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Recommendations for top-notch banana speaker cable connectors

I have raised my appreciation of upgraded cabling recently with the addition of Silnote Morpheus II IC's.  I have 10 ga. ohno copper cabling for my 25' speaker runs.  I currently have banana jacks from GLS Audio (formerly Orange County Audio).  Once plugged in, one turns the connector to expand the pin internally, but they still seem to yield a less-than-secure fit and the metal they use is questionable.  

I have handled WBT connectors at audio shows and they are incredibly fine, but at a price that would bust my audio budget.  Furutech seems to have some more affordable connectors with high purity metals.  I am sure that there are banana connectors available that hit a sweet spot between price and performance and would value any insights you lads might willing to provide.  Thanks, Mark

whitestix
whitestix OP
720 posts
 
Gents,
Thanks for the additional recommendations.  I just looked into the Cardas connectors and they have a vast array of them available.  I ran with Todd's recommendation and ordered a set of the AQ jacks for what I recall was $38.  Thanks again for your input.  

This AG forum has been an invaluable source of information on my quest for sonic excellence over the years and it is the good will of lads like you sharing your knowledge that moves me in the right direction.  Cheers, Mark
reubent
7,030 posts
 
whitestix,

Sorry, I'm late to the party with this recommendation. But if anyone else is looking, this is what I would get:  Dyson Audio 24k Beryllium Copper Low Mass BFA Z-plug Bananas

They look nearly identical to the Nordost Z-Plug and other low mass BFA banana plugs that I've used in the past. They work tremendously well and provide excellent tight fit with very high surface contact to the inside of the banana compatible speaker binding posts. They will not loosen over time as spades may do.
toddverrone's avatar
toddverrone
840 posts
 
Indeed. These new BFAs of all makes are such an elegant solution. Their simplicity and effectiveness is just so freaking Zen.

@whitesix (why can I only get @ to work half the time?) Get a good pair of crimping pliers. I bought some at Lowe’s for $10. Wire stripper crimpers won’t cut it on these. 

This shouldn’t be an issue with 10awg, but if there’s space around the cable (if you use a higher gauge), it will deform the connector less when you crimp it if you fill the space with strands of speaker wire. I had to do this with my cables on the speaker end because I biwire to the speaker terminals, thus it is no longer 9awg, but 14awg and 11awg.

Sweet Jesus. I hope that makes sense.
whitestix OP
720 posts
 
Todd,
I catch the main part of your drift and am thinking you are suggesting crimping the wire to the BFA connectors in lieu of soldering, which is required (?) with the Dyson BFA connectors reubent suggested above, which are inexpensive and doubtless provide an excellent metal-to-metal contact.  Can you clarify your post or send me private message?  I am of a mind that these BFA connectors are just what I need.   My GLS plugs yield a poor connection, to say the least.  Many thanks.  

reubent
7,030 posts
 
whitestix,

I contacted Jeffery Dyson a couple of days ago. He recommended soldering them and cutting off the tab/flag on the barrel. That's also what I've done when I used other low-mass BFA banana plugs in the past.

You will love the BFA connectors. They are excellent......

Enjoy,

TIC


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