Does anyone use the supplied links on their ATC’s or is it worth getting jumper cables?
I don’t have those speakers but with multiple connection terminals in single passive I found best diagonal wiring and leave the links in place.
Thanks Skep I’ll try that out
The answer here is to remove the backplate and connect both positive cables to just one of the terminals, and then do the same for the negatives. There is no soldering required, no cost and it’s totally reversible. I know about this because @Hifi-dog did it with their speakers.
The general consensus amongst the hi-fi fraternity is that supplied metal link plates are universally a bad thing and should be replaced with jumper cables. When I did this with my Klipsch Forte III speakers it brought about a really worthwhile improvement. I also use the diagonal wiring arrangement as @Skeptikal which was recommended to me by The Chord Company. It apparently improves musical coherence.
Yes as @HungryHalibut said turn them to single wire but i get it that your 19’s are just days old so maybe you don’t want to do that, but deffo replace those links as they are awful
As mentioned on another thread on the same subject
Why not follow the example of the legendary Jimmy Hughes and make your own jumpers from 10mm cooker cable. At about £5 per metre it’s got to be worth a go.
Can anyone explain this? A bit of HiFi voodoo? I can understand that the metal plates may not be the finest material but this option keeps them…
Bruce
That’s the point. They work, of course, but using proper high quality speaker cable is a much better option and sounds superior, if somewhat less neat.
It can be done neatly with the right cables. I used Kudos KS1 with my ProAcs, and had an F connection made up, with no break in the cables.
The reason I left the links in place was a tidy install ![]()
I now own speakers with only one set of connectors. ![]()
I find it hard to believe that the likes of ATC, who are meticulous with design detail, would supply their speakers with jumpers that actually impairs their performance.
I don’t know of any manufacturer that supplies actual cable jumpers rather than metal plates/links. Yes I agree it’s strange. Your own ears will tell you which is superior.
yes, but they’re easily tricked! My Spendors came with cable links fwiw.
I think I sort of know what you mean. Sometimes what seems like an improvement may turn out to be just an insignificant difference in the long term. The sort of improvements I experienced when I replaced the metal link plates on my Klipsch Forte III’s with Chord Signature X jumpers were very significant and clearly better in both the purely sonic and also musical senses. Interesting that your Spendors came with cable links.
If you think about it it’s not unreasonable to suppose that a specialist dedicated cable will likely out-perform a bare piece of metal plate/rod. Similarly most manufacturers supply off the shelf basic mains leads with their equipment but few people would suppose that these give the best performance possible.
I think we as hi-fi afficionados have a somewhat different ethos to many typical manufacturers who, whilst they may doff their hats to our attitudes and beliefs, remain largely indifferent to them.
If you use jumper cables, you change the sound away from the original design. I assume that the speakers were designed/voiced with the standard plates in situ.
All the B&W 800 series speakers I’ve owned (3 pairs, over the years, plus a centre speaker) came with cable links.
All the B&W speakers lower down the product range I’ve bought came with solid metal links.
You’re welcome to conclude from that what you will!
Mark
If your dealer is good at soldering get them to make a pair with F connections as in HH’s picture. Simple, neat and should not compromise the SQ.
Roger
Yes I agree. But this does not mean that using jumper cables instead of the original plates will not improve the performance. Likewise would you only use a basic run-of-the mill give away mains cable with your new component given that it is supplied by the manufacturer and likely used in development of the product, rather than upgrade to a superior cable? It won’t sound the same - if it did it would be pointless!
I use a Sim Audio Moon CD player and amp. Both came with cheap give away mains cables. If one looks at pictures and videos of Moon components at shows one can see that they don’t use the cables they supply at all. They use Nordost. (I use Naim Powerlines).
Manufacturer supplied does not necessarily equate to best performance unfortunately. It would be much better and simpler if it did.
I do use the supplied mains cables, maybe they are of the required quality. These are plugged into a block (QBase) which ensures a single earth path (I think). I got this many years ago.

