QED Silver Anniversary XT supposed to come with plugs??

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If you buy 5 lengths of QED Silver Anniversary XT cable for your 5.1 setup, from a roll in a shop, are you supposed to get the banana plugs that you see in all the pictures of the cables - or does it cost extra to have these?

I haven't been to buy the cable yet (as I have yet to buy all of the components!) but I'd just like to know what to expect.

Thanks!
 
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Anonymous

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jphealy,

Depends on how its advertised. If they mention 'terminated cables', then you should get them with banana plugs / spades. However, more than likely, the prices advertised will be for unterminated cables, i.e just the wire.

I guess most people in this forum might say terminated cables are the way to go coz of ease of plugging in (i concur) as well as sound quality (subjective, although over time an unterminated cable would oxidize, thereby requiring you to cut off the ends around once in 6 months'ish' to retain sound quality).

FWIW, i currently use unterminated cables and will probably terminate them later if i get good deals on the plugs/spades.
 
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Anonymous

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Thanks bincym.

I'm not sure how they're advertised but it sounds like it would be worth getting the plugs. Any idea how much they might charge extra for the plugs? What if they don't have the right QED plugs and they just give me some random cheaper plugs? Does this matter - are all plugs basically the same or should I insist on having the right ones?

Apologies if this seems like a trivial matter - but I'm about to spend what, to me is a fortune on a complete av setup, and want to get everything just so!
 

Clare Newsome

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We include the cost of termination (where available) in the cable section of our Buyer's Guide. According to our latest figures, you should expect to pay an average of £64 to have a set of Silver Anniversary XT speaker cables to be terminated.
 
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Anonymous

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Thanks Claire. What about the question of non-QED plugs being used? Should Silver Anniversary XT cables really be terminated with Silver Anniversary XT plugs - or does it matter that much?
 

Clare Newsome

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Decent plugs can make a difference - but even the highest-end plug won't be worth the money if it's poorly terminated (which can damage the quality of the connection). I'd advise buying from a reputable QED dealer that knows what they're doing...
 
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Anonymous

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hi Clare I was wondering what is actually ment by terminating?

Is it when the cable has had banana plugs added by the shop you brought them from or just that it has plugs on the cable?

I put them on myself when I brought my QED silver anniversary 7 years ago, would they still deliver them same detail as when i first brought them.

By the way the forum is a great tool on your site with Andrew, Andy and yourself being part of it all instead of us getting on with it. I have become a regular reader of the forums finding that new interest in hi-fi once again.
 

JoelSim

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The plugs they suggest are airlock and are about £6 each, fitted. You can use other plugs if you want but for the sake of a few quid you may as well get them shop fitted (you can't do it yourself with the airlocks).
 

Clare Newsome

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[quote user="slopmonster"]hi Clare I was wondering what is actually ment by terminating?

Is it when the cable has had banana plugs added by the shop you brought them from or just that it has plugs on the cable? [/quote]

Terminating is, as it suggests, simply an ending for the cable - whether plugs or spades

[quote user="slopmonster"]

I put them on myself when I brought my QED silver anniversary 7 years ago, would they still deliver them same detail as when i first brought them.[/quote]

As we regularly suggest in our advice pages, you should spring-clean your cabling every now and then - plugging and unplugging them will ensure everything's connected as well as it can be. Not exactly a fun job, but something to do on those dull winter days....

Depending on what they're made from and how you've treated them (walking over them etc), cables can degrade over time, which can impair performance. Bit like any hi-fi kit, really (not that you tend to walk over CD players etc. Well, I hope not anyway!)

[quote user="slopmonster"]

By the way the forum is a great tool on your site with Andrew, Andy and yourself being part of it all instead of us getting on with it. I have become a regular reader of the forums finding that new interest in hi-fi once again.[/quote]

We aim to please. If we're a bit quiet over the next few days, Forum-wise, it's because we're at our Show, answering queries in person. We will also be putting lots of lovely exclusive news stories up, too...
 
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Anonymous

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[quote user="Clare Newsome"]
We include the cost of termination (where available) in the cable section of our Buyer's Guide. According to our latest figures, you should expect to pay an average of £64 to have a set of Silver Anniversary XT speaker cables to be terminated.

[/quote]

You're looking at £4.95 each incl. termination. You can also get QED screw plugs too, but these aren't as good a fitting as the Airlocs.

walshy
 

Alsone

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I haven't tried this myself but you can buy silver electrical solder. (Silver as in the precious metal).

It might be worth tinning the ends on non silver cables to stop oxidisation and provide a better contact although whether or not this is possible will depend on the type of termination in use. Of course with silver anniversary, the whole cable is silver plated isn't it so I guess it won't be neceesary here.
 

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