Not exactly cheap banana plugs.

[Roadrash]

These came in the mail today from Sonic Craft. After reading thru the thread about cheap banana plugs, and stumbling onto the Sonic Craft site from here one night I decided to try some better quality banana plugs. I'm going to compare them to the ones I got from Lowes, and see if I personally can tell any difference. I know they're not super hign end, but probably about the upper limit of what I will pay for plugs.

 

[Mark B]

Nice.

 

[Roadrash]

Nice.

They look cool if nothing else, I may put them on the wires tonight.

 

[datafone]

NCB80

They look like nice connectors, have always like low mass types and Neotech as a brand...... their UPOCC hookup wire is pretty good..

 

[Roadrash]

Well. I put the Neotech bananas on the speaker wires the other night, and got a good listening session in. I have a CD with everything from the Butthole Surfers to Marshall Tucker on it, and it's a really good indicator of a systems abilities and shortcomings. I'd like to say there was a night and day difference between the Neotech anc the Lowes plugs, but it is subtle at best. There is a difference there for sure, but not a huge one.

FWIW Sonic Craft has great prices and super fast shipping. Support our Sponsors!

 

[Mister Pig]

Well. I put the Neotech bananas on the speaker wires the other night, and got a good listening session in. I have a CD with everything from the Butthole Surfers to Marshall Tucker on it, and it's a really good indicator of a systems abilities and shortcomings. I'd like to say there was a night and day difference between the Neotech anc the Lowes plugs, but it is subtle at best. There is a difference there for sure, but not a huge one.

FWIW Sonic Craft has great prices and super fast shipping. Support our Sponsors!

A system is a sum of its components, and a limiting device can mute other improvements. Now if you find 3 or 4 of these small improvements to be had for a somewhat reasonable price, then you get a nice net sum increase in sound quality. The little things can add up, or the devil is in the details.

Regards
Mister Pig

 

[Roadrash]

A system is a sum of its components, and a limiting device can mute other improvements. Now if you find 3 or 4 of these small improvements to be had for a somewhat reasonable price, then you get a nice net sum increase in sound quality. The little things can add up, or the devil is in the details.

Regards
Mister Pig

Well put, and to be honest I was happy with the way my system sounded. After reading thru the thread on cheap banana plugs my curiosity was piqued, and I wondered if I personally would be able to tell any difference. I'm just glad I could, especially since it's a subtle one. Now when I put the Allisons in place of my 315s, that was a pretty substantial difference! It really illustrated the difference between east coast, and west coast sound for me.

 

[human1138]

Butthole Surfers, right on.

 

[Roadrash]

Butthole Surfers, right on.

Pepper is on my personal top 10 list, and an excellent indicator of a systems abilities. There's also some Skrillex on that disc.
BTW I'm an old bastard. Lol

 

[human1138]

I saw them live a few times in the late 80's & early 90's and they're still some of the best shows I've ever seen.
Pepper is a fantastic song but Rembrandt Pussyhorse is probably my favorite album, I love their cover of American Woman and sometimes test my system with it;

 

[w1jim]

I'm glad you found there was a difference - did one sound superior, or just different?

 

[Roadrash]

I'm glad you found there was a difference - did one sound superior, or just different?

The Neotech plugs seemed to open up the sound a little bit, and the highs sound a little clearer too. Could be wishful thinking too. Lol. I'm going to put the Lowes bananas on my party hut system, and see if there's a difference between them and bare wire. The only reason I went with bananas in the first place was because the 12ga wire wouldn't fit the holes in the binding posts on the Allisons. In retrospect I could have gottten gold plated spades for a lot less, but what fun would that have been?

 

[musichal]

To me, banana plugs are best used for convenience for those who change speakers often. I prefer bare wire, as it results in less metal-to-metal interface. YMMV.

Christine prefers banana plugs. In fact, I bought some for my bedroom system, and she got a little fumed at me, "This isn't something new? You mean we could have been using bananas all these years while you had me getting in uncomfortable positions trying to thread the wires through that little hole in the post!? Why'd you do that to me!?"

Not on the Khorns. Bare wire.

 

[Mister Pig]

To me, banana plugs are best used for convenience for those who change speakers often. I prefer bare wire, as it results in less metal-to-metal interface. YMMV.

Christine prefers banana plugs. In fact, I bought some for my bedroom system, and she got a little fumed at me, "This isn't something new? You mean we could have been using bananas all these years while you had me getting in uncomfortable positions trying to thread the wires through that little hole in the post!? Why'd you do that to me!?"

Not on the Khorns. Bare wire.

I like nice safe connections. The cables I use are factory terminated banana plugs, not the screw on types. You know there are no stray wires that managed to escape the plug and are waiting to short your channels out. Nor is there a spade lug that it trying to slip over time and touch the other one, with the end result being a dead amp. No siree! Once plugged into the binding post, a banana plug is going nowhere. Just make sure to get quality plugs with good contact surface area, and strong spring fingers to keep them tightly in place. And if they are soldered well or cold soldered, or sonic welded, there is no oxidation to get into the wire like you do with a bare wire termination.

Banana plugs for this pig!

Regards
Mister Pig

 

[gbroot]

Next, you've got to add a power conditioner and $100.00 inter connects. As already mentioned the little things add up!

 

[musichal]

I like nice safe connections. The cables I use are factory terminated banana plugs, not the screw on types. You know there are no stray wires that managed to escape the plug and are waiting to short your channels out. Nor is there a spade lug that it trying to slip over time and touch the other one, with the end result being a dead amp. No siree! Once plugged into the binding post, a banana plug is going nowhere. Just make sure to get quality plugs with good contact surface area, and strong spring fingers to keep them tightly in place. And if they are soldered well or cold soldered, or sonic welded, there is no oxidation to get into the wire like you do with a bare wire termination.

Banana plugs for this pig!

Regards
Mister Pig

I figured when I posted that someone would point this out - and it is a real point, certainly. I figure I can always simply snip off an inch every couple years and reconnect. The real question is probably: will I? Especially considering my physical limitations, I may end up using some good bananas on the Khorns, after all. That wasn't an issue when I was younger. Bare wire is safe, anyway. At least, it has always been for me, but I'm OCD about stray strands - tin the tips, manicure any shorties.

 

[loopstick]

My one weakness when it comes to cables / connections - I like things to look "substantial". All my gear is chassis grounded to Mother Earth through cables / connections that look like they could handle direct lightening strikes. OTOH I'm not the least bit inclined to suspect that there is any audiophile benefit to doing this. Enjoy your substantial cables / connections - it's all part of the buzz.

 

[Roadrash]

Well I did it again. After buying a second pair of Neotech plugs, I'm now the proud owner of a pair of 140 dollar diy 10 ft. speaker cables.(including the 20ft. of 12ga ultra high strand count ofc wire already in use) Wtf happened to me? Lol

 

[restorer-john]

Whatever makes you happy is good.

I've been using my stash of Japanese Banana plugs (simple red and black) for years.

I like them as they are not heavy gold plated brass with knurled ends that can swing around and damage gear. Been there- done that. The heavier and fatter the plug, the more damage it does when it hits sumpin'.

 

[KingBubba]

I have used Liquid 'Lectric Tape with spade lugs, butt splices, etc. and banana plug for years. Prior to inserting the wire, I drizzle a little LLT in the hole before inserting the wire. Not only does it protect from corrosion, but it also keeps loose wires from making an unwanted appearance at the wrong time. For any of you who have boats, especially in a salt environment, using LLT with your wiring is a real problem solver for corrosion. When i bought my big boat, I bought just the hull and I did all the console wiring, fuel system, and lighting wiring installation. In the console, I installed terminal strips and used LLT on all wire end connector and on the terminal strips, when finished. I built the boat in '93 and up until I stopped using it a few years back, I never had a wiring corrosion issue. I used the boat exclusively in salt water. Using LLT is well worth the cost and time for plug use.