stereomaniac

Thanks for the info. I think I will just get some good quality crimp-spades. I will clean the wires and connectors first, crimp the connectors on and call it a day. I have some of the Caig contact cleaner and it works really well. May not make a huge performance difference, but the metal is shiny[H].

Any experience with the twist on compression fit spades? They seem to be everywhere. I am having a hard time finding crimp spades for my 16 gauge cable.

I have read that by crimping a connector on to the bare wire it creates a gas free contact area. Meaning O2 has a harder time getting into the wire strands and causing oxidation. Right now I am using bare wire, but it is a pain on reconnects and spades might make contact cleaning easier.

I have been using bare wire to my three way binding posts, but I have heard that I can reduce the rate of oxidation if I use connectors(gold plated). ANy thoughts? I have been thinking about crimp-on spades. I have always been a crimp guy. ANy thoughts on the twist-on/compression fit connectors? I always thought the contact might be inferior and they might come loose, but I don't know.

My amp takes two types of speaker connections bare wire via spring clips and bananas. I have always been a fan of bare wire. Less impedance, fewer metal to metal transitions. My amp is 20 years old and the spring clips are getting a little worn. My new speaker cable is 16 gauge and I was told 18 is max for spring clips. Is this true??? Would I lose a lot of sound quality by going to banana plugs????

Thank you. Your response was very helpful and gave me some of the tech details I was looking for. I will have to go and do some more listening.

I listened to the 52s and they had plenty of bass in the showroom which is much bigger than my living room. I just don't need that 25 Hz thud on my chest. My listening position would be a sofa and chairs. Everyone in those positions should be able to get good sound. I don't want to have to point the speakers to a specfic location and lose the sweet spot as soon as I step out of a 5' diameter sphere. The Phase Technology soft dome tweeters had a nice wide sound stage. I don't want to get tunnel vision if you know what I mean.

I am evaluating the Klipsch RF-52s and I have some questions. I have read that the sweet spot with the horn tweeter is very narrow or much more so than a soft dome tweeter. I was also wonder about flexability. These speakers would be used as a stand alone pair to listen to movies and music. I would be driving them with a 100 watt Kyocera integrated amp. I am not a big bass fan nor do I listen to my stuff really loud. I am I ok with the RF-52s or is there a better choice?