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Magneplanar speaker terminals. is there an adapter to....

I was looking at a photo of the back of Magneplanar .7 speakers.  They still use those dumb speaker terminals that will not accept a higher end banana plug, (possibly a twisted up spade lug)... Therefore, does anyone know if there is an adapter that works with their terminals and allows larger banana plugs to be used, or  simple spade lugs.  The company  makes great speakers, but is living in the Stone Age when it comes speaker terminals.   Thank you .
sunnyjim
mofimadness's avatar
mofimadness
4,937 posts
 
I’ve never seen any crimp style binding posts, but maybe they exist. You would have to solder (4) wires, the positive and negative on both speakers.

You just need to unscrew the (4) wood screws that hold the aluminum back plate on the speaker. Be careful pulling it out, it might snag the fabric, just go slow. Once the plate is off, you can see where the + and - wires are and how the wires and stock connectors are attached. Just unscrew the small nut that holds the connector on and whole connector will come off. Replace the now open hole with whatever binding post you decide, (I recommend the Cardas pure copper posts, but you can use whatever).  Depending on the connector, you might have to enlarge the hole a little bit.

It really is a pretty easy mod, but just take your time. Sorry you’re not closer, I could do this for you in about 20-30 minutes or less.

Good luck!
sunnyjim OP
927 posts
 

 To Mofimadness and others who responded, I wish Magneplanar would get hip to the needs of its customers, and also the evolution  over the last 20 years of new speaker connectors, and the 5 way binding post.

bdp24 suggests getting rid of the whole terminal assembly ( which according to him improves the sound). So why doesn't Jim. Winey or whoever runs the company save us all  the grief regarding this issue, by redesigning the assembly, and if possible offering a simple DIY kit for owners of older Magneplanars.  I totally agreed with Statman, why does the customer have to necessarily do the surgery on the speakers, that should have been the responsibility of the design and marketing team. 

It is bad enough that most Maggie speakers are a pain in the butt to find proper acoustic placement,  generally  require a high power amp with high current, and are large in size starting with the 1.7 and going up the line

bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,454 posts
 
Sunnyjim---Or at least make the whole terminal assembly with non-magnetic parts, fer cryin' outloud! Steel, in the signal path?!
rodman99999
6,008 posts
 
smotojo- Don’t believe you’ll find any 5 ways with crimp connection. Many come with a terminal/soldering eyelet that fits over the threaded part of the post and is held by the mounting nut. The end of the threaded post should have provision for soldering the lead there, as an option to the terminal mentioned, which eliminates the lousy connection between the provided terminal, washer, nut, post, etc. YEP- There will be only four connections to solder. No harm in repeating: pay close attention to which wires go where(+ & -). Buy some solder with a low melting point, especially if you want to solder to end of the threaded post, as it will act as a heat-sink. ie: WBT 0800, TRT Wonder Signature or Cardas Quad Eutectic which are all available on ebay, in very small quantities. This process only requires an inch or two.
rodman99999
6,008 posts
 
BTW: Some of WBT's & Furutech’s binding posts have set screws to retain the leads in the ends of the threaded posts. I’d personally prefer solder, but- there’s another option, if you don’t want to do any soldering and don’t mind their price. (http://www.partsconnexion.com/connectors_bind_furutech.html)  (http://www.partsconnexion.com/connectors_brand_wbt.html)  Whatever you decide on, order the shortest posts available, as you’re only going through a thin piece of aluminum, to mount.
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