Iv'e always wondered if the simple addition of banana plugs to basic speaker wire makes any kind of sonic difference by enhancing the connection from amp to speaker and vice versa.
Any thoughts or facts here?
J. Vigne
Unregistered guest
Posted on
It does not enhance the connection, it weakens it. Therefore the answer to your question would be, yes, it may make a difference in the sonics. Whether you personally can hear the difference is another matter.
Jayb
Unregistered guest
Posted on
So your advice to anyone who may be considering bananas etc. should realize that they are more of a conveinience item (hookup) rather than a performance enhancement.
J. Vigne
Unregistered guest
Posted on
YEP!
Jayb
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Thanks a watt!
J. Vigne
Unregistered guest
Posted on
It's the first watt that counts.
Jayb
Unregistered guest
Posted on
I concur!
TSH
Unregistered guest
Posted on
So, does this apply to spades as well? And is there a difference between what you should do with the "amp end" and the "speaker end" of the connection? Is bare wire at both ends as good as the alternatives - spades, bananas? Thanks.
Perference always goes to the simplest connection that can be made sufficiently tight as to be "gas tight". After that the preference is for the largest surface area of complete contact between the mating surfaces.
Gas tight means no oxygen can reach the surface of the conductors to cause deterioration of the surface. If a five way binding post or a simple screw type terminal post are done correctly, they are designed to be gas tight. Bare wire is then the preferred connection method. The insulation is stripped to accomodate just enough bare wire to make the connection properly and then twisted on itself and in the case of the terminal post formed around the post in the direction the screw tightens. This pulls the cable tight as the connection is made. No loose strands of wire should exist in this connection.
With the plastic caps on most binding posts or the spring type connectors on many amplifiers and speakers it is impossible to apply enough torque to actually create a good connection. If the bare wire is allowed to oxidize, the signal will deteriorate. Therefore a well soldered, or preferrably well crimped (gas tight), connector should be used. The purpose of a connector in this application is to allow a solid connection to be made easily. should the connector oxidize it can be redone and cleaned easily, something that bare wire can't do. A plain "tinned" cable end is less desirable for this reason than a spade lug.
A banana plug is meant as a temporary fast connect/fast disconnect, often times stackable connector. Its contact area is compromised compared to bare wire or a spade lug but the connection can be made easily and quickly when testing a circuit.