# Binding Post Alternative??



## hddummy (Mar 9, 2007)

If there is one thing I'm installing a lot of in my theater build....it's speaker wire. Binding post wall plates and banana plugs are going to be quite expensive. Banana plugs alone are about 1.5$ a piece which will be at least 65$ in banana plugs alone for my theater. Binding posts wall plates are a little cheaper, but over all, it is a large expediture. Does anyone have ideas for cheaper alternatives types or sources?


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## bambino (Feb 21, 2010)

In my room i skipped the wall plates and went for blank covers then drilled holes for the wire to come through, they look good just not the same as the speaker wall plates your looking at.:T


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## hddummy (Mar 9, 2007)

bambino said:


> In my room i skipped the wall plates and went for blank covers then drilled holes for the wire to come through, they look good just not the same as the speaker wall plates your looking at.:T


So you carried your in-wall wires all the way to the AVR and/or speakers?

Also, a buddy of mine recommended just using ring or spade terminals instead of banana plugs. They are quite a bit cheaper. I'm still interested in more suggestions.


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## bambino (Feb 21, 2010)

My equipment is in a built in rack in the wall so everything runs up from that point to the attic then drops down to there designated locations. 
Your buddy has a good point about the spades allthough difficult to use on some AVR's they shouldn't pose a problem at all with the speaker ends.:T


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## bambino (Feb 21, 2010)

I also like the idea of doing a direct run so i don't have alot of different connection points.:T


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## yourgrandma (Oct 29, 2007)

You could just use bare wire on the binding posts.


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## hddummy (Mar 9, 2007)

I don't really like bare wire. they are a real pain to get into the cross hole without any stray strands and they don't clamp down too well.

I don't mind buying banana plugs for the AVR. That is one area where they are totally worth it.

I especially like the idea of using ring/spade terminals on the back side of wall plates. They are far more secure than banana plugs or bare wire. I'd prefer ring terminals, but I'm don't think I've run across many/any binding posts where the nut portion comes completely off.


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## hddummy (Mar 9, 2007)

I had a totally ghetto idea that is very likely against several electric codes, but it is cheap, easy and completely functional. I won't do this in my theater, but I wanted to put it out there for arguement's sake.

You can use a duplex power outlet as a wall jack for speaker wire. The back of the outlet has secure screw terminals. The outlet itself is polarized. You can break the little bridge piece off the back to separate the two outlets from each other. you can buy cheap 16 ga extension cords to use as speaker wire between the wall and your equipment/speakers. Lot's of people use lamp cord for speaker wire anyway. I see very little downside and it costs a FRACTION of the price of using binding posts and banana plugs. Just don't connect your speaker wire to your equipment/speaker and then accidentally plug it into a real 120V outlet.....


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## phreak (Aug 16, 2010)

Can it be done : yes. Can it be done legally : I think not. Was it a cool idea : maybe. Should you have let that idea out of your head and onto the www : again, I think not. Most accurate part of the post : totally ghetto idea.


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## sahucker (Oct 6, 2011)

Still as non-code, but with error proofing would be to use foreign AC plugs. European pins or Chinese Y would not get confused.


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