mrogge Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Hi everyone! Im still working out the plans and purchases for my ht project. I have the klipsch thx ultra II setup. I bought 700' of monster cable 12/2 cl3 rated. I got a steal and paid under $200 for the lot. Since I have a lot of extra wire I decided to BI-WIRE the speakers. I dont have amps yet but will likely buy into some crown. This is my first high end ht system, so I am taking baby steps and trying to get this all worked out right. Is there any reason to buy banana connectors? Dont spade connectors work better, provide more surface area, and also fall out less frequently? Also, when I bi-wire the speakers, should I twist up a pair of those 12 ga wires and insert them into a SINGLE spade or should I stack two spade connectors on top of one another on the amp side of the wires? THANKS FOR YOUR HELP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USNRET Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 IMHO, the less connections the better. If you intend to make the connection and leave it alone (not plugging and unplugging) the best is bare wire. Everything else is either convience or looks. Every once in a while, when you think about being anal stop by and give the connectors a twist to tighten them up from the relaxation of the wire strands. But then I use lamp cord from Home Depot.[:$] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laager Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 ...I am taking baby steps and trying to get this all worked out right. Then my advice is to forget about bi-wiring. It's a pointless exercise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groomlakearea51 Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Good bananas can have as much contact surface as spades. From a convenience standpoint, bananas are the best. Spades are great, but if you are "fiddling" around with speakers all the time, the spades become a pain. Analogy? Do you like Chevy or Ford? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 ...I am taking baby steps and trying to get this all worked out right. Then my advice is to forget about bi-wiring. It's a pointless exercise. that's not entirely accurate ..though the benefits do tend to be more system specific. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Richard Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Banana connectors are great for plugging into amps and speakers. Good quality units are usually better than poorly designed spades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 I just hope his wire doesn't suffer the same fate as the Monster wire I bought. (also 12/2. Mine had the clear jacket) I bought some rolls so I could prewire and run them through my joists before drywall went up. Fortunately for me, the basement sat for 9 years. Today, I'm actually getting around to that room and noticed in the wires.... lenghts of black wire. Almost like the wire had rotted. This black was not at the ends but spread throughout the length of the wire. The longest black section was probably two feet or so. Also, the outer plastic had become somewhat oily in its texture, leaving a film on my hands that actually repelled water. I was only too happy to yank all of that rot out of my ceiling and install new wires that were a different brand. I simply chunked it into the garbage. I hope you don't have the same cable rot that I had and I also hope that if you DO have this in the future, your wires are easy to get to and not buried in your walls. I hate to think what I'd have to do now to fix this if my drywall was installed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USNRET Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 This black was not at the ends but spread throughout the length of the wire. Oh, you got the black kind, I had about 350' of green. Didn't know there was a color option on the Munster Kable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich_Guy Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 I think I am using the same wire it works well and looks very nice, I also bought some "cable pants" to terminate the ends which really looks nice and gives the wire a very finished look, I bought the cable pants on ebay. I bi-wire as well it did seem to make a slight improvement when I did. I use both banana and spade connectors at my amp, since they are bi-wired I use one banana and one spade at each of the amps terminals. I use all banana connectors at my speakers since they are ready for bi-wire. I use GLS banana and spade connectors from www.speakerreapair.com These are great low priced banana/spade connectors, yet probably the best I have seen. I know that you could spend less and get the same results but I don't mind spending a little more and having very nice looking speaker wire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 for permanent install I'd just use bare wire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo33 Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 IMO, banana connectors are the best since I move speakers around from time to time. And I use Radio Shack speaker wires. Munster Kables are a bunch of BS! I have also use hangers as speaker wires and I challenge any of you audiophiles to a hearing test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich_Guy Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 for permanent install I'd just use bare wire Yes on my surrounds I just used bare wire into the speakers (banana's at the amp) also the surrounds just use the Monster Navajo White wire (which barely cost me more than cheap hardware store wire). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groomlakearea51 Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 I am glad to see that coat hangers wrapped with duct tape has not appeared yet.... [6] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo33 Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Hangers are not only used for "coat" []. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo33 Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 I have replaced all of my speakers that have standard binding posts with banana type. I used cheap Radio Shack speaker wires with cheap Best Buy banana connectors. And all of my speakers sounded great to my ears, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 here's my obligatory "use bare magnet wire" post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 http://community.klipsch.com/forums/p/110376/1112262.aspx#1112262 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 I just hope his wire doesn't suffer the same fate as the Monster wire I bought. (also 12/2. Mine had the clear jacket) I bought some rolls so I could prewire and run them through my joists before drywall went up. Fortunately for me, the basement sat for 9 years. Today, I'm actually getting around to that room and noticed in the wires.... lenghts of black wire. Almost like the wire had rotted. This black was not at the ends but spread throughout the length of the wire. The longest black section was probably two feet or so. Also, the outer plastic had become somewhat oily in its texture, leaving a film on my hands that actually repelled water. I was only too happy to yank all of that rot out of my ceiling and install new wires that were a different brand. I simply chunked it into the garbage. I hope you don't have the same cable rot that I had and I also hope that if you DO have this in the future, your wires are easy to get to and not buried in your walls. I hate to think what I'd have to do now to fix this if my drywall was installed. I think monster replaces it if you contact them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USNRET Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 I am glad to see that coat hangers wrapped with duct tape has not appeared yet.... I always knew you are way more advanced than most and I took your opinion on this and removed my duct tape wrapped hangers and installed my latest upgrade: the plastic coated kind of hanger. You were way right, much neater appearance and the plastic coating prevents shorts and eliminates reduces RFI/EMI to a toleratable level. Just straighten out the hanger, scrape off a little of the coating and connect, here is where I applied MY upgrade, I used several pairs of vise grips to ensure positive electron flow from hanger to crossover input. My first attempt broke off the terminal strip on my Belles so I thought WTF and got rid of that nuisance and just clamped the hanger to xover wire with the vise grip, instant connection!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich_Guy Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 I am glad to see that coat hangers wrapped with duct tape has not appeared yet.... I always knew you are way more advanced than most and I took your opinion on this and removed my duct tape wrapped hangers and installed my latest upgrade: the plastic coated kind of hanger. You were way right, much neater appearance and the plastic coating prevents shorts and eliminates reduces RFI/EMI to a toleratable level. Just straighten out the hanger, scrape off a little of the coating and connect, here is where I applied MY upgrade, I used several pairs of vise grips to ensure positive electron flow from hanger to crossover input. My first attempt broke off the terminal strip on my Belles so I thought WTF and got rid of that nuisance and just clamped the hanger to xover wire with the vise grip, instant connection!!!!!! You will also find that vice grips work well for connecting hanger to hanger since you will normally need several hangers to reach each speaker. [H] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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