NAD and Spade Terminals

And the answer is . . .

It can't be done. Some crazy European safety regulation forbids spade terminals. They're legal in the U.S. but NAD just makes one version for everywhere so they have to make them spade-proof. Well, at least it's not just me.

The world just gets better and better with each passing moment. You can almost feel it happening.

I'm not sure if this guy is just fed up or a conspiracy theorist—

https://www.kenkessler.com/hi-fi/mondo-audio-ce-regulations-and-eu-meddling/

Because the NAD doesn’t take spades?

I know. I've got a copy. EU must have put the regulations in place after the manual was printed. Or something. Maybe the law applies only to me, just to bust my balls.

I appreciate the effort but I’m afraid that it’s been no help. Yes, in the manual, NAD says that they take spades. Elsewhere , they describe them as “five-way” binding posts. Plus, it’s just hard to imagine that they wouldn’t take spades. But when I unscrew the posts, all I see is plastic. A plastic post running through the terminal and plastic fore and aft to theoretically hold the spade in shaft. 

I say “theoretically” because even if I wanted to put a spade into place, the plastic post is way too thick for any spade that I’ve ever seen.

Maybe there’s a real piece metal underneath that plastic for a spade to hold on to. Still, it would be very unusual that the pieces that hold the spade in place wouldn’t be metal. This is the site of all the contact that are supposed to make spades all that. But to see any metal, I’m going to have to force some of this plastic off, and I’m very hesitant to do that. 

Finally, this is the kind of thing that NAD is supposed to be so good at. No frills but sturdy basic equipment. I’ve got to believe that this trouble lies with me, not my stars.