What is preferred speaker connection?

Gunther16

I've been debating the question of preference of connecting speakers via spade lugs and banana plugs. What does the community think?

txcoastal1

Personal taste, and many times what's best fit for your gear

I have amps and speakers that are better suited each type

voltz

I went to spade/spade but now with my setup changed I hate using spades with my Amplifiers...but that is just me...

but for speakers with their binding post up high in the air I like the idea of "Angled Banana plugs" but have not tried some yet.

Emlyn

Bananas are easier to install and uninstall. Spades are a stronger gas tight connector but not as easy to use. I use spades on the speaker end of cables and bananas on the amp end with space available to do the connecting a factor.

mhardy6647

whatev's.

I like bananananananas because they're easy -- and I am lazy.
In fact, when circumstances permit dual bananas (3/4" spacing), I like that even better... because I am really lazy.
Indeed, I went to Pomona dual bananas with my Monitor 7As when I was in college (late 1970s) -- I have been really lazy for a long time.

There's a school of thought (in all seriousness) that will hard-wire loudspeakers to amplfiers (i.e., permanent connections vs. easily changed ones) -- no compromise, you know?

Spade lugs, ring lugs or stripped/tinned bare wire...

It's all good.

pumpkinman

Spades on speaker. Locking bananas on the amp.

gce

pumpkinman wrote: »

Spades on speaker. Locking bananas on the amp.

^^^ This.

afterburnt

I will take a swing at that. It is about the space to work in. Usually you have more room to fiddle around behind speakers than amps.

I am lazy too, bananas all around.

pitdogg2

Banana's all around for me. I had spades at one time but disliked the fact that they always seem to loosen up on me. To need a wrench to get tight enough or to switch to me seemed counter productive.

pumpkinman

afterburnt wrote: »

I will take a swing at that. It is about the space to work in. Usually you have more room to fiddle around behind speakers than amps.

That pretty much covers it. I like locking bananas on heavier gauge cables. You know the cables that seem to have a mind of their own.

Gunther16

So what I'm getting out of this is that there is no preference for either other than convenience. Maybe I should restate the question. Which is the best, making any audible difference, method of connecting the speaker wire to the speaker using 5way binding posts?

gce

Gunther16 wrote: »

Very interesting responses. I'm particularly interested in the replied stating banana plugs on amp but spades on the speakers. Why? Why not the other way around?

My 703's are on stands. The speaker cable goes through a loop down to the bottom of the stand. Spades puts less of a bend on the cables as they go down.

pitdogg2

Gunther

It's really your call on that we do not have your ears.

slbenz

From an audibility view, it doesn't make a difference. If it did, then we would see speaker and cable manufacturers only provide us with one option for connection. But they offer everything from bare wire to spades, bananas, etc., for your consideration. For me, I tried all forms of connections on my amps and speakers and couldn't tell the difference.

F1nut

I once calculated the contact area of MIT banana plugs and spades. The banana plugs have slighty more contact area. However, you'll never hear the difference.

My personal preference is banana plugs. Spades are just a PITA.

slbenz

F1nut wrote: »

I once calculated the contact area of MIT banana plugs and spades. The banana plugs have slighty more contact area. However, you'll never hear the difference.

My personal preference is banana plugs. Spades are just a PITA.

Amen, brother!

F1nut

Gunther16, I will say that the quality of the terminations and the material they are made from does have an affect on the sound.

tonyb

F1nut wrote: »

Gunther16, I will say that the quality of the terminations and the material they are made from does have an affect on the sound.

Dang, you beat me to it.

Yes, not all connectors are made equally, and that can affect the sound some. Bare wire is eventually going to oxidize and dull the sound so either bananas or spades is the preference.

cortico

I like bare wire on the amp terminals, to me the most efficient and simple.

On speaker terminals, bare wire does fit the wholes, so I use locking bananas or spades and that works just fine. Any solution that won't come off and accidentally and short the opposite terminal if ever comes loose. I always tend to stay away from oversized or to fancy terminals, the more discrete and minimal the better.

Gunther16

Very interesting responses. I'm particularly interested in the replied stating banana plugs on amp but spades on the speakers. Why? Why not the other way around?

motorhead43026

Spade on speaker.

motorhead43026

Why does this have to be so hard.

pumpkinman

Bare back

Toolfan66

mhardy6647

....

Gunther16

Done! F1Nut/slbenz had the best answer

Schurkey

I'm surprised no-one mentioned SpeakOn yet...