# Banana Plugs ?



## Blainetsuds (Feb 12, 2013)

Which type of speaker connectors do you prefer? If you use banana plugs what are your favorites?


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## B- one (Jan 13, 2013)

Cheap single banana plugs here. I had some doubles and the spacing wasn't great so I recommend singles only .


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## Tonto (Jun 30, 2007)

Right now I'm using Monster Cables with replacable banana connectors (they screw on & off so you can use spades if you want). They are expensive (bought them before I knew better). The warranty is stellar though. My daughter tripped on the cables & broke them off flush at the speaker binding posts. Took them back & new set, no questions asked!

http://www.monsterproducts.com/productdisplay.asp?pin=3868&id=10337#

http://www.monsterproducts.com/productdisplay.asp?pin=603&id=8752


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## Blainetsuds (Feb 12, 2013)

A little pricey, but they sure are pretty.


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## orion (Sep 18, 2009)

I just bought the cheap ones from monoprice and I couldn't be happier with them. And as was said above get the singles, they are just easier to deal with


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## rab-byte (Feb 1, 2011)

Planet wave connectors are my new favorite flavor of fitting. No stripping required and reusable if needed!


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## eclipse911t (Jan 8, 2013)

Cheap single use crimp is my preference.


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## willis7469 (Jan 31, 2014)

I scored these on a Black Friday deal for 14 bucks(iirc). Prob not the best. But for the money they seem good. Fits my 12ga wire easily. 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003BKW2K2/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1405471913&sr=8-1


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## Peter Loeser (Aug 11, 2012)

My preference is the "BFA" type banana plug with double set screws for the speaker wire. The BFA plug fits really securely and doesn't really come loose from the binding post. The double screw clamp seems to be about the strongest hold aside from a soldered connection in my experience, and I like being able to reuse them in different cables if needed. There are lots on eBay for pretty cheap. Usually Nakamichi branded.


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## davidjschenk (Jan 30, 2011)

I've used the Monoprice banana plugs for several years now and I love them. You're going to have an extraordinarily hard time beating the likes of Monoprice and Blue Jeans Cable when it comes to price-to-performance calculations.

Yours,

David


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## Blainetsuds (Feb 12, 2013)

Thanks everyone for your advice on the speaker connectors.


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## redsandvb (Dec 2, 2009)

davidjschenk said:


> I've used the Monoprice banana plugs for several years now and I love them. You're going to have an extraordinarily hard time beating the likes of Monoprice and Blue Jeans Cable when it comes to price-to-performance calculations.
> 
> Yours,
> 
> David


Speaking of Blue Jeans, I use their locking banana plugs. Actually, I bought my speaker wire from them and ordered the sonically-welded, terminated w/ the locking bananas. Not as expensive as you might think.
My surrounds use their screw-type bananas, nice that they come w/ some heat-shrink tubing too.
http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/speaker/index.htm

I used to use these screw-type bananas from Radio Shack, http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2123188
They're just like the Blue Jeans ones except there's no 'bullet' inside.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

I made these cables here got the banana plugs off amazon and thay work great.


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## Rick R (Dec 3, 2013)

Blainetsuds said:


> Which type of speaker connectors do you prefer? If you use banana plugs what are your favorites?


I silver solder my banana plugs, no point in good cable and poor terminations. I have found problems with the ones that have the contacts on a spring sleeve that some have used (first image), these I find can be intermittent and sometimes flux leakage gets between the spring contacts and the central shaft with no contact at all :hissyfit:. So I prefer the one's where the contacts are fixed (second image). I also prefer gold plated finding nickel needs cleaning about once a year due to oxidisation (we live near the sea) this helps even when the female it is plugged into is not gold plated with little oxidisation after even two or three years.

I never connect with bare copper wrapped round the terminals, IMHO this can result in accidental shorts and equipment damage and oxidisation occurs far more quickly


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

I used the these type of locking bananas

http://www.amazon.com/GLS-Audio-Locking-Generation-Connector/dp/B000O8AHLA


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## Blainetsuds (Feb 12, 2013)

Thanks Rick. I have been using Sewell spring lock banana plugs.They seem to work fine for me. Solder would be better but I like the flexibility for swapping out gear as my system is changing (upgrading hopefully). Like you,I feel bare wire connections could be problematic.


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## Blainetsuds (Feb 12, 2013)

Nice plugs ! Amazon shows them on sale now 10 pairs for $49.99, $350 off. Are they usually that expensive.If so that is a crazy price.


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## wasser (Nov 29, 2010)

Blainetsuds said:


> Nice plugs ! Amazon shows them on sale now 10 pairs for $49.99, $350 off. Are they usually that expensive.If so that is a crazy price.


According to pricing data at Camel, the highest they've been in the last four years was $80 and the lowest was $32. 

I also just use cheap ones from Monoprice. My only issue is the metal outer, but I just wrap one in red "black tape". 

http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=104&cp_id=10401&cs_id=1040115&p_id=9436&seq=1&format=2


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

I can't remember what I paid for them to be honest. The locking plugs are probably twice the price of regular ones. I first use the regular ones but I thought they felt loose in some components (not all) so I switched


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## Blainetsuds (Feb 12, 2013)

Cool, thanks wasser.


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## Blainetsuds (Feb 12, 2013)

Thanks Andre.


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## Rick R (Dec 3, 2013)

Blainetsuds said:


> Thanks Rick. I have been using Sewell spring lock banana plugs.They seem to work fine for me. Solder would be better but I like the flexibility for swapping out gear as my system is changing (upgrading hopefully). Like you,I feel bare wire connections could be problematic.


I have not found any working loose at least not of the type in my second picture, in fact they are usually so tight they are a bit tight to pull out behind both my racks which are a bit constricted. In the main rack I am pretty much set on speaker locations and the cables go under the floor so I have plenty of flexibility if I change speakers, the main speaker cables are a bit expensive, not so when I bought them but when I tried to get some later it nearly brought on a heart attack (Furukawa F14 something pure copper $1500 for 21feet they wanted) can't get it now, but have found something similar for just over $5 a meter, not quite such pure copper but almost identical and about the price for the original, so I don't go around cutting bits off the original stuff unless I really have to.

Price of the bananas being quoted looks a bit high the ones I have shown are around $12 to $15 dollars for 16 on ebay and quite nice gold plated copper the spring contacts are made of something else but not steel.


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## Blainetsuds (Feb 12, 2013)

Awesome, thanks Rick.


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