Banana plugs question?

Honestly you don't really need any - screwing down the bare wire will get the same results. And that's actually one less connection to go wrong. But there's something nice about having the big plugs on, too...

Some brands / models use binding posts now that aren't compatible with the dual-connector banana plug (I believe due to European standards / regulations), so unless you know for sure, I'd stick with the individual plugs. Monoprice has a great deal for a 5-pair set:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10401&cs_id=1040115&p_id=9437&seq=1&format=2

Jeff

I have the monoprice ones and they are good quality (heavy and hold the wire well). I also have some ebay nakamichi's and those are OK, not quite as good.

IMO whatever sound quality you lose with the additional connection you gain tenfold by being able to easily swap and compare speakers and find out what you really like.

Sewell Deadbolt's here. Great fit and love them. You can see my cable in the DIY Cable thread in the "speakers" forum. Ya don't need em, but they sure look nice and make life simple for tight spaces. Get em!

Not going to make any difference in sound quality... Less connections are simply more reliable. But that said, banana plug aren't known to fall out - they're reliable. I doubt most of us do a lot of speaker auditions at home.

No preference, they're both equally fine...

I second the monoprice options. They are good quality and very reasonable price wise. They are what I have used.

Regards,

RTROSE

The monoprice plugs NOTORIOUS for becoming loose after a short period of time. Quite a few bad reviews on here. I almost went that route also, though I did pick up their 12awg in-wall

I am not that happy with my Mono price plugs. I would try the Nakamichi plugs that I see for sale in various places for good prices if I were buying again.

I used monoprice plugs. Showed my 13 year old how to make the connections ONE TIME. He had all 20 finished in an hour And they work!!! No issues and I would order more tomorrow if I needed them. They sure are nice when you get a case of upgrade-itis.

What do you dislike? Banana plugs for 11 zones of distributed audio are probably in my future.

I have had my monoprice banana plugs in use for almost a year and I have ZERO issues with dropped audio, loose plugs or connections. Not saying others have not had issues just saying I haven't. I guess the best testimony I can give is that I would not hesitate to use them again.

Good luck!

Regards,

RTROSE

+1 on the Monoprice plugs. I've had them for over 2 -1/2 years now and have no issues and wouldn't hesitate to buy them again.

I've done some reading on the Nakamichi banana plugs, and I don't think I'd choose to use them. They might have paid to use the Nakamichi name. I read an Indian company now owns the Nakamichi name, no telling who they let use the name rights.

I wonder if there is a single Chinese factory that only makes banana plugs, for everyone, of varying quality.

FWIW, you can buy the Nakamichi banana plugs direct from the Chinese factory's website, or from various eBay sellers. Some Canadian distributors also carry them.

The Nakamichi plugs are rumored to be gold or silver plated iron, and prone to breaking.

The factory is Shenzhen Crast Technology Co., Ltd., sold under the Audiocrast name.

I was going to post a similar concern, but didn't go through the investigative journalism... Thanks Geraldo!

Back when I researched them 18 months ago or so, I read that there were "real" Nakamichi banana plugs, and knock offs - no idea if that's true or not, but I rolled the dice, bought a bunch of them on eBay (from a seller who others had had good experiences with), and they worked out well.

AFAIK, there is no 'real' Nakamichi anymore.

somebody bought marketing rights to the name. Kmart is selling Nakamichi headphones and MP3 device self powered cube speakers................it's a sign of the Apocalypse

As I said, there is no 'real' Nakamichi anymore.

My experience just seems to be the typical complaint about these plugs. Some of my wires have separated away from the plugs a bit (and that could just be my fault) but the other issue is that they are just loose fitting. I have Energy RC speakers, and they are not very snug in the binding posts. They are not horrible by any means, my connections are all fine, but I would try something else if I were buying them again.

I know nothing about that Nakamichi plugs but they seem to be the next affordable option, at least up here in Canada. Guys are usually selling a dozen pairs for under $50. Other than that it seems to be RCA (the really dinky plastic ones) for like $10 a pair at the source or Wal mart, or Monster plugs for $1 Million dollars a pair.

If you are going to buy them from monoprice, buy the singles instead of the 5 pack, you will save yourself money on the item and shipping. If you are worried about the plug becoming separated from the wire, you can always solder them to the wire. Also having banana plugs makes it much easier to connect speakers to your receiver, especially since most receivers are a pain in the you know what to connect a wire to.

Thanks MuaySteve, and Lepus. Appreciated.

And I wouldn't buy Jaguar or Range Rover, because they were originally British and prone to failure.

Some of my best friends are from Indiana.

Ah, you got me. India has nothing to do with it. I wouldn't buy Nakamichi because it's now just a commoditized, meaningless name, not because it's from the third world, geronemo.

Hadn't seen that before... You're getting only 50% of the contact surface that you would by inserting the wire through the middle (in one side and out the other), but as long as you tighten it down so it doesn't easily pull loose, I think you'll be fine.

Although looking at the photos, maybe you're not doing what I thought - is the wire coming down inside the screw, then out one side and being screwed in place there, or is the wire just getting crushed at the bottom of the screw thread well? If it's the latter, I don't think there will be enough material captured to keep them from pulling out.

Jeff

Well, if they were designed to be used that way, and has some material below the threads such that the wire can be secured, ok... The ones you have, though, appear to be made for the "traditional" through-hole method.

Just push the stripped wire through the hole, and use a wire cutter to trim off the excess after you've tightened it down.

The thickness of the tube of the plug is thicker then most individual strands of wire, and that plug is how it is to be connected. They can come loose somewhat easy.