Neutrik Speakon review? (1 Viewer)

[Steve Petrosino]

Can someone give me a review of the Speakon connectors made by Neutrik please? I have not had the chance to see one up close and personal yet. They come in 2 and 4 conductor versions as well as silver or gold plated. What are the pros and cons? And should I use these when I wire my new house in about 3 months? I like that they do not have any exposed contacts.

Thanks.

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

Speakon are common in pro audio, I dealt with them for years in that realm. Nice, clean twist locking system that might be a bit overkill for home use (bulky, no home speakers offer speakon connection).

I can't imagine they would degrade speaker signal or anything-- I can't say i've ever critically A-B'd them, but they're used by hundreds of companies everyday and I've never heard a complaint.

If you have specific questions about them, feel free to ask.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Steve,

You can see some Speakons at your local Guitar Center store. They’re definitely very cool and highly functional connectors. For cable-end connectors they come in 2, 4 and 8 conductor varieties; for chassis-mount, 4 and 8 conductor only. However, I’m not sure a guitar store would stock loose connectors; you might have to turn to a mail-order vendor for that, or perhaps a local pro audio shop.

As to the pros and cons for home use, I see only cons. Since Speakons were designed for pro audio use they’re big and bulky. No home audio manufacturer, either of electronics or speakers, is using them. This means you would only be able to use them for wall plates. As such, the cables you plugged into them would have a Speakon on one end only. Furthermore, their internal cable clamp is designed for round cable, not the flat stuff we often use in home audio.

Bottom line, for wiring your new house I’d stay with the tried-and-true traditional approach – binding posts, straight-through wiring, etc.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Steve Petrosino]

Thanks for the info guys. I guess I will go with the standard post.

 

[phatempire]

The Speakon range is one of the connectors that made Neutrik such a widely known and trusted brand.

Its is fair to say that they are mostly used in the professional audio industry, but they guarantee reliability and quality.

Theres more info here: Neutrik Speakons

 

[Leo Kerr]

And a lesser "pro" in their favor -- I don't know if this actually is functionally useful, is that they are twist-lock connections. In theory, they "twist" enough, and have enough internal structure, that the twisting action would clear any debris and mild corrosion of the conductors on both sides before they make contact.

But in the home world, well, it depends on your speakers.

I've seen a number of Tannoy speakers that I wouldn't object to using in a home that had Speakons on 'em. Likewise, Community makes some that are probably okay for home use (not that you'd ever find a home-oriented dealer carrying them.)

Leo