Receivers with sping-clips instead of posts: bare wire or pins? (1 Viewer)

[Marc Rochkind]

For receivers that use those spring clips with the holes in them, is it better to use bare wire or pin connectors?

With a binding post one would normally not use bare wire, but I'd be concerned about whether with spring clips there's enough pressure and enough surface area to give a proper connection if pins are used. Perhaps in this case bare wire is a better choice?

 

[ColinM]

I vote Bare Wire.
I don't understand the application of the pins in the first place.

 

[Gerard Martin]

Bare wire will give you a tighter
connection, reducing pins allow
you to use a larger size wire. It is all but impossible to get a 12 gauge wire
into those spring clips, pins allow
you to do this. Best solution for me was get a receiver with binding posts.

 

[Mark Dubbelboer]

I vote for bare wire as well.

Pins never really stick in solidly and there's a change of them swivelling and then it might touch the other terminal and then fireworks ensue (believe me)

 

[Sean Conklin]

Bare Wire! 12 gauge wire in most cases will fit in the spring clips, I have yet to install or come across a receiver where 12 gauge will not fit into the spring clips.

 

[RicP]

Indeed, as has been said...bare wire is the only way to connect to spring clips.
Pins offer so little surface contact area that they are virtually worthless as connectors.
I have also seen people use small spades with spring clips, but bare wire is the best. Keep in mind though that you'll want to look at it once a month or so to check for corrosion and/or oxidation. Snip off the offending area, and reattach.

 

[Joe_H]

Sean, ever tried to get 12 gauge wire into a Sony DE line receiver? Its impossible.. i had to like strip the wire using the setting for like 16 gauge wire so that it would fit.. (yet another reason i hate my Sony receiver)

 

[Jeremy Little]

Bare 12 gauge wire will not fit in a DE series sony, or several other brands. At least not all of the wire, you could always thin out the stripped portion, but what is the point. I've never seen an application where the pins touched each other without help, i.e. someone moving the equipment around. 14 or 16 gauge, bare wire should work ok.

 

[KeithH]

Way back when I owned receivers and speakers with spring clips, I used bare wire. It worked fine. However, back then, I knew nothing about audio, so I used bare wire becuase it made sense and I knew no other way to make the connection. I was just happy that anything resembling music came out of the speakers in those days.

 

[Marc Rochkind]

Anybody try either of these two, made specifically for spring clips:

1. Monster Master Pin. Actually, the base part of the 2-piece Monster Lock system, but they say it's for spring clips.

2. (Completely different from above.) Monster Flex Tip. Like a pin, but seems to be made of flexible gold-plated wire.

(It's hard to believe that anyone with spring clips would pay $5 per connector, but I'm just reading off the Monster web site. I didn't invent this stuff!)

 

[Sean Conklin]

Sean, ever tried to get 12 gauge wire into a Sony DE line receiver? Its impossible.. i had to like strip the wire using the setting for like 16 gauge wire so that it would fit..

I must say I have not tried with the Sony DE's, Receivers with spring clips that I know will accomodate 12 gauge are: Kenwood, Yamaha, Denon, JVC,and Pioneer.

The Kenwood and Denon have the most accomodating spring clips I have seen, A person could if wrapped tightly enough stuff 10 gauge into them. Of course any receiver or speaker utilizing spring clips does not put out enough power to justify using 10 gauge or probably 12 gauge for that matter.

In the case of The Sony DE and others that are gauge challenged, 14 or 16 gauge should be more than adequate.