2. tech-talk
  3. 132207-1294

Speaker Cable Banana Plug Breakage

Hi Folks,
I could seriously use some help with a banana plug issue. The thin gold plated pieces that splay apart on the end of my banana plug have broken off and now, I'm having some conductivity issues. I used a test CD and there is obviously a reason for concern. These are older Hi Diamond speaker cables and while they sound wonderful, the build quality might leave a little to be desired. Right now, the banana plug end is a minuscule gold pointed spear and I'wondering if there isn't something that I could do without causing a sound contrast between the two speakers? I'm pretty certain that Cullen Cables can help me with his issue but I need to buy myself some time before having them properly repaired. Any help would be greatly appreciated,
Thanks!
goofyfoot

Showing 5 responses by toddverrone

toddverrone's avatar
toddverrone
840 posts
 
It really is the easiest thing, to terminate cables. You seem to have convinced yourself that you can't do it..

If you can sculpt, or stretch a canvas, you can certainly do this yourself. You don't even have to solder, crimp connections can also be very good. You would need to buy a good pair of crimping pliers, of course. Soldering is very easy as well and solder and a soldering iron can be had cheaply.

For approximately half of the mental energy you seem to have spent worrying about this, you could fix this yourself.

Do it!
toddverrone's avatar
toddverrone
840 posts
 
As gdhal says, bare wire is a completely valid solution to connect your cables as well. However, based on you posts, I’m guessing that there’s no way you’d go for that because that’s not how they come from the manufacturer. With that said, might I recommend that you change all the bananas to the newer BFA banana design? It’s far superior to the old school banana connector. It provides a much larger, stronger contact area and, because of this, I’ve found it to be even better than bare wire. Here's an inexpensive example and it has a screw on connection system, so you wouldn't need to crimp or solder:
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F201718034056

These are what I use, but you'd need to crimp or solder them:
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F160535708043
toddverrone's avatar
toddverrone
840 posts
 
Well done. They’re just wires, but when they’re expensive and you’ve no idea how they’re terminated, it can seem difficult. If you ever need to reterminate, you may consider a good pair of wire cutting/stripping pliers. They’ll allow you to cut the cable, then strip off the insulation, exposing a clean, pristine section of wire with which to connect.
toddverrone's avatar
toddverrone
840 posts
 
Those nerve audio BFA banana plugs I linked to are beryllium copper with a silver plating. I use them on the speaker cables I make and they sound great. The monoprice banana I’d stay away from, they’re certainly brass.

@perfectpathtech - you are a sweet human. And yes, there is technique to making a good connection. But the man sounds like he’s good with his hands and could definitely do it himself. Plus, the stock connectors are held in place with set screws, it sounds like. As long as he buys connectors made from good materials, it’s very likely they’ll be as least as good as stock. I never like set screws as a way to attach connectors. But heck, if I were him I’d take you up on your offer as well!
toddverrone's avatar
toddverrone
840 posts
 
@imhififan - no worries, that certainly wasn’t a comment on you! I only commented on the monoprice bananas once talk started turning to a permanent fix.
More to discover