« October 2008 | Main | September 2009 »
May 18, 2009 at 11:37 AM in Cables and Connections | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBack (0)
Monster Cable Quicklock family of speaker connectors (speaker terminations) are some of our most favorite. Why you ask? They are extremely simple to install on the ends of just about any multi-stranded speaker wire up to about 11 gauge and make for a solid and reliable termination that unlike many other options, will not fall off the wire.
May 12, 2009 at 12:15 PM in Cables and Connections | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)
While this question may seem odd to some well seasoned audio aficionados, it is actually a question we get quite often and we can see why. Every where you go to shop for speakers it seems each place you go does it just a little different than the next guy. There doesn't seem to be a clear standard within our industry that is widely followed.
May 11, 2009 at 11:01 PM in Popular Questions | Permalink | Comments (0)
In our last post, we explained why it is not the best idea to simply use bare speaker cable when making connections between your amplifier and speakers. In a nutshell, you want to keep your oxygen free speaker cable oxygen free. To help win this fight, we want to properly terminate our speaker cable.
Speaker Cable Terminations or Speaker Cable Connectors?
Not to confuse or trick you, but many people refer to speaker terminations as speaker cable connectors. They are actually the same thing but the correct terminology is to call them speaker cable terminations.
terĀ·mi-nate
1. To bring to an end or halt
2. To occur at or form the end of; conclude or finish
3. To discontinue the employment of; dismiss
This is what we are doing with our speaker cable, we are ending each respective cable run by adding a termination.
Benefits of Terminating Speaker Cable
1. Protects bare wire from oxidation and corrosion that can impede your audio signal
2. Makes the best audio connection from amplifier to speaker.
3. Helps ensure positive and negative connections don't accidentally touch; this is particularly true when using a multi channel amplifier or home theater receiver.
4. Adds convenience to any system; allows you to more easily connect and disconnect your speakers.
5. Adds a nice finished looking touch to your system. Terminated speaker cables give your system a professional and finished look.
Types of Speaker Cable Terminations
Banana Plugs - Banana plug terminations have become one of the most universal type of speaker terminations available and they are definitely the most convenient. When using banana plugs, you never need to screw down any connection; these guy's simply slide down the middle inside of a 3-way binding post. Nearly every new piece of audio equipment made today are compatible with bananas. Because of their ultra wide compatibility, ease of use and solid connection; bananas are our favorite speaker cable termination choice.
Spade Connectors - Spade connectors (pictured above) look like mini horse shoe connectors and are available in a several different sizes. Unlike the banana style plugs, spades are not universal in size as the post can vary in size. Prior to the wide acceptance of banana plugs, spades were both the most popular and best way to terminate your speaker cables.
Many audio purest feel spades yield the best connection to a speaker or amplifier because they feel there is more contact surface area. We're not sure if we agree simply because a banana plug is a cylindar and we feel if you rolled it out that you might find there to be even more connected surface area than the spade.
You should also be aware, that generally speaking, spades are NOT compatible with most all stereo receivers, home theater receivers and even some multi-channel amplifiers. While most all devices today use 3-way binding post and appear to be compatible, most manufacturers utilize a plastic cover at the base of these binding post preventing the use of spades. You may ask why? Our best guess is that they do this to prevent users from shorting our their components. Spades, tightened down or not can loosen when the component is moved allowing for the potential of the spade to make an unwanted connection with a neighboring post.
Angled Pin Connectors - Angled pin connectors are designed to slide in the side of a post or inserted in the opening of a spring-loaded connector. When inserted in the side of a post, the pin must be secured by being screwed down to be properly held down.
While angled pins typically are the most economical of the termination types, we only recommend using angled pins if your equipment has a spring-loaded connector. Using these with a binding post, while it can be done, is not advised since they can come loose too easily. Other options such as bananas or spades are what we would recommend when using a binding post.
May 11, 2009 at 12:07 PM in Cables and Connections, Popular Questions | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
If you answered YES to this question, read on. If you answered NO, keep on keepin' on, your doing the RIGHT thing.
What's the Big Deal? I am Using Bare Speaker Wire.
Glad you asked. It is a BIG deal because if you are using bare speaker wire you are not doing right by your stereo or home theater system. Quality speaker cable is generally made of some form of high purity copper that when exposed to oxygen will most definitely corrode over time. How much time will depend on what part of the country you live. For those of you who might have an aging piece of clear jacket speaker cable , you can actually SEE the corrosion occurring as it will travel through your speaker cable from a point of entry that is bare exposed wire.
Corrosion ultimately is a bad thing because it will impede your audio signal from reaching its destination. The bottom line is that is prevents your sound system from sounding as good as it could. You want the best sound possible RIGHT? That's why you bought the cool speakers and the better wire to begin with right?
Use Terminations to Solve the Bare Wire Problem
Speaker Cable Terminations come in many forms, the most common are Banana Plugs, Spades and Angled Pins. As you will learn in my next post, terminations not only solve the bare wire problem because they help keep oxygen AWAY from your bare wire, they also have numerous other benefits as well. Which type of terminations you use will depend on both your system configuration and your personal preferences. My next post will also highlight which terminations we like and are easy to use. Stay tuned...
May 09, 2009 at 09:07 AM in Cables and Connections, Popular Questions | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Because we sell a ton of gear, there is always a percentage of customers who will encounter a problem within their system. The good news is we find that better than 95% of the time the problem encountered is most commonly user error. In any case, the key to narrowing down any issue your having is isolating the problem; this way if you truly have a faulty piece of equipment, you can ensure you are addressing the REAL cause of your problem.
May 08, 2009 at 03:44 PM in Popular Questions | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
High Performance Stereo in a Compact Miniature Design!
May 08, 2009 at 02:24 PM in New Stuff @ Wild West Electronics | Permalink | Comments (15)
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | |||||
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| 31 |
Recent Comments