Locking Banana comparison

[Mac Apple Music]

I just want to add, living in Asia, be very wary (I say “avoid”) buying “Nakamichi” branded plugs from Asia. They have been counterfeiting that brand in banana plugs for decades.

 

[xanalog]

I just want to add, living in Asia, be very wary (I say “avoid”) buying “Nakamichi” branded plugs from Asia. They have been counterfeiting that brand in banana plugs for decades.

True and they are invasive specifies even in the US.
Some of those knock-offs are quite functional for their prices.

 

[Sal1950]

I just want to add, living in Asia, be very wary (I say “avoid”) buying “Nakamichi” branded plugs from Asia. They have been counterfeiting that brand in banana plugs for decades.

Absolutely counterfeit, but I've bought and used a ton of the non-locking style over the years and they work very well. The dual set-screws that lock-in the 12g wire I use have worked very well to make and reliably keep a connection. Believable claim of use with up to 8g wires. Hard to beat bananas for the money.

 

[Sweefu]

Bit of a thread bump here, I'm looking for some banana plugs and I can see Fosi make some now, has anyone used them?

Monoprice gold plated are also fairly cheap, any reason to steer clear of these?

Cheers

 

[Alexanderc]

I've been using a set of the monoprice closed screw type plugs for over a decade with no issues at all. FWIW.

 

[DMill]

Bit of a thread bump here, I'm looking for some banana plugs and I can see Fosi make some now, has anyone used them?

Monoprice gold plated are also fairly cheap, any reason to steer clear of these?

Cheers

Any decent termination that is solid to the wire will work fine. Spade or banana. I suppose a bare wire connection removes any doubt. I promise you this any connection that isn’t broken will give you 100% accuracy. Depending on if your speaker wire is solid core some connectors will make your fingers bleed, especially the ones you have to feed them through and bend them over teeth and cap them. But despite a bandage they work fine. I prefer the ones you can attach the straight wire into the middle of the plug and screw it down. But that’s just my preference. They make no difference except ease of use.

 

[Chrispy]

Bit of a thread bump here, I'm looking for some banana plugs and I can see Fosi make some now, has anyone used them?

Monoprice gold plated are also fairly cheap, any reason to steer clear of these?

Cheers

The plug isn't going to make a lot of difference one way or the other, but a convenient/strong connection is what I look for (as well as a good fit into the rca receptacle on the gear). I prefer the plugs with dual set screws, like the Sewell Silverbacks (sold under a variety of branding, too).

 

[Anton S]

Monoprice quality has slipped some over the years and the plating quality isn't what it once was, but at least they still perform adequately. I wasn't happy with the plating on my last order of dual-bananas, so I decided to try a different brand. Huge mistake.

The photo below shows one of the plugs with its retention screws tightened as far as they would go. Note the gap. A 12-gauge wire slipped right out of it with the slightest pull. Steer clear of THESE.

 

[howard416]

Sometimes you have to get creative with how you feed the wire in. For example, for my BFA style plugs that I ordered from PE like a decade ago, I have to use 3 (THREE) sections of 14 AWG cable inserted into the hole in order to be confident with how the set screw engages.

In case you're wondering, I get two sections by folding over the end of the wire, and the third section is a loose short stub that I cut off from the bulk wire.

At this point in my DIY journey I only use Speakon wherever possible. Proven distortion performance, build quality, and ease of use.

 

[somebodyelse]

In case you're wondering, I get two sections by folding over the end of the wire, and the third section is a loose short stub that I cut off from the bulk wire.

Have you tried using ferrules?

 

[howard416]

Have you tried using ferrules?

In what way?

 

[Anton S]

Have you tried using ferrules?'

Yes. I resorted to some for use with 12ga. AWG and the dual banana plugs that I pictured earlier, just to give the retention screws something in which to bite. I fabbed the ferrules from necks cut from crimp-on 12ga. ring connectors.

But should I have been required to do that? My complaint with those is that the product should have been designed and produced with better use-suitability right off the shelf. I have several others that were, even inexpensive plastic ones.

In what way?

On the wire end, to increase its overall diameter.

 

[somebodyelse]

In what way?

After stripping the insulation the strands go into a suitably sized ferrule, and the ferrule is crimped. The ferruled end is then inserted into the screw terminal and the screw tightened. They're especially useful in terminals that have just a hole and a screw as they prevent the strands being displaced as the screw is tightened, which sounds like what you were trying to counter with your extra sections of wire. It also prevents the bare screw cutting through some of the strands as it is tightened. It's less beneficial in terminals where there is a metal load spreader between the end of the screw and the wire - IIRC the Neutrik Speakons have one of these.

 

[somebodyelse]

On the wire end, to increase its overall diameter.

It's more about binding the strands together, and protecting them from the screw if it makes direct contact. The diameter change is pretty small if you're using real ferrules.

 

[Anton S]

It's more about binding the strands together, and protecting them from the screw if it makes direct contact. The diameter change is pretty small if you're using real ferrules.

I was relating what I used them for in my case. As you know, the necks of crimp-style ring connectors are reasonably substantial, and they increased the OD of the wire enough for the screws in the bananas to bite securely and prevent the wires from being accidentally pulled free.

 

[Sal1950]

It's more about binding the strands together, and protecting them from the screw if it makes direct contact. The diameter change is pretty small if you're using real ferrules.

Great hint! I'll try that next time I terminate my speaker wires!

 

[howard416]

After stripping the insulation the strands go into a suitably sized ferrule, and the ferrule is crimped. The ferruled end is then inserted into the screw terminal and the screw tightened. They're especially useful in terminals that have just a hole and a screw as they prevent the strands being displaced as the screw is tightened, which sounds like what you were trying to counter with your extra sections of wire. It also prevents the bare screw cutting through some of the strands as it is tightened. It's less beneficial in terminals where there is a metal load spreader between the end of the screw and the wire - IIRC the Neutrik Speakons have one of these.

Ah, I see. No, I didn't have any handy and I'm still not sure I would do it that way vs just making the wire "larger" in the localized area of the set screw. Maybe it's not all banana plugs that are like mine but I feel like the set screws in mine are fairly soft and might not sufficiently "crush" the wire+ferrule combo and make it a good gas-tight connection all throughout. At least with copper stranded wire only (i.e. no ferrule) I know that the set screw can properly displace the wire strands. In e.g. Phoenix Contact screw terminals on the other hand, I know the screw cages are plenty strong enough to flatten a copper wire.

And, again, since the set screws feel fairly soft, I have no worry that they will cut through any strands.