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Banana plugs?


diegodad

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31 minutes ago, DizRotus said:

 They can lose tension and become loose as well as the mechanical connection to the wire becoming loose. 

 

Subtle spelling lesson there Carl.  I like it.  If only one forum member loses the urge to spell “lose” with two Os, you’ve done a service.

 

Purely and accident on Carls part. He only intended to teach people about using zucchini plugs versus banana  to avoid spiders.

18 hours ago, diegodad said:

I just bought a pair of RB-61 II speakers. The manual says that connection can be made using banana plugs. However, I don't see any hole in the posts for banana plugs, so I'm confused. Can banana plugs be used on these speakers, or is the manual in error?

Welcome to the forum and please don't get overwhelmed by the extreme variation in the answers you get.  Use what you want to use, banana, spade, bare wire, tinned or non and it will all work just fine.  Now if you want to have some fun, start a new thread proclaiming what the best method and or the best connector to use and watch the sparks fly.  We can beat any subject until there's just no more pulp.  

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17 hours ago, wuzzzer said:

Just remember, bare wire is always the best connection.  Banana plugs, spades, etc are simply a convenience if you have to unplug your speakers a lot.

Yep, and the old Moog synthesizer I played on the Cheep Effects song "Weirdos On The Street" used them too! Same reason! Easy quick connect/disconnect.

Soldering/brazing/welding bare wire to what its connecting to or physical clamping/binding posts are best physical and electrical connections.

John Kuthe...

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2 hours ago, Pete H said:

Purely and accident on Carls part. He only intended to teach people about using zucchini plugs versus banana  to avoid spiders.

Welcome to the forum and please don't get overwhelmed by the extreme variation in the answers you get.  Use what you want to use, banana, spade, bare wire, tinned or non and it will all work just fineNow if you want to have some fun, start a new thread proclaiming what the best method and or the best connector to use and watch the sparks fly.  We can beat any subject until there's just no more pulp.  

 

 

I agree.  DOn't get all wound up about one versus the other.  Just make sure it's a good solid connection and call it a day.  Most people are NEVER going to hear a difference from one to the other; it's all about ones own personal choice and convenience.  I use spades on each end when my Belle clones are hooked to my Mac MC250 but use banana/spade cables when the Dynaco VTA ST-270 is running them as the ST-70 has 'naner connections.  I have multiple sets of cables made up for whatever scenario so I'm not changing out ends every time.  I don't use crazy expensive cable as I can't hear the difference in the high dollar stuff and I used to be a manufacturers rep years ago for various lines including Monster, Esoteric Audio, Audioquest, and a couple more.  Now, I'd definitely sell them as I was paid on commission but for personal use, I bought them cheap direct...or had rep samples.  Kind of like I have a $600 pair (MSRP) of older Esoteric Audio cables I bought over 10 years ago for maybe $50 when they were closing them out....a no brainer.  Now I just buy good 12ga speaker cable at the local home A/V store that I've known for 30+ years (get it for cost).  I'm cheap.

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On 5/28/2019 at 1:37 PM, wuzzzer said:

Just remember, bare wire is always the best connection.  Banana plugs, spades, etc are simply a convenience if you have to unplug your speakers a lot.

 

Or if the plastic threads strip out. Lol  

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The serious part first:

 

The modern connection on the back of speakers ("five-way") have a hollow threaded post which serve as the female part of the connection and receive the male banana plug. The spacing between the two are the same as for test equipment in the US such as 'scopes and oscillators.

 

  However, in some European countries, the power mains connections like connecting a toaster to the wall socket are the same dimensions.  Extension cords probably have the same fittings. Nanny regulators banned the use of the binding posts on speakers (and wires I suppose) because someone might eventually get mains voltage into their speakers.  The solution by manufacturers was to plug up the holes -- though the plugs can be pried out with a pin or needle.

 

I use banana plugs where possible but I buy the gold plated types which can be soldered to.

 

Non serious part:

 

Decade ago on the internet there was a story posted reporting an incident where a fellow in NYC (?) used standard blade-type extension cords for speaker wire and eventually the inevitable happened and he got mains voltage connected to the input of his speaker output.  "Parts rained from the sky for days."  He must have modified the extension cords to accomplish this though.  It makes some sense to me because the cords in mains operation carry strong levels of bass (60 Hz) and no one complains. (OTOH bass response of Christmas trees goes largely untested in the literature.)

 

The "parts raining from the sky" report always gets a smile from me because it reminds me of the famous dead whale incident.  There is a science project built into this because the camera was 1/4 miles away at detonation and you can observe the time delay.

 

 

Therefore it counts as educational and instructive.

 

WMcD

 

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51 minutes ago, WMcD said:

The serious part first:

 

The modern connection on the back of speakers ("five-way") have a hollow threaded post which serve as the female part of the connection and receive the male banana plug. The spacing between the two are the same as for test equipment in the US such as 'scopes and oscillators.

 

  However, in some European countries, the power mains connections like connecting a toaster to the wall socket are the same dimensions.  Extension cords probably have the same fittings. Nanny regulators banned the use of the binding posts on speakers (and wires I suppose) because someone might eventually get mains voltage into their speakers.  The solution by manufacturers was to plug up the holes -- though the plugs can be pried out with a pin or needle.

 

I use banana plugs where possible but I buy the gold plated types which can be soldered to.

 

Non serious part:

 

Decade ago on the internet there was a story posted reporting an incident where a fellow in NYC (?) used standard blade-type extension cords for speaker wire and eventually the inevitable happened and he got mains voltage connected to the input of his speaker output.  "Parts rained from the sky for days."  He must have modified the extension cords to accomplish this though.  It makes some sense to me because the cords in mains operation carry strong levels of bass (60 Hz) and no one complains. (OTOH bass response of Christmas trees goes largely untested in the literature.)

 

The "parts raining from the sky" report always gets a smile from me because it reminds me of the famous dead whale incident.  There is a science project built into this because the camera was 1/4 miles away at detonation and you can observe the time delay.

 

 

Therefore it counts as educational and instructive.

 

WMcD

 

Often, what NOT to do is most important!! As I learned as a teen when I made an acetylene balloon and exploded it in my parent's basement which caused little black flecks of carbon to settle noticibly on my mother's clean bed sheets hanging in the basement to dry! From then on I always exploded acetylene balloons OUTSIDE! :-)

John Kuthe...

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