Connecting power amp to speakers

[Toast]

Okay, here's a dumb question.

 

So I just got a power amp and I have speakers. To connect 'em, I have speaker cables w/ speakon connectors. Sounds simple so far, right?

 

Well, I look at the back of my power amp and sure enough, it accepts bare wire connections, not speakons. Great.

 

So can I just chop off the speakon connection on one end? Will that expose the red & black wires I need? Is it that simple?

 

God I hope so. Thanks for humoring me and helping me out. I appreciate it!

[agedhorse]

Yes, but you may wish to invest a couple of dollars in Bannana plugs (they will match your binding posts which are on 0.750" centers) so that you do not have the hassle or (danger to amp) it trying to connect bare wires to the binding posts. Shorted speaker wires can ruin an otherwise perfectly good amp.

[Toast]

Gracias! I'm picking up some banana plugs this evening.

[tlbonehead]

Originally posted by Toast Okay, here's a dumb question. So I just got a power amp and I have speakers. To connect 'em, I have speaker cables w/ speakon connectors. Sounds simple so far, right? Well, I look at the back of my power amp and sure enough, it accepts bare wire connections, not speakons. Great. So can I just chop off the speakon connection on one end? Will that expose the red & black wires I need? Is it that simple? God I hope so. Thanks for humoring me and helping me out. I appreciate it!

BTW,most Speakons are just screw terminal connections. Loosening them and pulling the wire out might make more sense than cutting the end off.

[lucho_84]

 

Originally posted by Toast Gracias! I'm picking up some banana plugs this evening.

 

 

And since you wont need the speakons you can mail them to me. 9519 Neuens #41 Houston, TX 77080. Seriously, what part of town do you live in?

[agedhorse]

Note that bannana plugs have a polartiy marker moulded into them. Either a tab (Pamona's is marked "GND") or a line. That's how you can tell which direction they are inserted.

 

Also pay attenbtion to how the strain relief mechanism works, there are several methods depending on the size of the wire (no larger than 14ga by the way) and in some cases you will need to wire-tie the cable to a slot or hole. Mark may have some good photos on his website, but it wouldn't hurt to see how the commercial guys build them.

[Guest Anonymous]

Originally posted by agedhorse Note that bannana plugs have a polartiy marker moulded into them. Either a tab (Pamona's is marked "GND") or a line. That's how you can tell which direction they are inserted.

Generally most dual banana plugs have a "tab" on one side to help identify the neg side, and it matters not which side is the neg side, but maintaining the "tab" on the neg side helps to identify the polarity, especially in dim light.

 

FWIW: I have examples of dual banana plugs with the "tab" side labeled as "pos". This situation doesn't show up very well in this picture, but the tab side on the right is labeled with a +

 

 

I've seen some preassembled cables on the market where the red (positive) wire is terminated on the tab side and the black (negative) wire terminated on the non-tab side. This can mess you up

 

Originally posted by agedhorse Also pay attenbtion to how the strain relief mechanism works, there are several methods depending on the size of the wire (no larger than 14ga by the way)

 

Most contemporary dual banana plugs have a strain relief loop with an ID of about 0.210". I am aware of dual banana plugs available with 0.364" ID loops.

 

"normal" on the left, "big loop" on the right:

 

 

As Andy explained, most dual banana plugs termination holes accomodate wire guages up-to 14ga. (actually 2.5sq. mm generally fits fine, which is a little fatter than 13ga., but a little thinner than 12ga.) If you're trying to stuff 12 ga. in the termination holes, it's generally possible to size the termination holes a little bigger. I'm also aware of dual banana plugs equipped with termination holes that will accomodate 4 sq. mm (a little thicker than 10 ga.) conductors. The 4 sq. mm capable dual banana plugs sporting 10 ga. cable don't stack very well though.

 

One common problem area with banana plugs is those darn straight blade set-screws. It's tough to get them tight. I prefer to discard those straight blade set-screws and instead use Allen Head (socket) set-screws. The banana plugs I stock work well with M4 x 5mm Allen Head set-screws.

 

Originally posted by agedhorse in some cases you will need to wire-tie the cable to a slot or hole. Mark may have some good photos on his website, but it wouldn't hurt to see how the commercial guys build them.

 

G&H makes some excellent dual banana plugs. Their "The Boss" BBN series has a couple of nice slots in the body to run a zip tie through.

 

http://www.ghplugs.com/catalogplugs104.pdf

 

I zip tie banana plugs equipped with the loops as well. I insert enough of the outer jacket through the loop to get a zip tie around the cable on the prong side of the loop.

 

It's a no-no to tin the conductors at the termination point, but, it's almost a necessity to get the filiments of the conductors through the termination holes. I strip about 1" of insulation off the conductors, then tin just the ends of the conductors, then insert the conductors into the termination holes and snip the excess off. This makes it a lot easier to get fine filiment conductors stuffed into the holes, but yet the set-screws bite into bright copper. You'll want to use a high termal mass iron and work quick to keep from wicking solder too far up the conductor.

 

Sometimes with really fat, stiff cable, you gotta forget about running the cable through the loop if you're gonna stack the banana plugs.

[Toast]

Freaking wealth of information. You guys really are a great resource and a great help. I seriously appreciate it.

 

Actually, lucho, I think I'll try to swap the speakons for banana plugs so I won't hafta shell out any dough. I live on the west side of town (just inside the beltway) but have a practice space over at Francisco Studios (near the GRB & Minute Maid Park). What about you? Always good to meet fellow gearhead Houstonians.

 

I'm definitely not up to speed with you live sound guys. Yet. Just starting to put together a humble PA system for rehearsals & some gigs. Got the Mixer (Mackie 1604 VLZ Pro), power amp (Crest Audio vs900) couple of JBL Eon 1500s and on deck is a dbx eq. Currently the speakers are pushed by a powered fender mixer (8 channel I think, maybe only 6 ... it's not mine), but I'm looking forward to stepping up the system with a real mixing board.

 

I'll letcha know when I fry something. And chances are that'll be soon. What can I say, I have a magic touch when it comes to my gear!

[where02190]

If you don't need to disconnect the speaker cables from the bananas, unscrew the lugs on the bananas all the way (they will only go so far) and upt a wire tie around them. Insert the banana plug, and (using the first tie around the plug on the amp) wiretie the banana plug in. (If you need to remove the banana at some point you can slip the wiretie off.)

 

Once you've got the bananas on and tested, put a drop of suerglue in the screw hole to prevent it from loosening.

[agedhorse]

 

Originally posted by where02190 If you don't need to disconnect the speaker cables from the bananas, unscrew the lugs on the bananas all the way (they will only go so far) and upt a wire tie around them. Insert the banana plug, and (using the first tie around the plug on the amp) wiretie the banana plug in. (If you need to remove the banana at some point you can slip the wiretie off.)

 

Note that this will not work on many of the new "touchproof" binding posts as the recessed contact sleeve is so deep already that you will achieve minimal contact if you back the binding post nuts back. This only applies to the newer style touch-proof (EU safety style) binding posts.

 

(I am NOT busting you here as most folks are not aware of these newer parts that are more commonly found on equipment bearing VDE, CTICK or CE/EU LV Directive destinations like Europe & Australia)

[Guest Anonymous]

 

Originally posted by where02190 Once you've got the bananas on and tested, put a drop of suerglue in the screw hole to prevent it from loosening.

 

Really? That works? In the past I tried a dallop of Locktight on the threads and cinched down those straight blade setscrews as tight as I could. The end result was that the wires still worked loose, except with the Locktight on the setscrews, it was hopeless to retorque the setscrews.

 

I've found that the setscrews don't really back out, but rather, the bending and working of the conductors (if the banana plugs are cycled in the connectors) is what loosens the set of the setscrews. I can't see how applying superglue to the inside of the screw hole (behind the setscrew) would prevent the conductors from eventually loosening with handling. Furthermore, I'd think there could be a good chance of the superglue coating the inside of the screw hole, which could render the plug useless for stacking.

[where02190]

The key is to lock the wires in, and before you glue or locktite, tighten them down again. Eventually everything works lose, but I find this lasts alot longer, and superglue or nail posish is easily dissolved with nail polish remover should the need arise.

[Craig Vecchione]

I've found it's more likely the wire will work loose if the conductors have been significantly twisted before insertion. It's much harder to install the wire without some twisting, but this increases the diameter of the conductor. The strands will eventually untwist with movement, making the diameter decrease and loosening the connection. Just use a slight twist to keep the wires together, untwist it by turning the wire in the opposite direction to the twist, and then tighten.