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Spade or Banana between the amp and speakers


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17 hours ago, jeromelang said:

Less stress on the cables themselves.

If they are 90 degree bananas, otherwise, no there isnt.

Edited by Wimbo
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25 minutes ago, andyr said:

The Multi-Contact cylindrical ones that I use (gold plated, beryllium copper - very springy!) have a total surface area of about 226mm^2 - ie. the surface of a 4mm tube which is 18mm long.

 

In contrast, the only part of a spade which makes contact with a typical binding post is the bottom surface of the space under the BP nut.  If we take a typical BP as an annulus which is 15mm OD and 8mm ID - that gives a total annulus area of 127mm^2.

And who told you that?

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2 hours ago, andyr said:

True!  Multi-Contact banana plugs are very springy.  They compress slightly, as you insert them into a Binding Post socket - so they are a very tight connection.  :)

With all due respect Andy (noting I have used Multi Contact gold-plated beryllium copper banana plugs and binding posts myself for DIY projects in the past) and not disputing your maths on the surface area calculations, I would suggest that just because it is a 'tight fit', I am not sure that you can assume the outer surface of your banana plug is making 100% contact with the internal surface of the binding post?  But as far as banana plugs go, If I had no choice but to use them, these are the type I would use : )

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17 minutes ago, Aperalim said:

With all due respect Andy (noting I have used Multi Contact gold-plated beryllium copper banana plugs and binding posts myself for DIY projects in the past) and not disputing your maths on the surface area calculations, I would suggest that just because it is a 'tight fit', I am not sure that you can assume the outer surface of your banana plug is making 100% contact with the internal surface of the binding post?  But as far as banana plugs go, If I had no choice but to use them, these are the type I would use : )

That logic would also apply to spade contacts. Unless things are lapped together, there is no absolute surface contact. Also, FWIW, silver doesn't lose conductivity with corrosion. 

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3 minutes ago, t_mike said:

That logic would also apply to spade contacts. Unless things are lapped together, there is no absolute surface contact. Also, FWIW, silver doesn't lose conductivity with corrosion.

Yes understood – but I would venture that two flat surfaces under compression possibly have a better chance of maximising potential contact than two cylindrical forms one inside the other?  I have used both of these options specifically – and yes, you are correct there is NEVER absolute surface contact in purely mechanical fixings in audio equipment – or most instances for that matter unless there are enormous forces involved and the metals are sufficiently malleable (as in pure copper) to deform into each other – but beryllium is relatively hard and in this instance added to the copper in the banana plugs to increase its tensile resilience to generate its  'springiness'...

No absolute truths here of course – all good fun and reminds me of fascinating time I spent a few years ago with an artist friend working with several research nanochemists and engineers working with Atomic Force Microscopy (ATM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) exploring the Midas phenomena where atoms are transferred (exchanged) between materials under certain contact conditions.

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Not sure if anyone here has seen Krispy’s recent video sharing his experiences/opinions.  I’m in the banana camp, but I can see the merits of spade also. 
 

 

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14 hours ago, andyr said:

 

Yes - Multi-Contact banana plugs.

 

See here:  https://au.rs-online.com/web/p/banana-plugs-connectors/0531453/

 

Andy

 

 

 

 been using these,the rs component supplied multi contact banana plugs for a while now and can highly recommend them,i soldered mine with wbt silver solder,very happy with sound quality also a nice snug fit,if you wan't to be really fussy apply caig  pro gold conditioning treatment to the plugs before inserting into binding post.

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I have tried a lot of different connectors, mainly spades amp end and bananas on the speakers (all triwired), but many years ago a major speaker designer/manufacturer who sold all the connectors and is now a lifelong friend told me that the cheap auto ring connectors that you can buy a whole bunch for about $4 were actually as good as anything.  They are pure copper with a non corrosive coating, I just crimp and silver solder them and add some heatshrink.  The copper is a bit softer than the gold plated brass ones, but probably "sound"  better. 

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Just now, audiofeline said:

I'm starting to think I need to change my banana's on my amp to spades. 

Any recommendations for good value for money?

 

@Rhythm Willie - the ring connectors you mention sound good value, but I'm preferring a spade to a ring connector.

 

You can convert those ring connectors to spades with a couple of deft snips with a pair of side-cutters ;) I've done this in the past and it works very well indeed.

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20 hours ago, pwstereo said:

Those connectors are readily available as either the forked spade type, or full rings.

https://www.narva.com.au/categories/electrical/terminals/spade_terminal

if you are going to use these type of spades use the Narva ones pwstereo listed in the above link,the jaycar ones also supercheap autos and a few other outlets sell the same looking spades but are inferior to the genuine navara spades .

Edited by ray4410
mistake
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1 minute ago, ray4410 said:

if you are going to use these type of spades use the Navara ones pwstereo listed in the above link,the jaycar ones also supercheap autos and a few other outlets sell the same looking spades but are inferior to the genuine navara spades .

Narva is the correct spelling and will help with searches. Navara is a Nissan vehicle.

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13 hours ago, Rhythm Willie said:

 I just crimp and silver solder them and add some heatshrink.  

A proper crimp will never need soldering, the connection between the 2 metals becomes a gas tight cold weld. 

I would like to know if adding heat after the crimp might actually dergrade the mating of the 2 metals?

 

and on a side note, never solder wires before you crimp ( its actually illegal on 240v connections)
for a bonus 10 points, would anyone like to guess why?

Edited by Hytram
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19 hours ago, pwstereo said:

Narva is the correct spelling and will help with searches. Navara is a Nissan vehicle.

yes thanks for pointing that out,the fact that I actually drive a Navara might have had something to do with the error then again probably just me not checking what I rave about.

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12 hours ago, Hytram said:

and on a side note, never solder wires before you crimp ( its actually illegal on 240v connections)
for a bonus 10 points, would anyone like to guess why?

 

Because solder is compressible and soldered wires work loose in either a crimped or screw-compression application?

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