Banana Plugs

S

sibleypeck

New member
I am preparing to order a pair of monitor speakers that are equipped with banana plug connectors.
Four questions:
1) Does it make sense to pay an extra $22.50 for 15', 12-AWG custom-made cables with banana plugs at one end and bare wires at the other (my amp speaker outs only accept bare wires)?
2) Do banana plugs significantly improve the connection?
3) Is the price reasonable?
4) Should I order a shorter length cable, if I don't need all 15'?
 
1. Probably not since you will have to snip the one end off anyway to hook up to your amp. Paying for a pair of bannana plugs for no reason.

2. Not really, if anything bare wire would provide as good or better a connection. It's more a matter of convenience, if your unplugging and replugging all the time, bannana's are much easier.

3. $22.50 for both sets sounds reasonable.

4. 15' is pretty short, you never know when you might need that extra length. I'd stick with the 15'.
 
I work in a hifi store, and Im always advising people against banana plugs. any extra connection hampers signal flow, and even a well soldered connection will result in a little bit of loss. Just use a good quality oxygen free copper cable, of a reasonable thickness. to ensure the best possible connections, once a year cut about 2 inches from each end and reattach them firmly to the amp and speaker.

Dr_Sbaitso

unfortunately most people use really terrible cable to hook up their equipment at home...
 
The Wire I've used to run my equipment is lampflex, the exact same thing that electricians use to run small lamps and the likes. you can buy it from a hardware store very cheaply, or you can go to a hifi store and buy it for 3 times the price, but with a hifi brand label on the jacket.

Dr_Sbaitso
 
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