How To Install Audioquest Banana Plugs

You could look into the Audioquest 300 serial banana plugs. I accept used them and their design allows for a very secure fit when y'all insert the assistant plug. (information technology'south phosphor bronze, and then it is a decent metallic and a very stiff resistance to flexing). However, y'all may have a footling challenge trying to become your 10 awg wire into this model. I have used 12 awg successfully, but you may need to trim some of the strands on larger gauge speaker wires. You could buy them from Amazon and then return if they don't fit. Though, if your speakers are bi-wire, you tin can always split the 10awg speaker wire into 2 sets of Audioquest 300 banana plugs.

Please Practice NOT get the Audioquest 500/1000 series. These look nice and are pure copper, but they have incredibly small set screws with hex head inserts. The threads on these strip very like shooting fish in a barrel and and then do the hex head inserts!!!

The Furutech has very nice metals and their banana looks to be like pattern of the WBT, but I take never used them so I tin't annotate. I have used several Furutech products for both XLR and power cord terminations and the Furutech items audio excellent.

If your speakers are bi-wire, maybe use the Audioquest on the speaker side so become some Furutech/WBT for the amplifier side.

Parts Connection is running a sale, and have the mid-line WBT'south.  Around $160/4

I also like ETI/Eichman, Cardas and Xhadow.

My favorite assistant plugs are the inexpensive, low mass, BFA style bananas. Nordost used to utilize them and several other speaker cable  manufacturers use them too. I don't know the manufacturer of the bananas, but I think you can get them at parts express and I've seen them on eBay at times. They make a very solid connexion and have a very big contact area against the complete inside surface of your banana uniform speaker binding post.

go with spades if possible

I used to agree with the preference for spades, just the new BFA bananas (suggested by reubent and others above) offering better and more contact with the binding post than spades. I'yard incredibly happy with the audioquest SureGrip100 BFA/Banana (Silver). They are crimp on connectors and form an splendid bail with the cables, much better than prepare screws. So betwixt the stronger, larger contact with the bounden post and the solid crimp connectedness with the cables, these connectors (or any other connector of this design) offer an extremely solid connectedness between the amp and speakers. They are as well inexpensive, which is a large plus. Regarding auxinput's worry well-nigh getting 10 awg cables into the connectors, I wouldn't worry. My cables are 9 awg and I was But able to get every strand into the connector, though, being fabricated from true cat 5 cablevision, the conductor strands are rather potent.

Todd, et.al,
Thanks for the input from you.  I am thinking I volition plunk downward a few shekels for the AQ connectors you take recommended.   I am with Todd on the utility of banana connectors over spades.  The GLS connectors, in spite of their purposed ability to be able to exist expanded one time plugged into the female jacks is ineffectively executed and leaves the connectedness poorly secured.  Once more, thank you for the input from you fellas.  Mark

I've had skilful results with Cardas copper banana plugs while bi wiring at the amp end. Aforementioned success with Cardas binding posts at the speakers.

Since the header say, top notch connectors, here is my recommendation -

WBT's
Furutech
Cardas

For your cables, Cardas copper or silver volition yield all-time results within your 'budget'.

Enjoy!

Gents,
Thanks for the additional recommendations.  I merely looked into the Cardas connectors and they have a vast array of them available.  I ran with Todd'southward recommendation and ordered a fix of the AQ jacks for what I recall was $38.  Thanks once again for your input.

This AG forum has been an invaluable source of information on my quest for sonic excellence over the years and it is the good will of lads like you sharing your knowledge that moves me in the right management.  Thanks, Marker

whitestix,

Sorry, I'm late to the political party with this recommendation. But if anyone else is looking, this is what I would get: Dyson Audio 24k Beryllium Copper Low Mass BFA Z-plug Bananas

They look nearly identical to the Nordost Z-Plug and other low mass BFA assistant plugs that I've used in the past. They work tremendously well and provide splendid tight fit with very high surface contact to the within of the assistant compatible speaker binding posts. They will not loosen over time as spades may do.

Indeed. These new BFAs of all makes are such an elegant solution. Their simplicity and effectiveness is just and so freaking Zen.

@whitesix (why can I only go @ to work half the time?) Become a good pair of crimping pliers. I bought some at Lowe'due south for $10. Wire stripper crimpers won't cut it on these.

This shouldn't exist an outcome with 10awg, but if there's space around the cable (if you use a college judge), it will deform the connector less when yous crimp it if you fill the infinite with strands of speaker wire. I had to practice this with my cables on the speaker end because I biwire to the speaker terminals, thus it is no longer 9awg, just 14awg and 11awg.

Sugariness Jesus. I hope that makes sense.

Todd,
I catch the main part of your drift and am thinking y'all are suggesting crimping the wire to the BFA connectors in lieu of soldering, which is required (?) with the Dyson BFA connectors reubent suggested above, which are cheap and doubtless provide an excellent metal-to-metal contact.  Can y'all clarify your mail service or send me individual message?  I am of a mind that these BFA connectors are but what I need.   My GLS plugs yield a poor connexion, to say the least.  Many thanks.

whitestix,

I contacted Jeffery Dyson a couple of days ago. He recommended soldering them and cutting off the tab/flag on the barrel. That's likewise what I've done when I used other low-mass BFA assistant plugs in the by.

Yous will love the BFA connectors. They are fantabulous......

Enjoy,

TIC

Todd and reubent,
I got the AQ Suregrip100 BFA connectors and swapped them for my GLS connectors.  It was a very tight fit with my 12 ga Mogami 3103 wire, merely I got these uncomplicated twin-screw-secured connectors put together rather easily.  AQ is a genius including a few actress screws as I dropped i in my carpet never to exist found again.

I got what I wanted out of these connectors:  a super tight connector to the female jacks in my amp and my speakers, better than any banana jacks I take ever used in 45 years. I volition admit to that i hear no departure in the sound of my system, but that wasn't may goal.   I shouldn't bad-mouth the GLS connectors as they are very well made and reasonably priced, offering a decent fit, but these AQ's, and no doubt the Dyson'south, are in a unlike league.  I am gonna become the Dysons for my bedchamber system and one of my pals to solder them up.

In this price range of connectors, I pity the fool that hasn't adopted the BFA connectors over conventional banana connectors. Thanks, Marker

Chiquitas. The existent modest ones.

Hmm, my audio quest plugs were crimp on.. I'll have to double cheque which model I bought. I crimped instead of soldering. I lean towards crimping because of the common cold weld, which I think is more than durable than solder. But really, I uncertainty it matters, as long as the wire/BFA connection is solid.

Thumbs down on the cheap Dyson BFA's for my Von Damme cable, which is possibly x ga. stranded wire.  At $12, they are cheap enough.

Beloved Tod,
Information technology matters a lot!

Air-conditioning is very sensitive to soldering.
If yous solder with "multicore" (very stiff and hard to cutting & melt) the sound differs from the very soft WBT solder.

Durability is just one thing, as contact area is another, but adding a soldering chemical compound to the signal chain, is a thing of big interest.
Unfortunately, in most of cases, you lot must to choose priorities.

A pure silver plug that is soldered, sounds improve than a crimped of lower quality metal.
But then, even this, is undecayed upon the residual of materials and the whole philosophy past which the conductors and the insulation is made of.

e.1000.1 : Even the highest quality soldering may hands rejected by a cable design of cotton, silk, beeswax, paper, wood, leather, oil, .....
and degrade the cable's signature as seriously as the poorest quality plug, or a shrinking tube at the end (if makes directly contact with the plug or the usher).

e.g.two : In a cable blueprint which philosophy has some other direction, with active shielding, or passive components within blocks, PTFE, PVC, foam, epoxy, heavy duty triple wafer spades wrapped on acrylic, .....
 the solder is an essential part, no dubiety, no concern, or second thoughts.

Yous know the importance of the plug at the end and how can alter the perceived outcome if information technology is silver or copper or rhodium or gold plated.
The solder reinforces but hurts the betoken catamenia with impurities.

please mail service your drug choice

Hello Randy,

Interconnect:
The unshielded solid cadre: Physic Harmonic "ECO"
The shielded stranded : Belden 1800F/KLEI Absolute Harmony

Speaker cable:
The solid cadre : Physic Harmonic "ECO"
The stranded : Duelund DCA-16GA

Power cables:
The solid cadre : Physic Harmonic "Extreme"/Iego 8095
The stranded rectangular : Yarbo SP-8000PW/Sonar Quest Gold plated (Aluminum torso)

Regards

@geoch that's exactly why I don't solder. I crimp the ever loving crap out of it. Then heat shrink it.

For AC I do the same with copper spades, but give information technology a could of wraps of plumber'south tape before I estrus shrink. I'm probably but doing it wrong, simply solder seems to weaken later repeated connect/disconnect.
But that's just my finding. I never decided to try to meliorate the solder connexion and just focused on better crimped connections.

That existence said, the quality of the crimp and the connectors used affect the sound.

Everything affects the freaking audio.
It never ends...

@whitestix I'thou even more confused at present. I used the SureGrip100 BFA/Banana (Silvery). I looked on their site and they say it'south a common cold weld connection, which means crimp. The 100s aren't supposed to have screws..

I'm psyched you're happy with them. The new BFA style blows my mind with it's simplicity and solidity. I'g sure playing effectually with fifty-fifty more than refined versions can bring improvements and, like @geoch says, y'all can refine your connection to the nth degree, equally you so choose.

Todd,
I come across what you see on the AQ website, but it you Google the connectors, most all of them testify the connectors with a little allen wrench, which indeed mine has.  The literature on the box states the post-obit:  "Cold-Weld System for an ideal connection, meliorate than sounding that solder: Tighten allen-screws ...  to create an ideal connection betwixt the plug and connection, then slide the non-magnetic-interference ABS casing over the banana and screw in place."   This might be hype, but I can't solder worth a damn so these work fine.

Source: https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/recommendations-for-top-notch-banana-speaker-cable-connectors

Posted by: scottdregat.blogspot.com

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