How to install banana plugs on speaker wire for easy connectivity

1 month ago

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We group up and tear down a batch of home theatre and audio/video gear connected a regular ground — everything from speakers and subwoofers to amplifiers, receivers, turntables, and everything in-between. And 1 point that gets aged really accelerated is cutting, stripping, and winding earthy speaker wire. It's messy, it makes connecting and disconnecting components a chore, and it tin time off exposed ligament hanging disconnected nan backmost of your speaker aliases receiver terminals that tin consequence successful unwanted sound aliases mediocre performance.

One of nan champion things you tin do to amended your speaker ligament business is to instal banana plugs that tin beryllium plugged correct into compatible speaker aliases receiver/amplifier terminals, akin to RCA plugs. It's inexpensive to do, and they look clean, supply a unafraid connection, and make connecting and disconnecting your components really easy.

Here's really to instal banana plugs connected earthy speaker wire.

A group of banana plugs connected a table.

Grab a battalion of banana plugs

There are a fewer different types of banana plugs you tin find astatine your section Best Buy, audio shop, aliases connected Amazon, but they're beautiful overmuch nan aforesaid arsenic acold arsenic installing them goes. For our purposes, we're going to spell pinch nan style of banana plugs that you don't person to solder and that person a mini screw that you tighten.

You tin find banana plugs pinch various fastener types and each style from right-angle connectors to ones pinch dual tips and more. It's up to you what useful best.

Speaker ligament stripped astatine half an inch for installing banana plugs.

Prepare your speaker wire

After you've trim your speaker ligament to nan magnitude you need, here's really to prep nan ends for nan banana plugs.

Step 1: Depending connected nan speaker ligament you're using, location whitethorn beryllium an outer overgarment that conceals 2 abstracted wires inside, 1 reddish and 1 black. If this is nan case, utilizing your ligament strippers, cautiously portion backmost astir 2 inches of that outer overgarment to expose and abstracted nan 2 wires.

Different types of speaker wire, for illustration nan ligament we're using, comes joined together. Use an exacto weapon to abstracted nan 2 wires. They whitethorn aliases whitethorn not beryllium color-coded.

Step 2: With your wires separated, usage nan ligament strippers to portion astir a half-inch of each wire's insulation from nan ends to expose nan earthy wire. Be observant not to trim aliases harm immoderate of nan wire's strands.

Stripped ligament and an unfastened banana plug fresh for installation.

Connect nan wires to nan banana plugs

With nan wires exposed, you tin now link them to nan banana plugs.

Step 1: First, you whitethorn person to hole nan banana plugs to judge nan earthy wire. In our example, you person to unscrew and abstracted nan outer ammunition of nan plug's lodging from nan soul stem. Also make judge to loosen nan screws that will clasp nan ligament successful place.

Tightening nan screws connected a banana plug.

Step 2: Next, insert nan earthy extremity of ligament into nan banana plug's halfway and tighten nan screws to secure. Do this for some nan achromatic and reddish plugs and past do nan aforesaid for nan different extremity of nan wire, if installing connected some ends.

A group of banana plugs installed connected speaker wire.

Step 3: Put nan outer casing of nan plug backmost connected and screw it tight. That's it, you're done.

A group of banana plugs plugged successful to a speaker.

Connecting banana plugs to amps and speakers

This is nan easy part. Most speakers and receivers/amplifiers will person speaker terminals that person a spread successful nan mediate for inserting banana plugs. Some person small integrative covers complete nan holes that you conscionable person to region first. Make judge to prevention them successful a ziploc container aliases a instrumentality for safe keeping.

Similar to plugging successful an RCA cable, each you person to do is plug and play!

Note: Keep successful mind, though, that banana plugs will not activity pinch those outpouring clips recovered connected galore speakers and receivers/amplifiers.

With banana plugs installed connected each your speaker wires, connecting and disconnecting your components will not only beryllium overmuch easier -- particularly for those of you pinch components tucked distant successful a media portion that you person to propulsion successful and retired aliases crawl nether to entree -- but nan electrical relationship will beryllium overmuch stronger and much unchangeable than messy earthy wire. Plus, it couldn't beryllium easier to do.

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Derek Malcolm

Derek Malcolm is simply a Toronto-based exertion journalist, editor, and contented master whose activity has appeared in…

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