Lots of options out there, I don't really love any of them.
Bananas - low retention force (usually), no strain relief or insulation support, don't always come with gold plating (important for me), typically providing crappy set screws for wire connection, crimp barrels are non-standard or questionable, solder barrels very rare
Spades - don't always come with gold plating, no strain relief or insulation support, don't work with many kinds of binding posts, sometimes comes with crappy set screws, can slip off binding post if loose (big problem)
Ring crimp terminals on barrier blocks - no strain relief and typically little to no insulation support, no gold plating (but the high compressive forces from the barrier screws mitigates that), risk of short circuiting due to exposed conducting surfaces in close proximity to many wires (could be covered up with plastic sheet)
Speak-On - moderately expensive, no practical solder option while the set screws can (rarely) loosen, silver contact plating instead of gold (durability/contact resistance concern), good strain relief
Proper spring-cage connectors (e.g. Wago) - looks goofy, no strain relief, secure gas-tight spring connections but questionable fatigue life (the springs dig in REALLY hard into stranded wire)
4-pole XLRs with gold-plated contacts - reliable solder connections, low contact resistance over multiple cycles, good strain relief, moderately expensive, decent current capacity (6-10 A per pole), limited voltage capacity for high voltage/high power amps (<50 VDC)
Thoughts?
Bananas - low retention force (usually), no strain relief or insulation support, don't always come with gold plating (important for me), typically providing crappy set screws for wire connection, crimp barrels are non-standard or questionable, solder barrels very rare
Spades - don't always come with gold plating, no strain relief or insulation support, don't work with many kinds of binding posts, sometimes comes with crappy set screws, can slip off binding post if loose (big problem)
Ring crimp terminals on barrier blocks - no strain relief and typically little to no insulation support, no gold plating (but the high compressive forces from the barrier screws mitigates that), risk of short circuiting due to exposed conducting surfaces in close proximity to many wires (could be covered up with plastic sheet)
Speak-On - moderately expensive, no practical solder option while the set screws can (rarely) loosen, silver contact plating instead of gold (durability/contact resistance concern), good strain relief
Proper spring-cage connectors (e.g. Wago) - looks goofy, no strain relief, secure gas-tight spring connections but questionable fatigue life (the springs dig in REALLY hard into stranded wire)
4-pole XLRs with gold-plated contacts - reliable solder connections, low contact resistance over multiple cycles, good strain relief, moderately expensive, decent current capacity (6-10 A per pole), limited voltage capacity for high voltage/high power amps (<50 VDC)
Thoughts?
Speakons where possible but they are designed with the expectation that they will be mated and unmated occasionally. Barrier strips with crimp lugs are ideal for just about any loudspeakers used at home listening levels. Banana plugs into binding posts give the largest mating surface area but need to be secured with a tie wrap to guard against self ejecting over time. Precious metal plating is not particularly important at the levels of voltage and current used in loudspeakers.
Twist lock power connectors (like you use on a generator)?
Joking....Sort of.
I think you are overthinking it. Bananas are fine. They may need very occasional maintenance. Spades are likewise fine. You can find solder types and heat shrink over them if you like. Add a crush washer (Copper if you like) and it's very unlikely to loosen over time.
Joking....Sort of.
I think you are overthinking it. Bananas are fine. They may need very occasional maintenance. Spades are likewise fine. You can find solder types and heat shrink over them if you like. Add a crush washer (Copper if you like) and it's very unlikely to loosen over time.
Have two wires coming out of your speaker, twist the bare ends with your speaker cable, stick each one in a terminal block and tighten up the screws. The terminal block will stop the wires touching and stop them untwisting, and stop any strain ( pulling ) on the wires going into the speakers. If you use four pole conectors you could always double them for a better contact.
No joke, twist lock connectors were widely used for live sound applications in the 70s and early 80s before Cannon AP and EP connectors and eventually Speakons came on line. We would often bi-amp speakers on a three pin connector by tying the ground binding posts of the low and high amps together for a common ground pin.
SpeakOn or gold-plated "safety bananas":
28012402523 Safety test lead, Blue, 250mm, GoldPlated Staubli Electrical Connectors
23300022 Safety socket, o4mm, Red, 24A, 1kV, GoldPlated Staubli Electrical Connectors
28012402523 Safety test lead, Blue, 250mm, GoldPlated Staubli Electrical Connectors
23300022 Safety socket, o4mm, Red, 24A, 1kV, GoldPlated Staubli Electrical Connectors
Gold plating is a must have? This is a useless compromise, you need sold 99.99+% pure 24k gold connectors, in fact why not run pure 24k gold wire, unbroken, from output device to voice coil?
No need to be a dick. I didn't say it was a must-have, I said it was important to me. I'm the last one you want to accuse of audiophoolery, so get out of here with your nonsense escalatory rhetoric.
Wow! Very cool, have not come across those before. Not too expensive, either, all things considered...
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I am probably going to go with barrier strips and PIDG ring crimp terminal connectors on my current build. The screws will squish the crap out of (through?) the tin oxide layer, especially with some trusty DeoxIT Gold, and I can add a bit of wireway to prevent any excess stress on the terminals. Cheapest route that isn't generic banana/spade.
2-3€ for the NL-2FX isn't so expensive.
Go for Speakon.
You will follow the standard in speaker connections and if You want You can solder the wires to the connectors and ditch the screws.
I believe there are gold plated versions also.
Go for Speakon.
You will follow the standard in speaker connections and if You want You can solder the wires to the connectors and ditch the screws.
I believe there are gold plated versions also.
Bought some parts from two Russian ebay sellers. They both arrived in about 3 weeks. Ordered from a third seller not long afterward and the package is still sitting in Russia since December 10th.
I need 8 channels - both sides of cable, plus amp side, plus speaker side. Adds up to a lot! At least in Canada it's about $150 just in connectors, not even including the cable itself.
So, for example, on amp side:
(8x) NL2MP
(8x) NL2FX
And on speaker side:
(8x) NL2FX
(8x) NL2MP
Also, I have read many reports that it is extremely difficult to solder to Speak-on contacts (at least without melting a bunch of plastic)... have you tried before?
Cheap solution:
There are cheaper Neutrik clones, but I never got good results with them.
Aviation connectors could be also an option.
Try an industrial electric shop. They usually have connectors for machinery.
There are cheaper Neutrik clones, but I never got good results with them.
Aviation connectors could be also an option.
Try an industrial electric shop. They usually have connectors for machinery.
I use the old fashioned 1/4 inch jack plugs.
Been using them for 40 years without any problems.
They are ok so long as power isnt too large.
Been using them for 40 years without any problems.
They are ok so long as power isnt too large.
We use them for pretty much everything in the lab at work. I am a master of disaster, and I was not able to make a single accidental short with those plugs. They will also take normal bananas.
You can’t expect 8 sets of interconnects to cost *nothing*. if you’re on that much of a budget, use these (and 8 pieces of lamp cord).
Attachments
Funny. I went with staubli's press-in connectors (and some for in-chassis connections)—I am susceptible to minimalistic designs...
I also like the press-in bananas. However, they require the normal banana plugs with exposed connectors, so they don't qualify to the OPs request.
Hello,
Love Speakon connectors. I use the four wire ones and parallel them for two conductors. Keeps any resistance even lower and less likely to have any effect.
Just about any connector should be moved and reconnected at least once a year as there is nothing that won't loosen its grip, oxidize or attract dirt to some extent.
Regards,
Greg
Love Speakon connectors. I use the four wire ones and parallel them for two conductors. Keeps any resistance even lower and less likely to have any effect.
Just about any connector should be moved and reconnected at least once a year as there is nothing that won't loosen its grip, oxidize or attract dirt to some extent.
Regards,
Greg