Hi Rock,
I'm glad you have things working well.
To answer your question about using "bare wire" between the Nad and the EP500, I figure you mean bared wire at the ends of the speaker cables. Sure, that will make an excellent connection. Twist the wire strands together before you stick the wires through the holes in the binding posts (if that's what you have) to make certain a stray strand doesn't cause a short circuit between the positive and negative terminals. Lots of enthusiasts use banana plugs for their convenience. ONce the speaker cables are either soldered or connected with a set screw to the banana plugs, you can then unplug the the speaker cables with ease -- or plug them back in. Keep the positive (red) and negative (black) connections consistent from to avoid phase problems.
There are aother types of connectors available as well--spades, for example, but banana plugs are certainly convenient so long as the Nad accepts them at the speaker terminals.
Axiom used to sell nice gold-plated banana plugs. I've been retired for a few years so I don't know if that's still the case. Otherwise, check out monoprice.com
Regards,
Alan
