Banana Plugs

[mr_marty]

Hi all,

Currently I just have the speaker wire twisted and connected to the binding posts without plugs, are banana plugs nessecary? are great improvements seen?

If so can you reccomend some? they seem to vary in price a fair bit, also which is better side or rear entry?

cheers

[Drizt]

Banana plugs are extremely convenient. Get ones that look good to you and fit the gauge cable you use.

I like ones that have a plastic coating around the bit you hold as it decreases the chances of shorting the cables if they touch each other accidentally.

See these from HTCustomcables.

p.s. SNA members get 10% off from these guys -> see this thread

[Tony C]

Hello mr marty,

Banana plugs are a cable managemnet device.

Terminated properly they will ensure no stray strands of wire from the positive and negative can make accidental contact and blow up your amplifier.

Secondly with larger type speaker cable the banana plugs reduce cable quanitity back to a required 4mm entry suitable for the binding posts on the rear of most amplifiers.

If you are pushing your amplifier back into a cabinet I personally prefer insulated collars on the plugs to ensure nothing metal can conduct across the two metal chassis of the plug and cause the amplifiers any problems.

Higher priced banana plugs often use a locking mechanism which expands the contact oint once fitted to ensure they cannot be easily disturbed or knocked out.

For people wanting to do speaker comparisons there are also retractable banana plugs whereby a plastic collar comes down over the contact point of the banana plugs to again ensure no possibility of creating a short across the speaker lines.

Cheers Tony C

[Tony C]

Hello mr marty,

Are you coming along to the S.A GTG today?

If so, I have a few banana plug options in the van I could show you, or even fit to your cable whilst your here.

Cheers Tony C

[junkmail]

Hello mr marty,

Banana plugs are a cable managemnet device.

Terminated properly they will ensure no stray strands of wire from the positive and negative can make accidental contact and blow up your amplifier.

Secondly with larger type speaker cable the banana plugs reduce cable quanitity back to a required 4mm entry suitable for the binding posts on the rear of most amplifiers.

If you are pushing your amplifier back into a cabinet I personally prefer insulated collars on the plugs to ensure nothing metal can conduct across the two metal chassis of the plug and cause the amplifiers any problems.

Higher priced banana plugs often use a locking mechanism which expands the contact oint once fitted to ensure they cannot be easily disturbed or knocked out.

For people wanting to do speaker comparisons there are also retractable banana plugs whereby a plastic collar comes down over the contact point of the banana plugs to again ensure no possibility of creating a short across the speaker lines.

Cheers Tony C[/b]

hello mr_marty

the retracttable one is a good one to get , it is great for when the cleaning lady or the kids move your speakers or pull out the wires

and it is also able to take large cables

here is a link

http://www.avico.com.au/products/products....36&qs4=5756

plugs

[Jake]

I like these simple little bananas.

They are the same that Nordost use on all their speaker cables.

Of the banana plugs I have seen I reckon these are the least likely to get in the way of the signal. Nect best thing would be straight to the binding post. Due to their shape they have a nice inbuilt spring so they always stay tight in the binding post. Easy to solder, easy to shrink, and very inexpensive.

That top pic also shows the bass drivers connected with locking bananas. I dont like them but they came on the shotgunned Blue Heaven and I havent gotten around to changing them yet.

Here's one I made up using DH Labs Q10 biwirable cable for my centre speaker, shown with clear heatshrink.

[56oval]

If your not unplugging speakers all of the time bare wire if you must a small amount of silver solder .

Cheers.

[Phil G]

Hi all,

Currently I just have the speaker wire twisted and connected to the binding posts without plugs, are banana plugs nessecary? are great improvements seen?

cheers[/b]

Hi mr marty

Bare wire connection to your speakers is good, as it eliminates another link/metal in the signal chain. Banana plugs are good for convenience and may help prevent oxidisation to your wire, but don't expect to hear an audible improvement with adding banana plugs.

[Guest dpcgti180]

Hi mr marty

Bare wire connection to your speakers is good, as it eliminates another link/metal in the signal chain. Banana plugs are good for convenience and may help prevent oxidisation to your wire, but don't expect to hear an audible improvement with adding banana plugs.[/b]

i use eichmann, happy with their transparency and design

[Jake]

i use eichmann, happy with their transparency and design[/b]

I havent used his bananas, are they more robust than the RCA plugs? Those RCAs drive me mad.

[56oval]

I havent used his bananas, are they more robust than the RCA plugs? Those RCAs drive me mad.[/b]

Hello jake , a tweak for the RCA's sweat solder the + wire right up to the end of the tube or use a solid copper rod that fits inside the + tube and sweat solder it in this is said to improve the sound .I use a female RCA as heat sink when soldering on to the terminals .

Cheers.

[Jake]

Hello jake , a tweak for the RCA's sweat solder the + wire right up to the end of the tube or use a solid copper rod that fits inside the + tube and sweat solder it in this is said to improve the sound .I use a female RCA as heat sink when soldering on to the terminals .

Cheers.[/b]

Thanks 56. Ive actually given up on his RCAs. I find they pull apart quite easily when trying to remove them from a component if they are on tight. Im sick of having to resolder them, and of course every time you resolder them they get worse and worse, probably because Im a ham-fisted solderer. They are a fine product, I just need something a lot tougher.

However, next time I reuse what I have I'll give that a go.

Cheers,

Jake

[56oval]

Thanks 56. Ive actually given up on his RCAs. I find they pull apart quite easily when trying to remove them from a component if they are on tight. Im sick of having to resolder them, and of course every time you resolder them they get worse and worse, probably because Im a ham-fisted solderer. They are a fine product, I just need something a lot tougher.

However, next time I reuse what I have I'll give that a go.

Cheers,

Jake[/b]

Your not pulling them by the cables are you.I also twist them off by the head not the case .I like the Nex Gen WBT's but over priced for what they are .

Cheers.

[Jake]

Your not pulling them by the cables are you.I also twist them off by the head not the case .I like the Nex Gen WBT's but over priced for what they are .

Cheers.[/b]

Wash your mouth out 56! My soldering definitely isnt good enough to yank them by the cable! :biggrin:

On the back of the CJ Ive got 5 inputs and they are very close together, barely enough room to get my fat fingers in, so its hard to get a good hold of it.

[Pulse-R]

I got locking banana plugs from jaycar. they seem to work.

[mr_marty]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all the advice, I think I'll go for some sheilded plugs for connecting into the amp, seems to me not overly nessecary on the speakers as a good connection is made and i wont be moving then all that often

cheers!

[rob323]

I bought a stack of Puresonic bananas last year from a guy on Ebay, haven't seen them since though. They have the same type of pin as the ones Jake showed above, have two grub screws for clamping the cable, will take up to a fairly large cable, can be used with or with out the red and black plastic covers and have separate screw on covers that cover the pins to prevent shorting. I bought about 15 of each colour for about $2.50 each.

Not a great photo though.

[Hi Fi Delirium]

I had banana plugs from Jaycar and they were complete crap. An extremely poor connection that kept dropping out, and that was using various speakers. Ripped the things off and now just use the bare wire screwed into the terminals. No more drop outs and has to be a better connection. Maybe they were just bad banana plugs, but it's put me off them. I don't know if they were 'lockable', I doubt it as they used to just virtually fall out if you looked at them the wrong way.

[hsv2kk]

http://www.psraudio.com.au/catalog/-c-4.html?osCsid=da84433d771b0efb9d67171beeedceec

I ordered 50x banana plugs a few weeks ago. Great product, and quick postage.