Easy speaker plugs

[CucamongaDan]

I have a Pioneer SX-990 receiver and and Allied 995 integrated amp, made by Pioneer (you can tell by the old-style speaker plug receptacles). Between the two of them I have one pair of the factory speaker plugs. I want to hook up two pairs of speakers to each one of these.
I thought I'd read here before how to make speaker plugs out of a regular electric plug, but couldn't locate the thread. So I thought I'd just give it a shot.
It was an easy 1-2-3 process.

1. I took a regular indoor 2 conductor 16 gauge extension cord and with a pair of garden pruning shears cut the male end in half right up the middle.

2. I took my mini grinder and made each prong the same size as the ones in the factory Pioneer plug. I just eyeballed it and tested the fit in the back of the receiver, but see my first picture if you need the dimensions.

3. Cut off the female end of the extension cord so you can hook the wires to a speaker.

Finishing touches: I like to mark the polarity of each wire with a permanent marker. My aim was not perfect when I split the male end in half, so I put a little blob of silicon sealer over one spot I could see the conductor through.

I'll get some more extension cords tomorrow and make some more.

 

[ic-racer]

Thanks for posting this, I was thinking of trying something like that.

 

[CucamongaDan]

I guess everyone is so stunned by the beauty of my handiwork they have no immediate comment. The blurry picture doesn't do it justice; it is one of the greatest works of art I ever made in less than 3 minutes.

I'll post again to verify it works okay and if I refine my technique any I'll post a better picture. Good thing its going in the back of the receiver!

edit: Hey ic-racer, you must have posted #2 seconds before I posted #3. Well, enjoy your old Pioneers!

 

[gadget73]

Thats a great idea. I've got an old Allied 495 (same as your SX-990 inside) that takes those plugs, and I don't have any. I've had wires shoved into the holes for years now, but they fall out from time to time.

 

[CucamongaDan]

What I did today instead was get some crimp on spade terminals, $1.99 for a box of 20 in the electric section at OSH. They were .250" wide so I had to grind them down to about .200" but it only takes seconds and seems to work.

 

[ji4m]

I think that is an inventive solution to those pesky speaker jacks. I modded my SX-727 to accept spring-loaded connectors. I considered 5-way binding posts, but felt the space is too small.