Installing Bannana plugs? (1 Viewer)

[Allan]

Hi,
Currently I have bare speaker wires plugged into my receiver and my speakers. I am moving soon and (obviously) will ahve to disconnect everything. I was thinking this might be a good time to upgrade to bannana plugs. How exactly do you connect the bare wires to the plugs? Also, what type whould I buy (what do they cost)? My system is midlevel so I low-level plugs are fine (onkyo 575; Paradigm Studio 6os/cc)
Thanks in advance,
Allan

 

[KeithH]

Allan, Radio Shack makes excellent banana plugs that sell for $5-6 a pair. They are gold-plated and are very easy to use. Each banana plug unscrews into two pieces, the barrel portion and the plug portion that is inserted into the binding post on your amp. Once you expose a piece of fresh speaker wire with a crimping tool, run it through the bottom of barrel piece of the banana plug. Try not to "fray" the exposed wires as you do this. Keep them bunched together. Then, fold a small portion of the exposed wire over the lip of the barrel. Simply screw the plug portion of the banana plug onto the barrel and insert it into the binding post. It's that simple. You only need to expose about a half-inch of wire. If you expose too much wire, there is a tendency to fold too much over the lip of the barrel, which makes screwing on the plug portion difficult. Hope this helps.
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[Allan]

Keith, that was extremely helpful. I am going to pick up some plugs this week. Mainly, because I find it a big pain using bare wire to plug into the rcvr and speakers. Just out of curiostiy though, shoudl the sound improve with bannanas verses bare wire?
thanks
Allan

 

[Brian Fellmeth]

No it will not improve the sound at all. There are 2 advantages to the bananas otherwise. Its more convient to connect/disconnect. Also, the oxidation problem with the bare wire is eliminated. When using bare wire, it is a good idea to disconnect, cut the end of the wires, restrip and reconnect every 6-12 months (more if live near ocean). Bananas with gold plating eliminate this chore.

 

[KeithH]

Allan, no problem. Glad to help. As for your other questions, Brian was right on about the sound. Banana plugs are really for convenience, not for performance. Interestingly, I used bare wire for many years and didn't experience oxidation, though with copper, it certainly is possible. However, I moved away from the ocean long before I got into audio.
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KeithH: Saving the Home Theater World Before Bedtime

 

[Keith Mickunas]

I use the RS plugs also, and they're very handy. One nice thing is they're reusable, and you don't waste any wire when you take them off. They also have pin connectors that use the same mechanism and the threads are the same. So if you're like me, and you got an older stereo and you sometimes find yourself swapping cables, its quick and easy to do.

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Allan: Radio shack carries another very good product: it's a dual-banana (with a solid-black bar between the plugs).
This one simply has a plunger that un-screws to open a hole in the side. Insert 12 ga wire and tighten.
Here is a problem: if you have bananas for behind your speakers and someone tugs/trips over the wire and the two plugs pull out and short, this can damage your equipment (if the power is on)
The spacer bar on the dual bananas make this almost impossible.
The one problem with the dual-bananas is they stick out about 2.5 inches which may be too-far for your equipment rack.
But buy a set and take them home to see if they fit your equipment. I highly recommend them for behind your speakers.

 

[Allan]

Thanks afor evyone's suggestions. Does anyone have an opinion on the followign plugs available from Accessories4less.com for $8.99 for 4. Here is tehe link --
http://accessories4less.com/advscrip...06&sPrice=9.99
Thanks. These are cheaper than RS. Any thoughts?
Allan

 

[Fletcher]

I was actually looking at those Banana plugs on sale at accessories4less as well! I guess one obvious difference is that the IXOS ones use the screw in the side method while the Radio Shack ones use the compression screw method. I kind of like the RS/Acoustic Research compression screw better but the IXOS ones are cheaper. Anyone have any thoughts on this difference?? Maybe the IXOS are better than the RS in other ways??
Fletcher