How do I use these blasted things?! (1 Viewer)

[Jereme D]

I bought some Monster dual banana plugs from best buy as an open item with no instructions. I didn't actually realize that they were dual bananas until I got them home, and they fit my speakers/receiver, so I am going to use them.

A little post unscrews from the bottom. I assume that the wire goes in the hole that is uncovered, but there has to be more.......

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Nope. It's that simple. Unscrew the bottom and it opens up the hole in the side. Insert wire and tighten.

Hint: Only strip off enough insulation that the copper wire does not stick out the other side. You dont want stray strands of copper sticking out that can cause a short.

The dual-bananas are great for behind the speakers. Radio Shack sells similar ones for about $6. But the dual bananas are about 3" which might be too long for behind your receiver.

Radio Shack sells a very nice 2-piece banana. It un-screws into 2 parts and you thread wire up the bottom "barrel" and fold the copper wires over the top. You then screw down the banana top part and you get a great mechanical connections. I use this for behind my receiver.

 

[Jereme D]

The end of the screw part terminates into a point. Is the point meant to go right into the insulation of the wire itself? It seems that if I strip the insulation from my wire, and try to tighten this point into the bundle of wires inside, they will just slip out of the hole.

Thanks for your reply.

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Uhhhh.. perhaps we are talking about 2 different types of plugs.
Go to the radio shack web site (www.radioshack.com) and type in part number:
910-0886
Do your plugs look anything like this?

 

[Jereme D]

Those do look very similar. They may be the exact same thing, but I cannot tell if there is a point inside of those. I found this page that shows exactly what I have.
http://www.wildwestelectronics.net/mondualmonba.html

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Oh Good. We are talking about the same things.

Do not try to pierce the insulation with the plunger. Strip off the insulation, about 1/8 inch, and insert in the side holes. Then tighten the plunger hard, but finger tight.

I think the plunger has a arrow-point at the top to allow the copper wires to spread out and still make contact.

You should find it makes a nice, tight connection.

I WAS using Monster "Twist Crimp" bananas, but the 12 ga wire would pull loose every few weeks. With these new bananas, I have not had a loose wire in years.

Hope this helps.

 

[Jereme D]

Thanks again for the information. I am going to take these things back. My wire (monster XL) must be too small. It will not stay in the hole.

 

[Brian Johnson]

Let me tell you how I ran my banana plugs (even though I know its now how its "supposed" to be used. I used the dayton plugs http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd..._ID=2462&DID=7
I unscrewed the two pieces, stripped enough wire and ran the wire through the bottom piece, leaving about 1/8 inch of unshielded wire poking out of the top. Then I screwed the top/bottom pieces together smashing the wire in place. I can pull the wire as hard as I can and the wire will not come out. I wish I had a digital camera to show this, but I dont. But basically, the plug looks like an extension of the speaker wire. Instead of the goofy looking side screw in technique. BTW, I hate dual banana plugs.

 

[Jereme D]

So, you have both the cable and the screw art in the shaft of the banana plug? Or, do you mean that the shaft of the screw part that you have is hollow and the wire is run up the middle?

I found that if I bend my stripped speaker wire a few times and then screw it down with the normal from the side technique, that it is very secure. There is a lot of contact that way, but my concern is that bending the wire this way will affect the quality of the sound. Am I right?

 

[Brian Johnson]

Or, do you mean that the shaft of the screw part that you have is hollow and the wire is run up the middle?

Excatly, the plug is made to let another banana plug connect too it. I find the hole is a perfect fit for my speaker wire. I cut just enough shielding off so that I can "screw in the wire" (let me rephrase that, I screw in the shielded part of the wire) leaving just enough unshielded wire out of the end. I then just screw the two pieces back together basically smashing the wire inbetween. Don't ask me if this is the proper/best connection, but my speakers work. And it seems to be a solid connection.

 

[Bob McElfresh]

but my concern is that bending the wire this way will affect the quality of the sound. Am I right?

Nope. That should be fine.

Dont get freaked out that these audio signals are somehow "delicate" and "special".

Think of a car windshield. How important is a windshield when you drive a 5 MPH? Compare this to driving at 60 mph.

Audio signals are fairly low-frequency compared to video. They are the "5 MPH" case. The more common problems with speaker wire are:

- Using hair-thin wires

- Leaving strands of copper wires poking out to cause shorts

- Cutting several extra feet of wire and leaving them coiled up behind the speakers.

- Believeing the myth that "all speaker wires need to be the same length".

Jereme: you ARE using the side-holes for the wire? The rear-holes are so you can plug in another banana.

 

[Jereme D]

The shafts of the screw part on my connector are not hollow all the way through. The hole only goes about 1/4 inch into the shaft of the screw. I'd thought about soldering the wire inside of there, but decided against it.

I will go with the idea of bending the wire a few times and screwing it doen since it works well that way.

Thanks to you both, once again!

 

[Jereme D]

Here are a couple of pictures of the connectors once I got my wires into them if anyone is interested.
Link Removed
Link Removed

 

[Bob McElfresh]

A picture IS worth a thousand words.
One of the pictures looks fuzzy. Do you really have the wires going in the back? They really should go into the side hole and come out at a 90 degree angle. Oh well, whatever works

 

[Jereme D]

They are going into the side holes. I just used a tie to bind the wires to the post so that they lay flat and look neater.

And yes, I need a new camera. haha

EDIT: Ultimately, these things work good, but I won't be buying anymore that operate with a side hole.