That is the way electricians wire an outlet when they want to do it best. There are videos on how to do it. make the loop fit tightly on the screw and orient it so that tightening the screw pulls the wire in rather than pushes it out. if done correctly, this is an excellent connection.
Are there any issues with connecting speaker wire in this manner?
I'm considering purchasing some 14 awg solid core wire to use as speaker cable. I will be doubling this up to make 11 awg speaker cable. My amplifiers, Red Dragon S-500, have binding posts which DO NOT have a hole drilled in the center of the shaft for inserting wire (they are hollowed out for banana plugs but that's not what I am referring to here nor do I need). I'll be connecting the speaker wire without attachments, no spades, bananas, nor pins. To get a good connection, it would be ideal if I could take the wire and, at the half way point, wrap it around the amplifier binding post, then run the two ends out to the speakers. Will this work or will connecting the wire in this manner be problematic? Do I need to cut the wire into 2 runs? Thanks!
Showing 3 responses by carlsbad2
@lcherepkai So for slugs, you have a very short piece with a very large diameter. the higher specific resistivity of the other metals your are trying has little effect. However, I think in speaker wires which are much longer and smaller in diameter the total resistance will be measurable and I think you’ll see significant degradation from the higher resistance of these materials, especially on bass and dynamic sections. So start with the least expensive. As far as the original post of solid copper, there is obviously not a conductivity issue and people have been known to conclude that solid cores sound better than stranded so I think your plan sounds very interesting. I also support your plan to eliminate connectors. connectors can be significant sources of bad connections, especially inexpensive bananas or any non-crimped/or soldered connectors. I use crimped and soldered naked bfa style connectors. Best of luck, Jerry |
@lcherepkai Indeed using 8 ga will certainly make the resistance very low. I'm not saying that it won't work, just suggesting to start with the lower cost metals. Send me the metal and lenth you want to use first and I'll calculate the resistance for 8 awg wire and compare to copper. And I'm sure you saw the suggestions to lightly twist the 2 wires together. You don't want a loop that will pick up induced voltages. Jerry |