Banana Plugs

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Banana Plugs

Kelsey

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#104100 14-Jun-2012 19:47

Hey team,

After moving everything back into the house after EQC repairs I am looking at putting my 5.1 back together. What are thoughts on banana plugs for speaker cables? Any positives or more importantly any reasons why I shouldnts?

Thanks!

bazzer

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#641046 14-Jun-2012 22:46

For me, that main positive was convenience. I don't plug/unplug my stuff that often but trying to jam 18 different wires into 18 different binding posts with not that much room and without any shorts did not seem like a fun job. I went with screw on bananas.

Dunnersfella

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#641054 14-Jun-2012 22:59

Do you need mag wheels on your car for driving around town? Nope.
Do you want them? Yup.

I put banana plugs in the same category. But I'd still use spades on the speakers so I can crank 'em down, with plugs on the amp. I'm not a 'bare wire' guy, some people are, and all the power to them.
Anything that makes plugging in / fiddling with my toys gets a thumbs up from me.

Regs

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Snowflake

#641055 14-Jun-2012 23:03

i have bananas at the amp end for the same reason. didnt bother at the speaker end though - seemed like an unnecessary expense and there is plenty of room to work with loose ends there.

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corksta

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#641063 14-Jun-2012 23:13

I got them for convenience too, so much easier than just working with wires, and absolutely no reason why you shouldn't get them either.

bazzer

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#641066 14-Jun-2012 23:25

There are at least two reasons not to get them:
1) Cost
2) An extra connection to cause problems

richms

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#641154 15-Jun-2012 09:28

Cheap ones have the banana part floating, so become very vibration sensitive.

Richard rich.ms

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stevenz

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#641301 15-Jun-2012 12:42

Trying to get the wires into the receiver when it's in place is a massive PITA, usually involving a torch, fingertips and a small amount of profanity. Banana plugs make it a piece of cake.

I can take or leave them at the speaker end though.

I just bought a set of Shark banana plugs from SurplusTronics, they seem well made and weren't too expensive.

@KnightNZ

RunningMan

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#641318 15-Jun-2012 12:53

Kelsey: Hey team,

After moving everything back into the house after EQC repairs I am looking at putting my 5.1 back together. What are thoughts on banana plugs for speaker cables? Any positives or more importantly any reasons why I shouldnts?

Thanks!

Which end of the cables. or both?

Are you running the cabling within the walls, or around the edges of the room?

For a room where all the cabling is installed in the walls, then banana plug outlets that double as binding posts (like the PDL ones) can tidy things up quite a bit. The downside is the cost increases.

Have a look at the PDL 600 series catalogue if you are looking for wall plates etc.