What is the best kind of wire termination? A friend of mine who sold me a entry-level cable (Synergistic) which, BTW, sounds great for the price I paid, suggests simply bare wire into the terminals. Is this preferred over spades or bananas or other types of terminations?
IMO, there is no best way. It's up to what works for you, however if you do bare wires you should check for oxidization from time to time. I prefer bananas.
this is true. may not be pretty, but it'll do the job...if your wire changes, on down the road, and gets too much for your terminals: go for spades..peace, warren
I believe your friend is right and that the best-sounding connector is no connector. But bananas are certainly more convenient if you're planning to do a lot of connecting and disconnecting.
The Nordost Z-Plug is the best. It fits into a 4mm banana jack and gives 360 degrees contact area, far more than any other banana or spade. No springs or leafs to wear out. Audioquest also has a similar plug. Hope this will help.
Of course bare wire is best, (short of soldering the wires to the drivers) but not convenient if you disconnect/reconnect a lot.
How about the Neutrik Speakon connectors that seem to dominate Pro Sound equipment? Although I have not used them, they look like they should work well.
Just one other aspect to think about, spades and bananas are usually gold plated and your terminals probably the the same. You always want two metals that are the same to be in contact with each other. Copper cables are better with gold palted spades or bananas over time for this reason.
I also have used Nordost Z-Plugs and BFA bananas and prefer them over standard bananas. I have heard that the Eichmann Bayonet Plug is suppose to be the best banana plug available. Any opinions or comments from people having experience with these plugs?
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