Hello, Looking for a little parts help, hope this is the right forum vs the misc. I've spent countless hours looking for some quality spade connectors that are big enough to accommodate some older AQ GR8 speaker cables. I had ordered some nice looking GLS banana connectors from Amazon, they say they hold #10 AWG, but 1 of the 4 wires still does not fit in the connector. So I assume I need #8 or bigger. I have searched eBay, parts-express, etc but can't seem to find anything big enough. I'd prefer that they be the 45 degree angled ones. The reason I am re-doing these cables is because they're old, and my new amp has puny wire posts compared to the Bryston I had. I'm lookin to do it nicely, with heat shrink and all. I can't use bananas or other types because the amp does not have enough space in the rack behind it. Any ideas?
I just terminated some 10 gauge wires with spade connectors and had room to spare in the barrel. I used MIT iconn Economy Spade connectors and crimped the connections but one could also solder. They are also angled but not 45 degrees and I was able to adjust the angle to what I needed. Hope this helps.
Great suggestions, thanks. Those MITs look perfect. Swear they could fit a little bit bigger cable? Gosh mofimadness, those are the cat's meow, but would be worth more than the cable!
wetfeet48, yeah sorry. They are pretty pricey. I was fortunate enough to find a set of (4) used. I think I paid like $40-$50 for them or I wouldn't have been able to afford them either.
They were the only ones I could find that would fit my Canare 4S11 in a shotgun configuration. They even had a little extra room.
How about letting a bit of common sense prevail? I used to mess around with fat AQ cables. I trust you would not be able to hear the difference if you were to snip the one wire protruding and continue on finishing the cable.
How about letting a bit of common sense prevail? I used to mess around with fat AQ cables. I trust you would not be able to hear the difference if you were to snip the one wire protruding and continue on finishing the cable.
Yeah you're probably right, and trust me, I thought about it, though I'd rather snip a bit from each of the 4 strands. But then, I paid for them, and just knowing I didn't do it 100% would get to me. I need new connectors anyway, I'd rather just do it right.
Out of curiosity; can't you just run the bare wires without connectors?
Actually that's the way it's set up right now, barely, and always has been (17 years). But recently I aquired a new amp with smaller, anemic wire nuts. They're barely shoved in there, and the nuts don't grab well so they fall out easily. PITA. I'm considering changing out the wire nuts for WBT or similar, not sure i can be done though. I need to research a bit. Hence the need for the smaller portion of the spade connector.
I've mildly pondered the idea of using them for some nice extension cables and getting something new. Actually I'm considering a second system in the house so I might just have to re-connect them to the old amp.
I've used those Furez. They are awesome. Pure copper is the best conductor. Don't use anything with gold or any other coating unless it's silver coating. Silver is a great conductor too. And always be careful never to buy anything that is made of brass and just slapped on some other coating. Which is a lot of what happens when it's gold plated. Most times it means there is crappy brass they are hiding under it.
Oh man! I can't believe that, those look great and I just ordered some possibly inferior ones off parts-express this morning. nmmusicman let us know how that comparison goes. I was going to order those Furez just now thinking the same as you, compare, but it says back ordered.
Found some super cool Viablue connectors while chasing the Furez down, I think they're German. Different types, anyone use them? They do have coatings. Wasn't aware that was a bad thing.
" nmmusicman let us know how that comparison goes. I was going to order those Furez just now thinking the same as you, compare, but it says back ordered."
I ordered mine through AVoutlet, no problem with stock levels. Should be here tomorrow and I'll certainly let everyone know how the comparisons come out.
Thanks for that avoutlet suggestion, I went crazy there and ordered all sorts of things. Love the Furez idea, got the heat shrinks and all. The Viablue speaker cable looks interesting too, ordered a meter just to check it out.
Looks like it's going to be a while before the MIT/Furez comparison can take place. Seems USPS lost my package from AV outlet!! I hadn't received the package in over a week and checked USPS tracking #. Says package was delivered to mail box on 3/4/16 but I never received it. Have filed a claim so we'll see how that plays out.
Oh boy, thankfully that didn't happen to me. Unfortunately I learned about the Furez stuff late and already put a full order in with parts-express. So I guess I'll just dump that into the ever-growing pile of extra hifi stuff in the basement. :)
I received the Furez spades, and my errant order from PartsExpress. Holy cow there is a huge difference between your standard plastic shielded, gold plated .001 ounce, regular spade - and the clearly audiophile grade, heavy copper spades! Not bashing the PE order, as those spades would do the job just fine, it's more of an aesthetic thing. But very impressive indeed.
Furez connectors installed! I bought the labeled heat shrinks and the whole enchilada, really happy with them. One word: big. But what a huge PITA the Allen wrench didn't come included. I think it was supposed to. I have quite an array of wrenches but the smallest I had was 1.5mm, apparently these required 1mm. I whined and fretted over the whole idea of wasting hours driving to different hardware stores just for a $1 wrench, so in the end I sacrificed a tiny screwdriver and used some pliers at the end to twist the tiny screws in. Not sure I can post a photo, don't see the option. Anyway I recommend them.
Parts Connexion will have what you want. I prefer the WBT vs. Furutech. I've found Furutech lacking in precision and have broken two trying to tighten bananas by hand. Never had the problem with WBT's. The spades should be fine though.
There is of course Cardas, quality components through and through.
With the Furutech or WBT's it's recommended you crimp the wires first, then insert to connectors. The $200 crimper or something is found much cheaper at parts-express, with some minor differences.
The owner is very knowledgeable and responsive, if you have any doubts, send them an e-mail before purchase.
you looked at the site closer, you would have seen the tool they offer for the connectors. I went with the crimp style bananas, something about terminating with the set screws doesn’t appeal to me. Looking at your post from 3-22, was hoping you would have come back with some input as to whether you liked the setup or not. I’m guessing you’re satisfied with the product.
I’m not sure I understand the comment, - my last post included the input that I bought and installed the Furez product, and that I was very happy with them and recommended them. After months of usage I still think they’re great. I just looked again and did a search and didn’t see any tools offered to install the spades. Under "optional items" for the spades it wasn’t mentioned either. Anyway, just an annoyance to an otherwise great product. Also, to further clarify, I bought and installed the Furez product, not the above mentioned Furutech, which I believe is a different product manufacturer.
That's a pity I wasn't aware of that site/tool. I bought mine from another site recommended here in the chat. It all worked out though, and I hope to never have to remove the connectors or heat shrink. They are pretty bomb proof connectors and a great value compared to others I saw. Thanks
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