Speaker cable and connectors (1 Viewer)

[Mark Fitzsimmons]

I went and bought 12 aug wire from home depot before setting it up. I just twisted the ends of the wire and put it into the speaker and reciever terminals. I saw alot of the high end wires use banana plugs, would it be a wise move for me to go ahead and crimp on some banana plugs? Will it effect the sound? Or is it just for looks/conveinance?

 

[Chu Gai]

the plugs will be much more convenient and you won't have to deal with issues of stray wires or broken wires. plenty of crimpable plugs out there for those who choose not to use a soldering iron...some local sources i'm sure are around you...if not other's here can suggest sources...partsexpress.com comes to mind.

 

[Mark Fitzsimmons]

Anytime I've crimped connectors on for car audio I remove the plastic garbage, crimp it, seal it with solder and then heat shrink tube it. I assume this will also apply to home theater.

 

[Marc Rochkind]

The best connector to use is gold spades if there is room at the receiver to attach them. There is almost always room on the speaker side. (I'm assuming you have so-called 5-way binding posts, not spring clips.)
Bananas are sure convenient, but some don't hold tightly and wiggle around. Try to find the locking banana type.
Don't use pins.
Radio Shack has a locking banana that you solder on. www.partsexpress.com has some locking bananas that don't have to be soldered.