the 970 arrived today, though i'm on the road, building something for a bizillionaire, so i won't be home to hook up the new gear until friday. (get to see some pretty bichin A/V gear in this job sometimes). still going to try solid core, at least for the magettes. bananna plugs ought to work on binding posts; though at the speaker end magnepan gives you just a tail of 16 ga. stranded. is there such a thing as a female bananna plug? - i work with some pacific islanders from time to time who tell me that with females, green banannas work best.