JimBlog

Do you think that would be prossible!

Haha great Steve - I have heard the Reference 5s. Big and beatifully built but the Blades are far better! Maybe a small pair of Blades would suit your next house/room? I know someone selling a pair of Blades probably for a good price!

I have pondered subs but I think they maybe difficult to integrate. Your right about bigger speakers but it depends on sensitivity and I know larger rooms tend to suck the power out of the system so you end up needing more grunt. A mate has moved to two monster mono blocks from a stereo amp in his room and his system sounds far better for it. Control, dynamics, low end grunt and general effortless scale driving monster speakers!

I think we know where this is heading Jim... floorstanders and a 686 😜

Look forward to seeing how it all pans out mate

jimbo

I have a feeling that this will be a very interesting adventure. You're a hard man to please and getting the right speaker to replace the Spendors, and keep those qualities you have come to enjoy, is going to be a tough task.

Ideally, a bigger pair of Spendors? Maybe something similar. I know bigbird did a similar thing recently and has been very complimentary about his new Dynaudio Speakers. You guys have very similar systems so maybe a previously trodden path may prove valuable for the moment?

Either way, I will be following your journey closely. Will be interesting to see where you end up!

Yes it is going to be a challenge but looking forward to it. As you have proven Oli with your system, everything can be bettered, fine tuned and moved on to a higher level of performance with careful selection of components. It is certainly going to be an interesting journey!

Not a great deal been happening with the system as all energies and cash has been diverted to restoring the house at the moment. But I have now purchased ater a wait of about 2 years a 4 Metre set Spotfire speaker cables. I have auditioned these on numerous occasions either in my own system or at Olivers. However I have now purchased a new pair which have been clad in some new livery which is rather understated and very much to my liking.

They are quite a hevty cable but are now a little less bulky in their new cladding. These are superbly built and rival anything I have seen or borrowed from some boutique manufacturers. They are up there with the best and would not look out of place in any system regardless of the price. However these cables are not really about looks but about sound quality and frankly they are certainly the best speaker cable I have had in my system. They are so good that when you remove them there is a noticeable loss across all frequencies and the soundstage shrinks. I have written a review of these cables before but just as a reminder if you have Olivers Spotfire IC's and know what they can do in your system then these speaker cables offer more of the same.

They have a big soundstage and great depth with a naturalness to the sound that comes across as a super smooth, fatigue free listen. High end information is all there but not exaggerated and low end bass is full and articulate with great layering and depth. To be honest these cables make you system sound like they have had a significant kit upgrade and not a cable upgrade which is hard to believe. In a word they are superb and I cannot find anything to fault with them.

These are now a permenant part of my system and as Oliver knows things rarely move in or out of my system. Anything I put in has to justify its existence on many levels not least bring about a significant improvement. The Spotfire speaker cables easily do this and I would recommend anyone who has heard and likes the Spotfire interconnects to try these cables.

Thanks Jim, and yes I agree of course lol.

I am really pleased with how they turned out and will probably adopt the svelt black look for any future pairs.

Yep, you don't change much in your system and the fact these have found a way in, says a great deal.

I've built your BB3, so I'll deliver it on the same timescale, circa 2023 🤣🤣

Hahaha......I thought so!

Welcome to "material enlightenment" lol

Now, dont be surprised to find opposition to my opinion here, as it does seem to fly in the face of all things scientific and as such it makes me look like one of those "use you ears" types. However, you know me well enough to know i have spend a small fortune investigating this area and finding what i think makes the most money vs performance connection.

Speaker binding posts

Speaker binding posts are pretty much Nickel plating on to brass, then gold plating over the top of that. Hence the brilliantly yellow-gold finish. These are the normal construction you find on 99.9% of commercially bought kit. They are cheap and cheerful and as you say, most audiophiles dont give them a second thought. It's a mistake.

Swapping these little nasties for something of quality, like these from EIZZ, will make a difference to the SQ of your system:

www.audiophonics.fr/en/binding-posts/eizz-ez-301-gold-plated-ofc-copper-binding-posts-o16mm-x-61mm-pair-p-9899.html

As you can see, at EUR10.00 for a pair, they are hardly going to break the bank. There is a caeat with these. They do not grip spade connections at all well, and are recommended only for Z plugs or banana plugs. They also flex a wee bit, but that never bothered me. I assume one day they will break off if i keep moving them around, But what matters most is the material they are made from.

OFC copper

It has been my repeated experience that making a secure connection has to be the primary objective. Without that you are wasting your time, so choose a binding post that suits your cables. I couldnt get those Viborg banana plugs out of these posts and i alway felt they were very well connected but as i say, more substantial posts may be required in your system.

RCA Sockets & plugs
There is only one i use these days, and i have tried pretty much everything i could get my hands on. WBT, Cardas, AN, Yarbo, KLE....you name it, ive probably had a pair or two.

I ended up at one point removing all of the connections and soldering the interconnects directly to the PCB's in my system. This was by far the absolute best way of doing things. The fluidity of the sound increased substantially (removed gold plated brass sockets) and the clarity and resolution just moved up to another echelon.

The goal then became to keep as much of that as possible, but by using connections.

The closest i have managed to get, and it's bloody close, is the CMC RCA socket and the Zavfino OCC RCA plug. Again, they are Gold plated Copper, not brass or "high content copper" and imo, they are one of the most critical investments i have made in the system and have had as much effect as changing a component like a DAC or Cartridge at times.

As with my opening statement, this perspective will garner strong opinions based in the science which says the size and quality of the connection are more important, and the material is insignificcant due to the size of the signal etc....but i dont care. I know what happened when i did the experiments and i am not telling anyone to do the same, just that i had the experience.

Great post from both of you . James , a lesson on the importance of having a good connection . Oli , backing up his post by citing your own experience in this area .
I will be examining all the connections in my system when I have some spare time .