are banana connectors dangerous?

leafswillwin · 04-12-2007, 10:16 PM

just wondering, for example is you have speakers with spring terminals the conducting wire is safely hidden and only the wire insulation is exposed. However when you use banana connectors, the whole connecter is conducting and common banana plugs are all metal which is exposed. So if the speakers are running wouldn't touching them give you a shock???
this might seem like a dumb question but i wasnt sure.

MaxL · 04-12-2007, 10:28 PM

banana clips...dangerous.......

just don't lick your fingers!

bobbyg2 · 04-12-2007, 10:29 PM

Turn on your radio, touch an exposed wire leading to the speakers, and you probably wouldn't feel anything. I've touched the wire multiple times at high and low volumes, and all it felt like was if there wasn't anything going through them. Just simply not enough amps going through them.

leafswillwin · 04-12-2007, 10:41 PM

alright good to know. i thought there was alot of current going through speakers.

MaxL · 04-12-2007, 11:28 PM

it depends on the amp, speaker and signal at the moment of contact, and that assumes you actually cunduct the current at all. you should make it a habit to have your gear unplugged whenever connecting or disconnecting any cables, or at a minimum everything's turned off.

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bobbyg2 · 04-12-2007, 11:41 PM

Quote:

alot of current going through speakers

Nah, not much. It may give you a good shock at a higher volume with more power, but you're not gona get any injury's or die... Unless your amp was shorting, or a lightning strike goes through 'em.

aht3 · 04-17-2007, 07:14 AM

You also might want to check around. I have used banana plugs that are insulated except for the plug. eBay has a ton of them. I would agree that the all metal plugs could propose a conductive threat from a loose wire or something.

MaxL · 04-17-2007, 08:04 AM

how many ohms are your fingers?

Dan Driscoll · 04-17-2007, 09:12 AM

Electricity always follows the path of least resistance or impedance. A speaker is typically 8 ohms impedance, while skin is typically millions of ohms, even over a distance of just 1 inch. If you lick your skin the resistance drops to 10s of thousands of ohms, but then the current is flowing through the saliva on the surface of your skin, not through the skin.

Current by itself is not enough to complete a circuit, it requires a sufficiently high voltage to overcome the impedance of the circuit before it can be completed and current can flow. The greater the impedance, the greater the voltage required to complete the circuit. Modern home audio amplifiers are current sources, not voltage sources. They typically won't generate enough voltage to overcome the impedance of a human body and push a current through that body.

There are exceptions, of course. If you are wet and the amplifier protection circuit has failed, if you are bleeding (salt is a conductor) or wearing chain mail, you might be at risk of getting shocked. No doubt there are other scenarios that would put someone at risk, but in general the danger of getting shocked by a properly functioning modern home audio amplifier is pretty minor.

Also keep in mind that groups like Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and other safety organizations test and certify these amps before they come on the market. They are testing for exactly these types of dangers and many others.

bobbyg2 · 04-17-2007, 01:53 PM

Exactly, your fingers resist too much. I just placed my finger on an exposed wire, and didn't feel much. Just a slight, almost unnoticeable tingle.

I doubt that ther