Vote

How do you terminate your speaker cables on the speaker end?

Stereophile  |  Jun 6, 2010

Many loudspeakers come with five-way binding posts, allowing a choice of connectors. Others are specific to one type of connector. How do you terminate your speaker cables on the speaker end?

How do you terminate your speaker cables on the speaker end?
Bare wire
26% (29 votes)
Spade lugs
24% (26 votes)
Banana plugs
48% (53 votes)
Pin-type connectors
1% (1 vote)
Speakon connectors
0% (0 votes)
Other
1% (1 vote)
Total votes: 110

COMMENTS
Teresa's picture
Submitted by Teresa (not verified) on November 21, 2010 - 10:17am

I love banana plugs! They accommodate very thick wire and are easy to unplug for contact cleaning,

Chris V's picture
Submitted by Chris V (not verified) on November 21, 2010 - 10:17am

Speakers and amplifiers all use binding posts, so I chose spades as the most secure connection with the largest surface area. All my cables are factory-terminated for best fit and seal.

Steve D B's picture
Submitted by Steve D B (not verified) on November 21, 2010 - 10:17am

With Vandersteen 2Ces, I have no choice, but that's okay, I like banana plugs.

Joe Evans's picture
Submitted by Joe Evans (not verified) on November 21, 2010 - 10:17am

Spades allow for a tighter connection.

Tod Wakamatsu's picture
Submitted by Tod Wakamatsu (not verified) on November 21, 2010 - 10:17am

I use WBT sleeves into WBT screw-down bananas.

James - NYC's picture
Submitted by James - NYC (not verified) on November 21, 2010 - 10:17am

I prefer the aesthetic look of pin-type connectors bisecting the barrels of the speakers, but my custom-made cables came with spades, so I kept them.

KJ's picture
Submitted by KJ (not verified) on November 21, 2010 - 10:17am

Spade, because it hangs better off the speaker. But I do wish I had bananas for the amplifier end, however. There never seems to be enough room to screw in a binding post behind a cabinet!

rocky raccoon's picture
Submitted by rocky raccoon (not verified) on November 21, 2010 - 10:17am

Spades are good. Soldered spades are best!

Dhrubo Gupta's picture
Submitted by Dhrubo Gupta (not verified) on November 21, 2010 - 10:17am

Ken Kessler did some research on this in the 1970s and found that direct contact with the binding post gave best results

G.C. Van Winkle's picture
Submitted by G.C. Van Winkle (not verified) on November 21, 2010 - 10:17am

XLR connectors on my Dynaudio active monitors.

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