FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT ORDERING SPEAKER CABLES

Can I return speaker cables if I do not like them?

• All speaker cables are cut to length for an individual order and then if required terminated. So they are custom made for each order. For this reason they can only be returned if they are faulty in some way.

If I order speaker cable with a quantity of 5 do I get a single 5M length or 5 pieces of cable?

• You get a single length 5 metres long

What does your option "sold by the metre" mean?

• This enable you buy a non-terminated length of cable where we simply cut a piece of cable from a reel of the length that you specify in the quantity box

What do I get when I order a terminated pair?

• You get two cables, one for the left speaker and one for the right speaker. The cables will be terminated with 4mm banana plugs. A stereo pair each cable will have 2 plugs at the amplifier end and 2 plugs at the speaker end. This is 4 plugs per run of cable and a total of 8 plugs for the pair.
• If you order a bi-wire pair each cable will have 2 plugs at the amplifier end and 4 plugs at the speaker end. This is 6 plugs per run of cable and a total of 12 plugs for the pair. If you order a bi-amp pair each cable will have 4 plugs at the amplifier end and 4 plugs at the speaker end. This is 8 plugs per run of cable and a total of 16 plugs for the pair.

Is it possible to order a pair of cables with unequal lengths?

• Yes but it is more complicated to do. You first need to buy the total length of cable required using the "sold per metre" option. You can then order the required terminations from the terminations section here.
• When you checkout you need to tell us in the checkout notes section how you want the cables made up: e.g. "I require a pair of cables, one 3M and the other 5M with stereo terminations at both ends"

I am looking for speaker cables for a multi-channel home cinema system, would recommend I use the same speaker cable throughout?

• In our opinion the way to get best value for money from your speaker cable budget is to spend more on the cable for the front three speakers and less on the rears.
• The reason for this is that the majority of critical information on a film soundtrack comes from the front pair and centre speaker. These three speakers often have shorter cables and the less important rears are often much longer. So you can buy an exceptional cable for the front three and a lesser cable for the rears for the same budget as an average cable throughout. Whilst the money spent will be the same, the system with the superior front speaker cables will sound much better.

I have an amplifier that takes BFA plugs, can you handle this?

• Yes, we also fit plugs called Hollow Z plugs that will fit both a 4mm banana socket and also a BFA socket. You can order these here.

Do speaker cables require burn-in?

• Yes most cables take time to burn-in. This means that they do not give their optimum performance until they have been carrying a signal with your equipment for some hours. Before they have burned in they can often sound a bit shrill.

Are speaker cables directional?

• Once a cable has burned in it would need to be burned in again if you reversed it. For this reason most cables have a directional marker so you can ensure that they are always fitted in the same direction.

Are your terminated cables the same as one's terminated by the manufacturer ?

• Yes, we take maunufacturers specifications very seriously. In particular QED, Chord and Atlas have their own very specific ideas about how cables should be terminated. So we buy plugs and heatshrink from them and follow their precise guidelines in terminating your cables.
• Nordost cables are supplied terminated by the UK distributor of Nordost and their cable has rather unusual physical characteristics.

My amplifier does not seem to accept banana plugs, will I need to use spade plugs or bare wire connection?

• It is quite common for amplifiers to come with the holes for banana plugs filled with a small plastic bung. This is done for some strange European safety reasons. In 90% of cases where customers think they cannot use banana plugs they find they can remove the bungs and solve the problem.
• The video below shows how the bungs are removed-