8
X260.5 Owners Manual
Fortunately the amplifier is not sensitive to the capacitive/inductive
character of some of the specialty speaker cables, so feel free to experi-
ment.
We have found that about 90 per cent of bad sounding cables are in
reality bad sounding connections, and we recommend that special at-
tention be paid to cleanliness of contact surfaces and proper fit.
Speaker cables should be firmly tightened down at the speaker output
terminals, but do not use a wrench. These connectors will not with-
stand unrealistic foot-lbs of torque. Hand tightening without exces-
sive force is plenty.
Hardware Facts
So how long will this hardware last? It is our experience that, barring
abuse or the odd failure of a component, the first things to go will be
the power supply capacitors, and from experience, they will last 15 to
20 years before needing replacement. Fortunately these components
die gracefully; typically with years of warning and are easily replaced.
After that, the longevity will depend on the number of operating ther-
mal cycles, but we can attest to having had amplifiers operating in the
field in excess of 20 years with no particular mortality except capaci-
tors. We don’t have good information beyond that. More to the point,
we would suggest that you not worry about it. This is a conservatively
built industrial design, not a tweaky tube circuit run on the brink of
failure. If it breaks, we will simply get it fixed, so sleep well.