[jodokast]

Hi,

I just received a free pair of old speakers from my dad. Was looking to upgrade the cables for them, however I do have a couple quick questions regarding spkr terminations:

Example: defining.........banana, spade, crimp, etc. Which ones do I need?

Right now the connection into the speakers is just a bare wire, I open the button, insert the wire, and then let go of the button.

For the amp, it's just bare wire wrapped around a circle and then the circle is pressed down. For this part, am I looking for a spade?

Also, could anyone give me say sub $50 spkr cable recs?

Thanks as always, you guys rock.

 

[Wodgy]

For cheap speaker cable, I recommend Radio Shack's 12-gauge Megacable. It's included on the latest Stereophile "Recommended Components" list, no joke. Some RS stuff is terrible, but this isn't. I also have Kimber 4VS speaker cables (more expensive), but I much prefer the Radio Shack cable.

The press-down connectors on your speakers are called "Speaker Terminals". To connect to terminals, you just need bare wire. However, if you get a thick cable (e.g. 12-gauge), the wire may not fit in small holes in the terminals. In this case, you'll need to crimp on a set of flat pin connectors (you may also be able to crimp on a set of thin banana plugs, but these too may not fit in the holes). To be safe, stick with the flat pin connectors. If you go to a Radio Shack, you'll see what I mean by "flat pin connectors" and "banana plugs". They'll all be in the same part of the store.

For your amp, you're absolutely right, you need spades. You can get these at any hardware store, as well as at Radio Shack. They're cheaper in the hardware store, and there will be many different sizes, but they won't be gold plated. IMHO, you don't need the gold plating.

 

[Ctn]

Twist the bare ends and tin it.

As for speaker cables, use 20 amp mains cabling.
Pretty good stuff.

 

[Lindy]

Why not make your own speaker cables? I made mine using CAT5E plenum according to this recipe: Venhaus Cat5 Recipe . Cost less than $50, but takes some time to do it. The claims are that they rival much more expensive speaker cables, but as always YMMV.