Best type of speaker connection?

[sarpilot]

Is it better to use bare wire in the spring type speaker terminals or 2mm banana plugs. I'm upgrading my wire to 12 gage. I have a Polk audio psw 10 powered subwoofer with the spring type input/outputs. I wasn't sure if the springs put enough pressure on the 2mm plug to be secure. 12 gage wire is pretty big to try to jam in the small hole of the connector. I'm going to use 4mm plugs to connect to my Polk monitor 30s. Any suggestions?

 

[Porkloin]

That's pretty observant to notice that those 2mm plugs are just too big for the spring terminals. Most would just jam them in and be happy with it.
If you're unwilling or unable to replace those spring terminals with something else, and want to use 12 gauge cable, strip the end of the cable with a 14 or 16 gauge stripper. I'd advise against "tinning" the ends, as you'd be up against the same problem again.
If you decide to replace the spring terminals in the subwoofer with something a little nicer, they should be able to accomodate 8 gauge wire, 4 mm banana plugs and spade connectors. If you get banana plugs for the cables, get the BFA type or the expandable type. The conventional banana plugs loosen up in a short time just sitting there.

 

[sarpilot]

That's pretty observant to notice that those 2mm plugs are just too big for the spring terminals. Most would just jam them in and be happy with it.
If you're unwilling or unable to replace those spring terminals with something else, and want to use 12 gauge cable, strip the end of the cable with a 14 or 16 gauge stripper. I'd advise against "tinning" the ends, as you'd be up against the same problem again.
If you decide to replace the spring terminals in the subwoofer with something a little nicer, they should be able to accomodate 8 gauge wire, 4 mm banana plugs and spade connectors. If you get banana plugs for the cables, get the BFA type or the expandable type. The conventional banana plugs loosen up in a short time just sitting there.

Could I splice a short piece of 12 gage solid onto the stranded wire using solder and shrink wrap? Are the expandable banana plugs the spring loaded type or screw type?

 

[JoeESP9]

I use screw type expandable banana plugs. In addition my Maggie 1.7's have setscrews on the banana jack inputs.

 

[sarpilot]

That's pretty observant to notice that those 2mm plugs are just too big for the spring terminals. Most would just jam them in and be happy with it.
If you're unwilling or unable to replace those spring terminals with something else, and want to use 12 gauge cable, strip the end of the cable with a 14 or 16 gauge stripper. I'd advise against "tinning" the ends, as you'd be up against the same problem again.
If you decide to replace the spring terminals in the subwoofer with something a little nicer, they should be able to accomodate 8 gauge wire, 4 mm banana plugs and spade connectors. If you get banana plugs for the cables, get the BFA type or the expandable type. The conventional banana plugs loosen up in a short time just sitting there.

Is that picture in your signature an ESS? I love those speakers!

 

[Porkloin]

Could I splice a short piece of 12 gage solid onto the stranded wire using solder and shrink wrap? Are the expandable banana plugs the spring loaded type or screw type?

I'm at a loss as to why you would want to do that. It would be like jamming another 2mm banana plug into your spring connectors, as opposed to one of my suggestions of a nice, flexible, stranded 14 or 16 gauge wire.
My signature avatar is one of my beloved queens of the living room - a heavily customized ESS AMT- 3 Rock Monitor. A sheer joy to listen to.

 

[Porkloin]

Incidentally, one of the mods to the Rock Monitors was a "Speak-On" connector. It's a keyed, spring loaded, locking connector that's easy AND provides a solid connection.

NOTE: It's not the red dual banana connector being used in the photo below. That was before the male Speak-On connectors that attach to the cable arrived. It's to the left of the conventional red connector.

 

[whoaru99]

There is no point to feed the sub with thick cable. The sub itself uses only the voltage signal, no current to speak of from the receiver/amp since it's a high impedance to the built-in amplification.


Run your "good" speaker cables from the amp/receiver to the main speakers then use some plain old thin wire from the amp/receiver to the spring input terminals of the sub.

 

[darkblue94]

Could I splice a short piece of 12 gage solid onto the stranded wire using solder and shrink wrap?

I would recommend that rather than using "shrink wrap" you should try "heat shrink tubing" as it would be more appropriate to the task at hand.

 

[sarpilot]

I would recommend that rather than using "shrink wrap" you should try "heat shrink tubing" as it would be more appropriate to the task at hand.

That's what I meant, heat shrink tubing

 

[sarpilot]

I'm at a loss as to why you would want to do that. It would be like jamming another 2mm banana plug into your spring connectors, as opposed to one of my suggestions of a nice, flexible, stranded 14 or 16 gauge wire.
My signature avatar is one of my beloved queens of the living room - a heavily customized ESS AMT- 3 Rock Monitor. A sheer joy to listen to.

View attachment 895429

So I gather 12 gage solid is about the same size as 2mm banana plugs. I saw a YouTube video that shows a 4 mm banana plug female modified with a thin metal strip soldered to it

 

[sarpilot]

Ar

There is no point to feed the sub with thick cable. The sub itself uses only the voltage signal, no current to speak of from the receiver/amp since it's a high impedance to the built-in amplification.


Run your "good" speaker cables from the amp/receiver to the main speakers then use some plain old thin wire from the amp/receiver to the spring input terminals of the sub.

Are you saying to run wires to the speakers and separate wires to the sub using the same receiver output terminals

 

[whoaru99]

Ar

Are you saying to run wires to the speakers and separate wires to the sub using the same receiver output terminals

Yes, but that's just one way.

You could do the same thing at the speaker end. Run your good cables from the amp/receiver to the speakers, then thin wires from speakers to sub inputs.

Or, you could even run the wires to the sub from the "B" speaker terminals if your amp/receiver has A+B capability. To do that you need to check if your amp/receiver switches A+B in parallel.

That's a simple test; put on some tunes with speakers connected to A only then switch to A+B. If the A speakers keep playing you're good to go with the A+B method. If the A speakers quit playing then you cannot use A+B for this.

 

[Porkloin]

There is no point to feed the sub with thick cable. The sub itself uses only the voltage signal, no current to speak of from the receiver/amp since it's a high impedance to the built-in amplification.


Run your "good" speaker cables from the amp/receiver to the main speakers then use some plain old thin wire from the amp/receiver to the spring input terminals of the sub.

So I gather 12 gage solid is about the same size as 2mm banana plugs. I saw a YouTube video that shows a 4 mm banana plug female modified with a thin metal strip soldered to it

The Idea is that you want something comparatively soft and flexible in that spring terminal. The problem with that is that it's a pain to do repeatedly - I'd cite a sex analogy, but the moderators here have it in for me. Stripping the wire down to a smaller gauge (higher number) gives you a nice flexible "plug" for the spring terminal. As whoar99 pointed out, yours is not a high current scenario, so wire size is not critical.
Maybe you should just get a wire of a small enough gauge to fit into the spring connectors?

 

[sarpilot]

Just went out and got

The Idea is that you want something comparatively soft and flexible in that spring terminal. The problem with that is that it's a pain to do repeatedly - I'd cite a sex analogy, but the moderators here have it in for me. Stripping the wire down to a smaller gauge (higher number) gives you a nice flexible "plug" for the spring terminal. As whoar99 pointed out, yours is not a high current scenario, so wire size is not critical.
Maybe you should just get a wire of a small enough gauge to fit into the spring connectors?

Just went out and got some 14 gage. A bit of a compromise but my longest run is 12 ft. Used 4 mm banana plugs at the receiver and speakers. Bare wire twisted tight at the PSW 10. Very happy with the results. Much better than the 18 gage that I was using before. Thanks for all the info and help folks. I love this website. Lots of knowledgeable members here.