchase without sacrificing quality. The ones that are on the Rocket 88’s are silver plated if that’s relevant.

Sorry for being so long winded and thanks for any suggestions.

Mike
skyscraper

Showing 3 responses by david_ten

I believe the speaker posts are WBT (?). I would check with Magico regarding which WBTs and then ask Audioquest and WBT for their recommendation on material pairing. Also, given your spend on the A3s, don't 'cheap out' on the connectors.

Any reason why you cannot pick up a correctly terminated speaker cable? Seems like the easiest, and perhaps smarter approach (?).

All the best with whichever solution you choose and the resulting performance.
David, What does WBT mean?

WBT is a German company that makes connectors for electronics and is known to us for their Speaker Binding Posts, speaker cable connectors, etc. They make other audiophile connectors as well.

"WBT-Industrie GmbH

Industry sector: Mechanical engineering - Precision engineering

Main focus: Electromechanical connectors designed for the entertainment electronics, high-tech medical equipment and measurement technology"