You’ve taken care with connections. Bananas seated. Spades tightened. The system’s been sounding good—until recently. Bass that once landed with purpose might feel softened. Midrange presence seems to wander. You press lightly on a speaker terminal and the image changes. You weren’t planning to tweak anything. But now it sounds like something’s moving—even when you’re not.
Could be your cables aren’t the problem. Could be how they’re held.
What to Do
Check every speaker terminal—amp and speaker side. If you’re using spades, make sure the posts are snug, but not torqued to the point of strain. Over-tightening can distort contact surfaces or compress stranded wire. For banana plugs, gently tug each one. They should seat firmly, not wiggle or slide out with a breeze. If you’re running bare wire, cut and strip fresh ends every few months. Copper oxidizes. Strands loosen. What sounded locked-in last fall might be corroding now.
While you're there, check for slight shifts in plug angle or tension—especially after gear has been moved, cleaned, or even just played hard.
Here’s Why That Works
Speaker connections carry real current—especially down low. Any small instability—mechanical or electrical—can shift how power flows. That doesn’t just cause dropouts. It subtly alters frequency balance, dynamics, and image focus. You might not hear distortion. You’ll just feel like something’s not quite arriving.
What you’re hearing as inconsistency might be contact modulation—tiny shifts in resistance that change the sound with every vibration, tug, or thermal cycle.
Tightening a binding post isn’t glamorous. But it’s how the system holds its shape—literally. When the connection’s right, energy flows clean, the stage steadies, and the music locks in.
And sometimes, that’s all it takes to feel like it’s back.
