Plug bare wire into banana plug output? (1 Viewer)

[Marvin Namro]

Hello, a very stupid question I believe, but is there any way to connect bare speaker wire into an amp output that uses banana plug type?


Such as this:

 

[atfree]

I guess my question would be: why not just buy a couple of banana plug for the bare wires? They're only a buck apiece......

 

[Marvin Namro]

I guess my question would be: why not just buy a couple of banana plug for the bare wires? They're only a buck apiece......

Haha, i knew this question was coming. I don't have a local dealer that sells banana plugs, and would have to order them online. Since it's soon the end of the week and the time it takes for them to arrive is about 2 days, it would be nice to try out my new amp a couple days while waiting for my banana plugs to arrive in the mailbox.

 

[Jason Charlton]

You can also check to make sure those aren't also like binding posts where the outer layer can be unscrewed - revealing a hole in the side for bare wire.


If that's not an option, I agree - go to radio shack (maybe even Lowes or HD has some) and pick up some cheap banana plugs.

 

[atfree]

You can also check to make sure those aren't also like binding posts where the outer layer can be unscrewed - revealing a hole in the side for bare wire.


If that's not an option, I agree - go to radio shack (maybe even Lowes or HD has some) and pick up some cheap banana plugs.

I know for sure that my Lowe's has them in the electrical section so I assume most Lowe's or HD's would have them.

 

[Marvin Namro]

You can also check to make sure those aren't also like binding posts where the outer layer can be unscrewed - revealing a hole in the side for bare wire.


If that's not an option, I agree - go to radio shack (maybe even Lowes or HD has some) and pick up some cheap banana plugs.

The plastic things do unscrew. Do i just wrap the wire around the screw and then screw back the plastic against the wire?

 

[Jason Charlton]

If the plastic parts unscrew, I would think there would be a hole running through the central post/screw that would be visible if you unscrew the plastic part far enough. If so, then feed the stripped end of the wire through the hole and tighten the plastic part back up until the wire is held in place.


If there is no hole through the post, then you can wrap the bare wire around the post, and tighten the plastic part back up to hold it in place.


In either case, you must be very careful that strands of bare wire don't stick out. If any wires touch another post or speaker wire, it will cause a short that can trigger all sorts of problems.

 

[Marvin Namro]

If the plastic parts unscrew, I would think there would be a hole running through the central post/screw that would be visible if you unscrew the plastic part far enough. If so, then feed the stripped end of the wire through the hole and tighten the plastic part back up until the wire is held in place.


If there is no hole through the post, then you can wrap the bare wire around the post, and tighten the plastic part back up to hold it in place.


In either case, you must be very careful that strands of bare wire don't stick out. If any wires touch another post or speaker wire, it will cause a short that can trigger all sorts of problems.

Exactly the answer I was looking for, very informative. Thank you sir!


I will go with this method until my banana plugs arrives.

 

[jimfrench]

I use nothing but bare wire in all connections in 2 systems. Banana plugs are a convenience feature not a necessity. There are some that feel that the direct connection via bare wire is superior. As mentioned above, you must be careful not to cross connect the wires, but once done it will work fine.