April 7, 2025
#510
Gentle reader,
I know, I just wrote to you about being able to get my wounded 1993 B&K Components ST1400 Power Amplifier working again: The Robb Collections: Wounded B&K Components ST1400 Power Amplifier is Back from the Dead! Dynaco A25XL Speakers Driven.
Above, is the "before" photo.
Not being one to let a wounded comrade die from what might be a minor wound, I decided to see if I I could determine what the problem was without the nonexistent factory service manual or even a schematic.
Since the amp was working fine now, I decided to do what some folks do: Place the power amp near the speakers. With the last of my pink Monster Cable speaker wires attaching the amp to the too-long-dormant 1974 Dynaco A25XL speakers and the music was sounding great, I decided to go ahead and buy a pair of short WBC speaker cables.
Above is how they arrived from Amazon.
As I discovered with the new Marantz 7025 power amp and wanting to use my Dynaco QD2 unit and vintage Realistic APM-300 LED power meter between the B&K PRO10 preamp and the 7025 power amp was by buying Center Channel speaker cables:
There were many lengths to choose from but none were bargain prices. The white-clad ones above are 7 gauge, their largest and thickest wire. I picked two: "WORLDS BEST CABLES 5 Foot Ultimate - 8 AWG - Ultra-Pure OFC - Premium Audiophile HiFi Single Speaker Cable for Center Channel with Eminence Gold Banana Plugs & Carbon Tweed Jacket."
Unlike all of the previous WBC (XLR, RCA and Speaker) cables which were all made in Japan, these were made in Taiwan. Now, I have no problem with products made in Taiwan. It is a free democratic country and the few things I have bought which were made there are well made and, so far, trouble free.
Should I play some striptease music?
Their boxes are so well made, I am keeping them. One never knows when one could need a nice, sturdy box or two.
A bit like jewelry, what with the silk bags protecting the terminals and the cables tied with silk ribbons.
I had routed the pink Monster Cable speaker wires underneath the base of the bamboo-stools-made-speaker-stands and up to the speaker's terminals. Image above courtesy of Canuck Audio Mart.
The flexibility of the pink wires made close placement to the record shelf possible.
The RCA cables are "WBC 10 foot RCA Cable Pair - Gotham GAC-4/1 Star-Quad Interconnect Cable with Amphenol ACPL Black Chrome Body, Gold Plated RCA Connectors - Directional."
No fair comparison in size when they are woven cloth wound.
Monster Cable XPHP 2 Conductor Advanced Speaker Wire:
Key features Monster Cable features are:
- Magnetic Flux Tube (How a clear hollow plastic tube can be "magnetic", I do not know.)
- Time Correct Windings (A term Monster Cable came up with for the different gauge conductors in each wire.)
- Linear Polyethylene Dielectric
- Flexible Jacket
WBC states that the cables I bought are 8 gauge which makes them slightly smaller than the 7 gauge shown below. But significantly larger than 12 gauge.
These two images are official Worlds Best Cables advertising images, via Amazon.com.
Before Picture above.
"After Picture" above shows how much thicker and less flexible (due to cloth sleeving) is, which required me to move it further away from the record shelf. I rerouted the new speaker cables and RCA cables so that they are all further away from the shielded Belden power cable. Plus, it looks much neater. The Belden power cable is away from and at a right angle to the other cables. Even though it IS shielded, it is "best practices" to do this type of cable routing.
Left speaker's cable routing.
Pink wires nestled in the WBC boxes.
1993 B&K Components ST1400 Power Amplifier powered up and playing Thin Lizzy's first album to start "breaking in" the cables. Cowboy Song is THE ultimate Rock Guitar song, in my opinion.Most early Dynaco Speakers came with beige grille cloths. These $99 eBay finds had this black cloth which seems to be from the factory.
And, the finally, the "money shot" showing the completed installation of the revived power amp using WBC large gauge speaker cables like the rest of the system is equipped.
I hope that I am now done having to put money into the system for a while. I had been SO happy with it for many years right up to the 1990's Panor-era Dynaco ST-200 power amplifier losing it's left channel. Again, NO service manuals or schematics for their equipment. That started a landslide of spending which I have been documenting for you.
Thank you SO much for reading my article! Sometimes I get a bit verbose, but so many of you are reading my articles (more than half a million of you! I still can't believe it) I cannot thank you enough.
Feel free to comment below or on Facebook. Also, note that EVERY previous article (more than 500 of them) are right below this one.
Scott Robb
April 7, 2025
#510
