Speaker cable terminations. Bare copper wire or other devices

I’m normally armed up with this battle cruiser of an iron - you need strong and steady wrists though, and be quick off the mark! :laughing:

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Before we divert too far, what is the answer for Mitch? His first choice is the gold spades, but it seems to me that soldering is the only viable option with them. The other, more expensive choice, is the WBT screw fixing spades. That would work if soldering is not available, but it’s not clear whether the thick A5 would actually fit.

Is that a reasonable conclusion?

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QED do some heavy duty screw-loc spades and to good effect as they’re double screwed. One can always solder them afterwards once screwed into place. They are 10mm so will easily accommodate NAC A5.
image

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For for £25. They look perfect. They are available in Australia too, for $18 each. That’s about £38 for four, much cheaper than the WBT. Hopefully that’s Mitch sorted. Just look up QED Airloc wide spade.

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Yes i have used them and they’re very robust and won’t bend & break with heavy or stiff cables. The outer casing is ABS plastic so even that is very strong.

I had speakers with spade or bsre wire only, a while back. I used A4 cable and tinned the ends up to the sheath for a good airtight seal. Then used needle nose pliers to bend the tinned ends into a tight hook that was nearly closed.

This worked very well because spades tend to loosen over time and if not tightened regularly for the first year, often fall off. The tinned hooks however woyld never fall off. You had to remove the whole nut on the terminal to attach them before screwing it back on but it was an excellent connection.

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As a side-note, crimping comes in many shapes & forms.
There is a big difference between squeezing a 2 cent ferrule with a 15 quid plier from the bin at the local hardware store vs. using quality (ie ‘professional’) pliers with preset & calibrated crimping pressure that meets DIN spec etc. (Mitch seems to have access to the later category)

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I would be looking at their Airloc spades if anything as they are designed for crimping. The dealer should be able to do this if Mitch doesn’t have a compatible crimper.

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Good point Chris, although I’d solder them anyway, regardless, the screw-loc version that is.

No you wouldn’t, you would be using SA8s :sunglasses:
Talking of which……have we established that removing the screw down ends of the Celestion sockets does not reveal 4mm sockets beneath?

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Do 4mm(?) bananas fit into the holes into which the bare wires are inserted in the picture?

Twisted multi core copper always gives me the heebies for and expensive short when a single strand ‘escapes’ it intended destination, finding in the past that no matter how firmly one twists the strands there’s always one or two strays…

Maybe it’s just me though.

KR, J

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I do.

The top two photos are of my industrial crimping tool made in Sweden that crimps up to 6mm2 cables and lugs.

The lower two are of my bootlace ferrule crimper which covers a wide range of ferrules up to 2.5mm2 and standard crimp lugs also up to 2.5mm2 I have searched for larger jaws for larger ferrules without success. Though it would appear that the old rusty pair which requires a cleanup will do the job for the gold plated crimp lugs as mentioned in point 1.

Mitch.

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I left an email with my NAIM dealer in Melbourne and I was only after 4 spade connectors than a pack of 8 as I only require connectors for the speaker wire and he has come back with this. I hope this pick is allowable. I suppose I will soon find out :slight_smile:

rather than these in a pack of 8:

Though if I am correct the forum is guiding me to crimp connectors, such as these or something better:

Any feedback warmly regarded.

Warm regards,

Mitch.

I have Kharma DB7 speakers,and they take spade connections. I did not have any speaker cables with spades on the end,so I took the bare wire,twisted it clockwise,wrapped it around the post in a loop. Tightened the terminal on the wire and fired up the music.Honestly,I have not thought about them since. The wires were what I used to use for home theater speakers,and sound great.
I have been down the expensive cable road before (Superlumina full loom)…Do I think money is better spent elsewhere (like speakers) …YES.

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After reading a couple of so so reviews on Amazon about the AudioQuest spade connectors allen screws. I am going to give them a miss and see how the bottom pic of 8 crimp connectors goes. I do not expect much for my $17 AUD plus postage and if they work loose I may go back to bare copper wire.

Thank you everyone.

Please keep the comments coming.

Mitch.

G’Day HH and Stephen,

I was almost sold until I priced the crimper for the job which is listed at 1699.00 zł. Google says that $600 AUD. No doubt the tool is worth it. Though for four connectors I am unable to validate that to myself or my wife.

Thank you for your post it was much appreciated.

Mitch.

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In my limited experience with spade connectors on both amp and speakers, the connection has the potential of becoming loose in time since it requires the nut on the binding posts to be turned to tighten the connection. This is the sole reason I prefer banana to spade connectors on speaker cables.

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G’day Ryder,

Thank you for your comment. Unfortunately, my speakers do not take banana connectors. Spade or bare wire are my choices.

Kind regards,

Mitch.

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Hi Mitch,

Please disregard my comment if that’s the case. Spades will work well too and I prefer it to bare wires.

Good luck with your choice of connection.

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G’day Ryder,

I can validate AudioQuest spade connectors, though one has to decide between the 100 and 300 series. Then the whole process could be solved with the pack of 8 crimp connectors for $17 AUD. I have ordered a pack of 8 to use a gauging tool to see if they and other spades will fit. I might even go with the crimp connection instead of the allen key screw alternative due to the Amazon reviews.

Warm regards,

Mitch.

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