I have a very good old pair of speakers from the 80s with spring-loaded terminals that I absolutely want to keep. Currently the speakers are connected to my new Marantz 30 amp via 16 AWG 1.5mm speaker wires. The guy who sold me the amp wants me to upgrade to new, large-diameter speaker cables, which would involve attaching speaker pin adapters/cable reducers to the thicker cables to fit the small spring-loaded speaker terminals. Is this a good idea? Will it affect the sound quality?
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Speaker pin adapters fitted to old spring-loaded speaker terminals: a good idea?
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pauldrewry
Super Member
It won't effect the sound unless you're doing long runs of cable.
swechsler
Frog Whisperer
According to pictures online, the Marantz 30 has standard binding posts, not spring loaded speaker terminals, in which case you can use banana plugs. But I agree with @pauldrewry. For standard lengths (i.e. within the same room) of speaker wire, you're not going to hear a difference.
If you like what you are hearing, this is totally unnecessary.
bowtie427ss
Lunatic Member
OP seems pretty clear on what he has, and wants to keep.
Those spring terminals were designed to give the best bite/conduction on bare stripped stranded wire.
If one is determined to use heavy gauge wire with these terminals, it's as simple as adding a couple inches of smaller gauge wire at the speaker end of the cables. careful soldering and heat shrink can render a fairly elegant solution.
Blue Shadow
Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century
Depending on the spring terminal, it might be possible to use a file to enlarge the size of the opening to allow a larger wire. I’ve used a round file to make bigger cables fit some different connectors. Works great.
maxhifi
Addicted Member
Just use #16.
Rule of thumb: if the speaker uses spring terminals, they're likely not going to be so revealing that you'd ever notice the difference between copper #18 (~1mm2) lamp wire and something massive. Just don't use that Chinese copper plated aluminum or copper coloured steel wire junk, and keep the length reasonable.
Rule of thumb: if the speaker uses spring terminals, they're likely not going to be so revealing that you'd ever notice the difference between copper #18 (~1mm2) lamp wire and something massive. Just don't use that Chinese copper plated aluminum or copper coloured steel wire junk, and keep the length reasonable.
NH-MAN
Addicted Member
This done it many times you can even use the end of a drill bit to bore them out
I've done that, using a pin vice to hold the bit.
Why not just get some 12awg and some pin connectors?
Actually, you don't - you're just fine keeping the spring terminals and wire that fits them.
What you "should" do with the wires/cables, if you're going to use them nude/without connectors of any kind (yes, that's fine as well):
- strip the cable a bit
- twist/twirl the strands between your fingers, so the ends are not stray
- add a bit of tin
- strip a bit more of the cable, to expose fresh/unsoldered strands
- if the solder got sucked up, clip it so that only the tip remains tinned.
Don't twist the strands, keep them free/loose...this way they can arrange/align themselves, so that as much as possible of them touch/connect to the terminals. If you would insert a crude/tinned part, there may be just two contact points, in the worst case.
This is to ensure easier inserting and avoiding stray strands jumping across terminals.
Rest assured that hifi connectors (and wires) were mature technology in the eighties...and before that. Of course, they should be clean, not corroded or broken...exactly as the "modern" ones of today.
The guy...he just wants to fill his pockets - cable margins are made of wet dreams.
bowtie427ss
Lunatic Member
Quoted for truth and emphasis.