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Post by SteveH on Feb 4, 2019 17:32:04 GMT -5
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Post by 405x5 on Feb 4, 2019 18:14:51 GMT -5
Solder tipping the ends solves the problem I think you're right, Bill - My problems in the past have had to do with one of two things - Either the hot solder wicks up the entire length of the exposed lead or else a large ball forms on the wire tip and then won't fit through the speaker post. Remembering my soldering training, it seems that either melting a SMALL amount of solder on the tip of the iron and then dipping only the tip of the wire into the already melted bubble would limit wicking, and if there WERE any extra on the wire tip, then (before it hardens) either slinging it off or wiping it off with a wet sponge would cure that issue too. So ultimately, DYohn's bare wire might be a reasonable option (provided the tips were secured with your solder idea). Costs a LOT less than buying bananas too! But I guarantee that most of the guys who want me to make them wires are going to want bananas anyway... In any case, thanks for the idea. Boomzilla When I need a wire end tipped with solder, I strip and “tin” the end (like your soldering pen) BEFORE twisting. Otherwise not enough to hold permanently. My jewelry tools come in handy if the lead is flared out too much beforehand. Bill |
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Post by DavidR on Feb 4, 2019 19:00:18 GMT -5
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Post by SteveH on Feb 4, 2019 19:44:00 GMT -5
While I agree with you, DYohn , that bare wires (or Bluejeans Cables welded terminals) provide the best contact, I change speakers WAY too much to crawl around on the floor, in the dark behind the speakers trying to thread bare stranded wires through the (often undersized) holes in the speaker posts. Bananas for me, thanks. To each his own. And by the way if the "hole in the speaker posts" are "undersized," then the real problem is your speaker wire is too large. Speaker wire gauge depends upon the power and the length of the run. With today's sound system speaker count, it really stinks to runs wires through the attic and down walls only to find out that you have to splice down to a smaller wire gauge or trim strands to make the wire fit the hole. Banana plugs are the way to go! |
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Post by Cogito on Feb 4, 2019 20:56:36 GMT -5
I'm a big fan of Monster Cable's banana plugs. Super easy to install, great build construction, look pretty nice and simply work well.  |
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Post by Bonzo on Feb 4, 2019 20:59:24 GMT -5
What? Wait! You're JUST NOW figuring that out? LOL And you're too late to chide me. Since I couldn't find any more of the simpler ones that I like, I ordered six sets of the Parts-Express tips today. Why so many? I make (and sell, and give away, and loan) a BUNCH of speaker cables. I've always got friends wanting to do in-wall wiring, custom lengths, etc. And guess who they come to? I'd guess that I make at least three pairs of speaker wires per month. Why d'ya think I bought that 500-foot spool of Monoprice 12 ga.? Cheers! No no, I know. You just never cease to amaze me with your ever constant tinkering and complete and udder cheapness. 🤓 Glad you got the good ones! I actually use the the straight ones bi-wired behind the amps, and the angled ones behind my speakers to reduce stress on the speaker terminals and to help hide the wires a little better. Just bought almost $500 worth of stuff from Monoprice today. Finally gearing up to do some installing and rearranging. I bought some XLR cables but I'm not sure Monoprice was the way to go. I'll wait to see how they are when they get here. Problem is I need about 10-12 feet of 5-snake, and about 18-20 for the stereo pair, so Emotiva cables are out. If you have any recommendations I'm all ears. |
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klinemj
Emo VIPs 
Official Emofest Scribe
Posts: 15,095
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Post by klinemj on Feb 4, 2019 21:01:16 GMT -5
I prefer the Chiquita brand.
Mark
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Post by RichGuy on Feb 4, 2019 21:13:54 GMT -5
My favorites are your Type two, I have never had the problems you list. First: I have never seen any rubber gasket you refer to, maybe you used another brand and not the GLS Audio brand you pictured, I use GLS Audio locking bananas and have never had a gasket. Second: you hold the body while tightening or loosening the banana locking mechanism I've never had my cables twist. Third: I've never had any problem with the 2 screws that clamp onto the wire and insulation. I like this type banana because I like how they work, they are always nice and tight and they also have a very nice look.  |
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Post by RichGuy on Feb 4, 2019 21:24:09 GMT -5
I bought some XLR cables but I'm not sure Monoprice was the way to go. I'll wait to see how they are when they get here. Problem is I need about 10-12 feet of 5-snake, and about 18-20 for the stereo pair, so Emotiva cables are out. If you have any recommendations I'm all ears. For excellent XLR snake cables made with high quality Mogami snake cable and Neutrik XLR connectors I'd highly recommend Pro Audio LA they will custom make what what you want any length, any number of channels. They are very high quality and very quickly custom made. www.proaudiola.com/multi-channel-snakes-s/20.htm |
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Post by gus4emo on Feb 4, 2019 21:27:54 GMT -5
I have used Monster, Insignia, but stuck to Mediabridge, very similar to Monsters, but cheaper.....
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Post by Boomzilla on Feb 5, 2019 5:23:20 GMT -5
I've used everything from fancy Audioquest XLRs to the least-expensive Monoprice and Parts-Express models. I hear no difference, and find them all equally reliable. I also pick up various "pro" cables (from garage sales, of course) including brands such as "Road-Hogg." They all do the job and sound fine. I think that, for whatever reason, unbalanced cables are more particular about construction and quality than are XLRs. My audio amigo, Russell, claims to be able to "tune" his system by choice of unbalanced cables. He despises XLRs because they don't sound as differently. What Russell considers a shortcoming, I consider a virtue. I don't want to tune my system with wiring. The fewer variables I have to juggle, the more likely I am to achieve what I want. In fact, Russell keeps a HUGE variety of even USB cables, power cords, wall-warts, and (especially) speaker wires, claiming that they all make a difference. He demonstrated how a higher quality power supply for his external HDD made an audible difference over the stock wall-wart on Sunday - and I could definitely hear it, to my utter surprise! And, like DYohn, Russell uses bare wire for speaker wire ends - no bananas, no spades, no pins. His choice of commercial solid-core Romex as subwoofer wire also surprised me. He also likes his speaker wire to be no fatter than 16AWG. Go figure... |
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Post by SteveH on Feb 5, 2019 19:55:07 GMT -5
And, like DYohn , Russell uses bare wire for speaker wire ends - no bananas, no spades, no pins. His choice of commercial solid-core Romex as subwoofer wire also surprised me. He also likes his speaker wire to be no fatter than 16AWG. Go figure... Ain't that something! With solid core Romex, you can hang speakers from the ceiling without mounts! |
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Post by leonski on Feb 11, 2019 14:25:51 GMT -5
Boom.. the blue jean speaker cables I bought from you seemed to have very nice (well made) banana plugs.. what are those? Can't remember, and once they were plugged on, I haven't even looked again. Lol I like the locking bananas I got with my Blue Jeans speaker cables very much. I built my cables using BlueJeans stuff. Their locking Banana Plugs are OK and necessary in some fashion for Magnepans. If I were really angry? I'd rebuild my panels with some kind of good binding post and ditch the Banana. I had originally made up a pair of 6 or 7 foot cables, banana All Round. But when I went to a biamp situation, I cut each cable IN HALF.......The banana ends went to the speaker and I bought a bunch of Spades for the amp end. My dealer loaned me the Big Crimper and I sat on the floor in their showroom and terminated my wire, than cleaned my minimal mess. I don't know if BJC still sells the locking plug or not. In general? Spades and such are VASTLY overpriced and overhyped. Unplated copper oxidizes and should probably be cleaned every 6 months. Some persons don't like Rhodium plated and still others are big fans of Gold or maybe Nickel or Silver. Me? I'd like to find a service to Vacuum Weld my wire to the connector. This would elimiate oxygen getting into the connection and fouling it up. BTW? That green stuff Copper turns into? An Oxide of Copper and it is a SEMICONDUCTOR and has been used in the past as a rectifier. At the speaker level? I doubt it matters, but at the Phono Level? I'm 99% certain that such rectification and such will adversly effect performance. |
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Post by leonski on Feb 11, 2019 14:32:49 GMT -5
I'm a big fan of Monster Cable's banana plugs. Super easy to install, great build construction, look pretty nice and simply work well. This is just my OPINION and barely worth the ink on the page..... BUT, I wouldn't buy Monster anything if they were the 2nd to last maker of whatever on the planet. The Demand Letter they sent to BlueJeansCable was a gem and masterpiece of BS. They also have HUGE markup and aggressively seek to limit competition in whatever way they can. When I sold this stuff? MONSTER had a huge MSRP vs everyone else AND they were commissioned sales. I can tell by the color difference, above, that the pieces are different. Of course the 'tip' is made of something with some Spring to it than unfortunately CRIMPED to the body of the plug. The 'locking' style makes a little more sense, but even than, many audiophiles stay away from Banana Plugs unless, as I was, forced by circumstances. www.bluejeanscable.com/legal/mcp/monsterletter.pdf |
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Post by gus4emo on Feb 11, 2019 16:33:20 GMT -5
I'm a big fan of Monster Cable's banana plugs. Super easy to install, great build construction, look pretty nice and simply work well. This is just my OPINION and barely worth the ink on the page..... BUT, I wouldn't buy Monster anything if they were the 2nd to last maker of whatever on the planet. The Demand Letter they sent to BlueJeansCable was a gem and masterpiece of BS. They also have HUGE markup and aggressively seek to limit competition in whatever way they can. When I sold this stuff? MONSTER had a huge MSRP vs everyone else AND they were commissioned sales. I can tell by the color difference, above, that the pieces are different. Of course the 'tip' is made of something with some Spring to it than unfortunately CRIMPED to the body of the plug. The 'locking' style makes a little more sense, but even than, many audiophiles stay away from Banana Plugs unless, as I was, forced by circumstances. www.bluejeanscable.com/legal/mcp/monsterletter.pdfI tried Monster, very good and solid, saw Mediabridge on Amazon, tried them, just as good and solid, but at a fraction of the cost.... |
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Post by RichGuy on Feb 11, 2019 21:17:31 GMT -5
This is just my OPINION and barely worth the ink on the page..... BUT, I wouldn't buy Monster anything if they were the 2nd to last maker of whatever on the planet. The Demand Letter they sent to BlueJeansCable was a gem and masterpiece of BS. They also have HUGE markup and aggressively seek to limit competition in whatever way they can. When I sold this stuff? MONSTER had a huge MSRP vs everyone else AND they were commissioned sales. I can tell by the color difference, above, that the pieces are different. Of course the 'tip' is made of something with some Spring to it than unfortunately CRIMPED to the body of the plug. The 'locking' style makes a little more sense, but even than, many audiophiles stay away from Banana Plugs unless, as I was, forced by circumstances. www.bluejeanscable.com/legal/mcp/monsterletter.pdfI tried Monster, very good and solid, saw Mediabridge on Amazon, tried them, just as good and solid, but at a fraction of the cost.... I prefer the locking style, but if you like this style GLS Audio has this type as well (and others) at pretty low prices.
I do like how this type connects to the wire, very simple to install. But the banana post tends to loosen over time, where as the locking style are always nice and tight.
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Post by gus4emo on Feb 11, 2019 22:06:11 GMT -5
I tried Monster, very good and solid, saw Mediabridge on Amazon, tried them, just as good and solid, but at a fraction of the cost.... I prefer the locking style, but if you like this style GLS Audio has this type as well (and others) at pretty low prices.
I do like how this type connects to the wire, very simple to install. But the banana post tends to loosen over time, where as the locking style are always nice and tight.
I saw them at Amazon as well, after trying Mediabridge, I'm good....thanks for the suggestion.... |
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