bare wire, spades, or banana plugs?? (1 Viewer)

An audiophile who works at GG told me bare wire connection is the worst. It doesn't separate the hi/low freq. too well he said. I don't know if that's true I just know it doesn't make any sense to me. Can you guys tell me what you guys prefer. Spades? Can we use it on receivers? I have just bought a Marantz 7200 and seem to only accept bare wire and banana which I prefer not to use due to fact it that it sticks out.

Any inputs appreciated.

I would say hes on crack...I think Spades are the best but dont always fit.I have to use bananas on my Marantz cus the vampire spades I pickedup didnt fit.

Yep, definitely. And I assume no spades fit Marantz. Sucks. So spades is the way to go for speakers. Alright thanks Cameron.

Spades offer a better connection than banana plugs. Bare-wire does not separate the high/low frequency he's kidding or Dave_La is right he is on crack.

I am often amused at the things I hear from the sales staff a places such as GG, CC, BB...

In my HT, I use bananas due to a Marantz receiver. In my 2ch system however, I am using solid, bare wire (Audioquest) with my Marantz amp.

Connection wise, spades are better, but in terms of physical interface, they are no different. The signal still has to transition between the wire and the connector the same amount. Bare wire offers the least signal degredation, but is also more of a hassle to connect.

I want some of what that sales guy smoken!

Bananas:
Are the most convient to use especialy if you change out speakers and or equipment often.

Spades or Forks:
Are what I prefer at the speaker. You do need to measure the post size of the speaker to make sure your fork width is big enough.

Bare wire:
Works just fine buta stray strand can sometimes cause problems. Also once a year you should cut & re-strip back to get at good clean wire to keep a clean contact.

Short/Stubby Bananas:
Are harder to find and was a problem at the AV-Receiver in our Bedroom.

Acoustic Research:
(AR's Regular Series) gold compression thread bananas, are the "shortest" I've found so far and work great. Slightly over a 1/2" sticks out once installed into the speaker post on the receiver.
They would "just barely" handel 12-gauge wire though....

They are pretty hard to find anymore. I bought a whole bunch of 4 packs 2-years ago and just recently went back to ABC Warehouse to pick up more. Well they are no more, that is they have not had them for over a year and 2 New AR-Banana lines have replaced them.

Bummer, because they were excellent for tight spots behind a Receiver or Amp.

Still having a good laugh on the bare wire Hi and Low freq bare wire thing! *************************

Regards
Geoff

Yep, don't know where he got that from. But Geoff is right, bare wires erode over time, so it's good to get a new clean cut once a while.

Since there is nothing protecting the wire inside most connectors unless you solder them, the wire will STILL OXIDIZE. Higher grades (purity) of oxygen reduced (referred to as oxygen "free" copper) copper will resist oxidation better than run of the mill copper wire.

I like spades. Radio Shack has crimpable kind, that give a lot of surface area for the wire to spade contact, and then the spade to binding post contact also offers a lot of surface area.

BTW, the oxygen that's "in" the Cu has absolutely nothing to do with the oxidation that occurs on the outside of the wire. Room temperature, evens upwards of 100C, is way too low to get any appreciable diffusion of the Cu inside the wire to the outside surface.

I was not intending to suggest that the oxygen has a direct correllation to it's corrosion resistance, but rather that high purity (99.999%) copper will resist corrosion, for whatever reason, better than basic OFHC copper wire such as Monster. The real question is, is the amount of oxidation on the ends of the wire really so significant that it should ever make a difference to the signal at the contact point(s)?

You sound like a Semiconductor guy Kevin...

FWIW Spades DO NOT offer a "Better Connection" than a good
Banana plug. That's a bunch of crap that gets repeated untill
someone believes it's fact.

The truth is that a good Locking Banana (Like WBT) will have
far better conductivity than any spade from a run of the mill
company. Plus the Locking part ensures they will not pull
out no matter how hard you pull on the cables.

Banana's are convinient.. Bare wire is a short circuit
waiting to happen.

Brett

So are my WBT forks/spades ok,, or should I quickly get some WBT Bananas?

The only time you will ever see me use the word "awesome man". They are the best I've ever used, they make incredable high QUALITY products!!!

Regards
Geoff

The 'high end' radio shack have to be the best locking bananas I've seen yet, for the money.
No hype just a solid connection.

Since I am using SOLID wire, it will be no more likely to short than wire with connectors on the ends

Silver solder the end of bare wire, and you have a very good connection point with no strays and no connector for the signal to pass through.

John,

Yeah soldered ends are good for bare wire..


Geoff,

Yep WBT Rules.. The stuff is like "Bling" for your stereo!

I'll second the WBT bullets. The only thing is that you need to buy that super special crimper. I also dig the sleeves you put over the wire that you crimp down before putting the banana's on...that's a solid connection!!!

-sonny

Sonny,

You can solder those "crimp sleeves" onto the wire and
forgo buying the $60.00 gold plated crimper.

The WBT bananas look like some of the best connectors I've seen, but they are also a bit pricey, even from PE. One local dealer carries them, and they charge a decent mark-up on them. Their system of pre-termination before installation into the banana seems like a very good concept. Even their mid level bananas are pretty serious looking; I've been considering them for my main system, to replace the ones I have now.

For the price of one set of WBT's high line, I can just about buy pre-terminated cables...

PE dose have the best prices I've seen yet, unless buying in MAJOR quantities.

I put off WBT for sometime and finally gave in a few months back. Discovered as Brett mentioned, you can get away with out their $60.00 specialized Gold Plated crimper. I already had bought it so that was that. Their topline spades and bananas are the best out their NO question.

As John noted, a full 5.1, 6.1, 7.1, system can get VERY expensive, and if Bi-Amping or Bi Wiring,,,, aha you do the math.....$$$$$$$

And they are definitely the Bling Bling,, as Brett says!

Really tho, the Bling Bling is unnecessary and the many products mentioned along with good ole bare wire is just fine... Used them for years and nothing sounds an better with the WBT connectors as opposed to any their product I used before when properly connected.

Parts Express own large threaded compression spades are "exceptional for the price"! Have used them and still do on the bedroom speakers....
Much bigger/thicker than your average gold plated spade, I highly recommend them and at their price point a steal in my book....

Regards
Geoff

I agree with Geoff the WBT's are overkill they are the
best you can get but there are affordable solutions (though
no one makes a spade anywhere near as good as WBT IMHO).

I am just trying to find a good source for affordable locking
bananas. I keep looking at the WBT Knock Offs on ebay made
by NXG but I don't know how the quality is.. I like buying
PE's in house brand of Dayton connectors they are all well
made.