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To splice or not to splice?

I have a mid-fi system (Dynaudio MkII, NAD c320BEE, Canare wires) and recently acquired a 6-foot Audioquest King Cobra cable for next-to-nothing. My first inclination was to cut it up to make a pair of extremely short IC's to replace my pre-to-power amp jumpers and then to make one or two pairs of short IC's for component-to-pre connection.

I have since become aware that the King Cobra has connectors which are welded, not soldered. I'm not concerned about losing value as I have little in the cable and do not plan to sell it. I am concerned with losing a high percentage of sound after splicing and adding standard audio RCA connectors using solder.

I expect a small loss from the process. Am I likely to be disappointed?

Is there anyone here with some experience in this realm?

many thanks,

T.U.
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tostadosunidos's avatar
tostadosunidos OP
1,096 posts
 
Thanks for the swift--and good responses.

Kijanki, I actually was looking at the AQ jumpers for some time before this cable came into view. That's still an option.

Zd, I have compared the KingCobra to the NAD metal jumpers and the difference is obvious, it's a slam dunk. I could hear it, my son could hear it and my wife could hear it. The NAD and Dynaudio speakers (these are not the lower-line Audience series) are that good, at least. As for keeping the cable as-is, I'm not sure what to do with one cable in a two-channel system--or am I missing something here (besides the second cable)?

Elizabeth, I have been thinking about that very thing. But I can make the ultra-short "jumpers" and still have enough left over for a pair of 2.5 foot cables at least. Some of my present cables are 18" and in ten years I haven't had a problem with that. Presently I can get by with one or two pairs much shorter than that with no change in the foreseeable future. And I'm no spring chicken.

again, thanks to all!
zd542
5,339 posts
 
Sorry. I didn't realize you only had 1 actual cable. Since were are talking about IC's I just naturally thought one pair. You definitely did the right thing by listening to it and confirming a difference. There's only one thing left for your to do: Chop! Have fun, just watch your fingers.

One last thing. If you are planning to use the 2 original factory terminated RCA terminals, make sure that use use them in the exact same application. For example, if you make a pair of IC's, you'll have to add a connector to each piece. When you use the cable run the like RCA's together and not at opposite ends. Needless to say, if you make more than 1 pair, keep the originals together in 1 pair. Anyway, I'm sure you would have figured all this out yourself, but it doesn't hurt to be careful.
kijanki's avatar
kijanki
3,575 posts
 
Of course you can hear it. It opens highs. My brother has NAD and has the same AQ jumpers. I believe AQ uses same materials as KC. Jumpers are only $28 while used 2m King Cobra runs at least $100. It used to be called Python and was twice more before AQ moved production to China, lowered prices (to stay competitive) and change names (perhaps to avoid upsetting current users). My previous IC was King Cobra.
tostadosunidos's avatar
tostadosunidos OP
1,096 posts
 
Zd542, wouldn't it be the opposite? One of the original RCA's has the arrows pointing in, the other out. So I think one should be in the preamp, the other in the source component or in the power amp (if used as jumper). Right?
zd542
5,339 posts
 
"Zd542, wouldn't it be the opposite? One of the original RCA's has the arrows pointing in, the other out. So I think one should be in the preamp, the other in the source component or in the power amp (if used as jumper). Right?"

No. The arrows are for the cables themselves, not the connectors. They are used for break in. You can run them the other way, but it will just take a little longer for the cables to re-break in for the change in direction. If you are making a pair of IC's or jumpers, you want them exactly the same.
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