Have your say & ask the experts!
In this month's mag
July 2013
SUPERTEST: Soundbar solutions £250-£450
GROUP TEST: 46-47in smart TVs
GROUP TEST: Standmount speakers £350-£450
© 2013 Haymarket Publishing
The main advantages of cable termination are guaranteeing that you get a good solid connection between the cable and the amp. If you're using bare cable, and (say) binding posts, the risk is that oxidation on the cable, grease from your fingers, etc. may reduce the quality of the signal. Now you can avoid this by cutting a fresh cable end, and cleaning the cables and binding posts with (say) acetone.
NB: You should ensure your amp is unplugged and wait for the acetone to dry properly in a well ventilated room to avoid any fire risk...
The issue is over time, the cable can still oxidise, but you can repeat the process bi-annually. You should also do this if you ever unplug the speakers.
If you cut and clean the cables and then solder them into gold-plated banana plugs, then you avoid this issue.
Airloc ones from Chord are very good also.
Hi Fi: Arcam A85, DV88 (CD only), Project Debut II, AE Compact-1. AV: Arcam AVR250, DV79, Sony BDP-S760, Monitor Audio Silver 8i, RS-LCR, RXFX, Sonos ZP90, Pioneer KRP500A. 2nd AV: Pioneer SX-SWR2, Dell Zino HD, KEF KHT2005.2 eggs, Sonos ZP90. That Cable HDMI, Chord Crimsons and Sonos ZPS5s everywhere & a spare Yamaha RXV-667!