Banana plugs/speaker wire confusion

[Marcos]

How can i tell what gauge my cables are?

I was looking into some banana plugs on ebay since i cant really spend £16 or so on new ones. Not sure what spec to buy. I have QED silver edition cables (I think around £5/metre at a hi-fi shop)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...0&rd=1#picture



EDIT: These seem the right stuff:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...e=STRK:MEWA:IT

Could do with some input though just to make sure

[Howard]

I wouldn't bother mate. Just use the binding posts on your speakers/amps unless you find yourself disconnecting them often

[Marcos]

I wouldn't bother mate. Just use the binding posts on your speakers/amps unless you find yourself disconnecting them often

I do find myself disconnecting them often enough, and the price is worth the frustration/hurt fingers everytime i have to move speakers etc, these QED wires are hard to handle

[Howard]

Fair play. And I know the feeling. It's a bugger to disconnect/reconnect the speakers from my amp... They're all so close together, and having 6 speakers... Lol.

You won't notice anything from the sound quality point of view though

[Rave]

Back when I had to wire up an extra three speakers for my surround sound setup, I went to Maplin and bought some of their 70p each bananas. Half an hour with a soldering iron and I was done; one has fallen off in six years as a result of my poor soldering skills

[Howard]

Yeh I've had bad experiences with dirt cheap banana plugs (read: they were crap) and I just thought sod it I'll use the bare wires. One day I'll buy some and put them on neatly

[Alex]

I got a load of the Gale £5 Richer Sounds jobbies at about £8 for 16 pairs, and, well, I can't hear the difference between them and bare wires, and they're mightily useful when moving stuff around...

[Marcos]

Yeah, I only need 4 pairs and i think the price is fair, and i think its the right size, no one has said otherwise

[Timmy!!!]

I was thinking about getting some. Rave what are the silver [crap] ones like audio quality wise, if there is no difference I will just get them.

[Howard]

Won't make a blind bit of difference whether you buy cheapo silver ones or £100 gold plated ones

[Timmy!!!]

Would these be ok? http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?...ldID=&doy=21m4

What is a sprung plug?

Edit: just found cheaper: http://www.revealcable.co.uk/acatalo...onnectors.html

[schmunk]

What is a sprung plug?

The metal bit is not a solid cylindrical shaft but is hollow with leaves that bend out in the middle. When inserted they offer a bit of force on the socket, making sure that a solid connection is maintained (Like a rawlplug).

[Timmy!!!]

ah ok makes sense, thanks schmunk

Even at 28p per plug im still wondering whether I really need them or not lol, im so dam stingy.

[Rave]

I was thinking about getting some. Rave what are the silver [crap] ones like audio quality wise, if there is no difference I will just get them.

They are fine, no difference in sound quality at all- but then there never is. Here's a thread I started a little while ago that's due for a bump:

http://forums.hexus.net/showthread.php?t=18031

[kingy]

Won't make a blind bit of difference whether you buy cheapo silver ones or £100 gold plated ones

I see this type of thing all the time on various forums and there is some slight truth in this type of comment but personally I’m not a follower.

I once did a Mickey Mouse Psychology course from which one thing / theory stuck in my mind. It’s called 'cognitive dissonance' and this type of thread is particularly suited to it. People will say things like 'who wants a Porsche 911, you cant even get your shopping in the back' or 'why use a gold plated scart with silver plated conductors when a £3.99 cable from maplins is just as good', its not as good but it makes them feel better buying the cheaper product.

Now back to the banana discussion. I’m not saying that paying more means better quality, but everything is subject to some merit and buying a reasonable quality of product will give better results. Gold is a better conductor than nickel (fact) and so will provide better results. If I was using £5/m speaker cable I certainly wouldn't entertain 20p bananas.

I’m not trying to preach on the side of ridiculously priced interconnects but a reasonable quality cable will give better results without a doubt. I run a business which involves selling and testing large amounts of home cinema cabling and related products and honestly believe that better spec cables make a difference.

[schmunk]

I run a business which involves selling and testing large amounts of home cinema cabling and related products and honestly believe that better spec cables make a difference.

Well, you would say that, wouldn't you...