My Audio Technix Order (Intro To the New Stuff)
Review of: Audio Technix 4ga OFC, Premium Quality RCA cable, 0 and 4ga ring terminals, RCA splitters, and 14/10ga CCA speaker wire
Funny how I just looked in this section again to see my Knu review/first looks are still at the top, so I guess this will be joining it. I just received my order from Coleman at Audio Technix. I won't be talking about shipping times since the order was placed December 28th and I had to wait for a new shipment to come in before I could get my hands on the new goodies. What I will say is that Coleman (and Rick) were extremely helpful and patient through my barrage of questions on stock updates. Anyway, here are the contents of the order:
6ft Silver-tinned OFC 4ga power wire
5ft 10ga CCA speaker wire
30ft 14ga CCA speaker wire
3 0ga ring terminals
4 4ga ring terminals
A pair of 1F-2M RCA splitters
One 1M-2F RCA splitters
AND TWO FREE VINYL DECALS OMFGFTMFW!!! (hey, I like free stuff)
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-D...6/IMG_0181.JPG
Here's the whole shebang.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-8...7/IMG_0178.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-D...7/IMG_0183.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-x...7/IMG_0184.JPG
These RCAs are apparently a new offering from AT as the basic line are called the "High Quality" RCAs while the ones pictured are the "Premium Quality." First major differences I can note are that the connectors are now all-metal with split tips, the whole sleeve is now covered in techflex, and there are boots to reinforce the area where the cable splits out to each connector. There are also, as identified by the packaging, color choices of 2/4-channel or white/black.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6...7/IMG_0186.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-5...7/IMG_0179.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-j...7/IMG_0188.JPG
Now for the 4ga OFC. I requested OFC 4ga and ended up with silver-tinned OFC. IIRC, the silver tinning helps fight corrosion of the copper, being more forgiving of a lesser-clean install. According to the jacket, strand count is 1,862 vs Knu's 2,058. I contribute the lower count due to the fact it's silver-tinned and they wanted to keep it true to AWG standards. The differences, I believe, will be minimal. And OH! How flexible it is...just look at those knots. About a quarter in diameter, to give you a better idea. This will go quite nicely with the Knu 0ga already in my Passat.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8...7/IMG_0182.JPG
Also apparently new to the lineup are RCA splitters. I requested these from Coleman on a whim since the old site had no mention of them and was pleasantly surprised I didn't have to look elsewhere for these. Forgive the crappy photo, but you can see it well enough. From the single connection point to the junction, it looks to be extremely well-insulated. Beyond the junction, each wire comes in twisted pair out to solidly-built connectors. all internal wiring is covered by a clear jacket as well to make sure you don't slice it open too easily. I like the fact that each twisted pair and its terminal are also color-coded.
Sorry for the lack of speaker wire photos...I couldn't get the camera to focus well enough for my liking to really cover it, but if you've ordered the wire in the past, it really shouldn't be any different. While I like the fact that the positive and negative sides are different shapes as well as different colors, I do miss the grippy texture of my Knu wiring (guess you can't have it all).
I hope to get this installed after I buy a DMM. The plan is to bridge the 4-channel section of my Eclipse to get more juice to my MS comps, but don't want to eff it up/play the guessing game. Stay tuned for more in the future...
Re: My Audio Technix Order (Intro To the New Stuff)
Quick update(s) that I didn't get you yesterday. I installed the Y-adapters on my 36501 and noticed a couple things I didn't like. First, the grip of the male terminals is somewhat lacking to me. They slide on a bit too easily to the point where I'm worried they're going to fall off with too much movement. Have they done this yet? No, and my amp is not mounted to anything in the rear just to see if it will come loose. Additionally (and I don't necessarily blame this on the splitters), I learned that I can't have my cake and eat it too with the bridging. Because my amp can either be set up in 4-channel mode and have levels match on the front stage while losing control of my sub or I can be in 5-channel with a fully-present sub stage but have completely anemic volume on the driver's side. Explain to me how that makes sense with 8V preouts? My solution is to just get a separate amp and distribution blocks to run on the sub stage and should have that within a week or two.
In other news, my DMM is on order and expected to arrive Wednesday. Once I have that, I'll post some concrete specs on the Premium Quality RCAs for you guys as well as give them a little test run in the car. Hoping for good things...
Re: My Audio Technix Order (Intro To the New Stuff)
Lol, who is that in your sig? Reminds me of me in traffic. Looks like dave grohl
Re: My Audio Technix Order (Intro To the New Stuff)
Re: My Audio Technix Order (Intro To the New Stuff)
How u like the rcas im getting 2 sets soon ..they look ******
Re: My Audio Technix Order (Intro To the New Stuff)
I find it funny you order that stuff and get 2 stickers with your order. I order a butt load worth of stuff and got scratch even though I specifically asked for a sticker. I'm just bitter don't mind me. Good review though look forward to the premium RCA review. I have some sitting here waiting to be used also.
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/IMG_1667.jpg
Re: My Audio Technix Order (Intro To the New Stuff)
On the looks end, they're incredible. At that price point I think Coleman has a solid-looking product. Especially since the plugs themselves are relatively tiny in comparison to, say Knu's. I have a set of Knu Krystals lying around here, so when the DMM comes in, I plan to take some resistance measurements and see how they stack up. I have a feeling, though, that the Knus are going to be put to shame by the AT. And 17ft of length is no joke, either.
Re: My Audio Technix Order (Intro To the New Stuff)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Jayzbent
I find it funny you order that stuff and get 2 stickers with your order. I order a butt load worth of stuff and got scratch even though I specifically asked for a sticker. I'm just bitter don't mind me. Good review though look forward to the premium RCA review. I have some sitting here waiting to be used also.
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/IMG_1667.jpg
Good score. Looks like what I'll have to order when I do an SUV build in about a year. Is that the CCA or silver-tinned OFC?
Re: My Audio Technix Order (Intro To the New Stuff)
All OFC. He gave me a good deal so I can't really complain. I wanted a darn sticker to represent though! HEHE!
Re: My Audio Technix Order (Intro To the New Stuff)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Jayzbent
All OFC
Purty. I'm jealous. Sad thing is I expected the 4ga to be more substantial, but then again realized he doesn't jacket his wire nearly as much as some other companies. The flexibility and price makes up for it, though.
Re: My Audio Technix Order (Intro To the New Stuff)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
neo_styles
Purty. I'm jealous. Sad thing is I expected the 4ga to be more substantial, but then again realized he doesn't jacket his wire nearly as much as some other companies. The flexibility and price makes up for it, though.
Yeah for sure.
Re: My Audio Technix Order (Intro To the New Stuff)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Jayzbent
Yeah for sure.
Not that Im bitter at all, I really like the quality of my AT gear.. but if it makes you feel any better I have ordered 175sqft of deadener, and about 100ft of various sizes of OFC wire and ended up having to purchased 2 stickers in order represent coleman's gear. He did send me a free lanyard once though! Obviously its on my key ring.
Re: My Audio Technix Order (Intro To the New Stuff)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Durango03
Not that Im bitter at all, I really like the quality of my AT gear.. but if it makes you feel any better I have ordered 175sqft of deadener, and about 100ft of various sizes of OFC wire and ended up having to purchased 2 stickers in order represent coleman's gear. He did send me a free lanyard once though! Obviously its on my key ring.
Yeah I actually want a bigger one than those so if I have to pay that's fine. I really don't mind. I just got to have 1 of some sort! LMAO!
Re: My Audio Technix Order (Intro To the New Stuff)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Jayzbent
All OFC. He gave me a good deal so I can't really complain. I wanted a darn sticker to represent though! HEHE!
He told me in an email once that he runs out of decals from time to time due to demand.
Nice review, @neo_styles ;. One thing though, about comparing knu strand count to AT strand count... Knu markets their Kolossus line as oversized wire, so it dang well better be a lot bigger. But AT looks to be really decent stuff for wire that's not marketed as oversized. Looks very flexible.
Re: My Audio Technix Order (Intro To the New Stuff)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Jayzbent
Yeah I actually want a bigger one than those so if I have to pay that's fine. I really don't mind. I just got to have 1 of some sort! LMAO!
hit up your local tint/vinyl guy with a copy of the logo. most can/will make it any size or color you want.