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cute solution for us vintage amp guys...another speaker adaptor...


sunnysal

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Tony wrote:

>they only work for thin stripped wire and banana plugs, they will not grab any kind of spades...

Tony, I think the confusion was over the "thin" description in the reference to stripped wire. Some folks are frustrated trying to find a way of connecting thicker speaker cable (10 or 12 gauge as opposed to zip cord) directly to the dinky terminal strips on vintage amps and Klipsch speakers. Another issue is those folks who already have big spade lugs on their speaker wire, and I appreciate you starting the thread and showing that new panel style connector that can handle the big spades. Hope that helps with the confusion...

Does anyone know what the base metal is on these little Chinese adapters? Are they a low-quality material like aluminum or "white metal" that has been gold-plated? It would be nice if the base metal was brass or copper. That would make their somewhat primitive casting and plating no big deal.

If the base metal is something cheesy, maybe there would be a market for a high-end version of this little connector.

Best in horns,

triceratops

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"Some folks are frustrated trying to find a way of connecting thicker speaker cable (10 or 12 gauge as opposed to zip cord) directly to the dinky terminal strips on vintage amps and Klipsch speakers."

Why? There is no need to go more than 14 AWG, IMO....

Match the gauge that either the OPT secondary has, or the wire from the output transistors to the speaker taps.

IMO....

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Tony,

Thanks for the offer to examine the base metal. I'll be curious as to what you find. Hope you can scrape an inconspicuous part that will still allow you to use the adapters if the need arises.

Mike,

You make some good points!

I can't say there is any advantage to using bigger wire, but for those who have some big cables it would be nice to be able to hook 'em up.

In my case, I bought a pair of LaScalas last year and the owner threw in some big fat Tara Labs cables. This is the first time I've owned any fancy pants cables, and I figured there was no harm in trying them out. They may not be any better than zip wire but they do look cool...

Best in horns,

triceratops

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Well, all I had when I used my MC2100, MC250, and Cornwalls was bare wire 11 AWG Canare Star Quad 4SII speaker hoses (called "Orbeck Stratti" from the dude I bought them from on AudiogoN several years ago). These unterminated OFC strands (consisting of a twisted pair of four 14 AWG conductors) were a royal pain in the arse to connect to both terminal strips on the amps and the Cornwalls, but not totally difficult if you had some patience. Surprisingly I never broke the tiny screws or the plastic strips themselves.

Once I heard of these new terminal connectors/adaptors, I thought about purchasing them. But I personally don't care for banana or spade lugs...IMO I prefer bare wire on both ends of my speaker cables for the best possible connection (or so I'm told), but that's just me.2.gif

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On 4/27/2005 4:51:43 PM NOSValves wrote:

"I suggest that someone should look inside the component and see what is on the other side before going to this extreme measure."

Craig, as usual, makes a very good point. The leads from the output transformer is the largest gauge wire that the speakers are going to "see" regardless of the size of the cables or connectors. Remember, PWK insisted that #14 zip was just fine.

DR BILL

"<a
http://forums.klipsch.com/idealbb/files/Banana%20Adaptor.jpg" border=0>

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Thanks for the link Tony.

That is a pretty good idea to give the amp output taps a rest from the torq of heavy speaker cables. A pricey solution, IMO, but could certainly be executed well as a DIY project and decent parts.

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Thanks for checking out the material in those small spade to banana adapters, Tony! I'll bet the metal is either aluminum or "white metal" which is basically a grab bag of scrap materials. It makes sense the metal would be something like that since these are so inexpensive. It would be nice if there was a better quality version of the part available, since it seems like a really useful item. I'll bet it could be cast out of stainless, brass, or copper. I'll probably get some anyway, because I like the idea even if the execution isn't quite Klipsch quality.

Best in horns,

triceratops

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