@kmm84, what is the “Blue Jean crowd”? And why avoid it?
Speaker cable termination options
I recently moved my system to a single wall, drastically shortening my speaker cable run from 60 feet (which ran up through the attic) down to about 8 feet. Right now, I’m using Amazon Basics 14 AWG bare wire connected via flex-pin banana plugs to get by, but I want to replace them with a proper set of dedicated cables.
My gear consists of a Luxman L-507Z integrated amp and Wharfedale Super Linton speakers.
I have gone down the cable rabbit hole and frankly find it exhausting, so I’m not looking to rehash standard cable debates. I am strictly looking for perspective on unterminated vs. spades vs. banana plugs for my specific use case.
Here are my parameters:
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Set and Forget: I do not plan on swapping gear, moving equipment, or dealing with tight/narrow spaces behind the rack.
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Safety/Maintenance: I know unterminated wire carries a slight short-circuit risk if a strand strays, and I’m aware of copper oxidation over time.
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Materials: I plan to stick with Oxygen-Free Copper (OFC) cable.
Given a strictly stationary, long-term setup, what termination type do you prefer and why? Furthermore, if I go with a terminated cable, are there specific plating materials (Gold, Silver, Rhodium, etc.) you recommend for the connectors to ensure the best long-term interface?
Thanks in advance for the insights and I hope you find some awesome new music this weekend,
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To be honest the answer is always the same Spade at amplifier and Banana at speaker, it's the old Collector/Emitter thing, if you only need 8ft which is 2.5m then I suggest you mosey over to aliexpress and by a pair of Faux Kimber 12tc, I promise you, if they do not work, I will dye my hair ginger. The only improvement you will get over those is the same but with silver solder joints. Believe me, I have prayed to many gods over the years and the 12tc was brought down from Olympus. And if you have a powerful soldering iron you could always replace with silver solder. |
@ctlesq For banana plugs, I second the Viborg VB401 series as excellent, reliable, cost-effective connector. These are not the usual gold plated brass, but feature a connector of pure copper either plated in silver (VB401S) or gold plated on top of silver (VB401G), solderless with conductor held by dual screws. For spades, I like the Pangea Audio Xtreme, machined of tellurium copper (high conductivity) and gold plated as a cost-effective option. The spades are designed like a spring to maintain positive contact pressure, and features a solderless, dual screw conductor attachment. The Pangea Xtreme bananas are the same metallurgy and conductor clamp as the spades, but are a Z-plug design, and deliver highly positive contact. I use these as well. A very good, cost-effective speaker cable option is Supra Ply 3.4 (12 AWG) tin plated OFC, which features a higly annealed, high grade of copper that is tin plated (no oxidation), with low inductance (0.20 μH/m). The reviews speak for themselves. |
You're right on the money, I've been using these since 2009 without issue and the nickel-plated beryllium connectors always look like new and never lose their tension. I've included a link to Kimber's website describing how they do it to share with whoever is reading this post and you can explore from there. |
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