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Speaker Cable Banana Plug Breakage

Hi Folks,
I could seriously use some help with a banana plug issue. The thin gold plated pieces that splay apart on the end of my banana plug have broken off and now, I'm having some conductivity issues. I used a test CD and there is obviously a reason for concern. These are older Hi Diamond speaker cables and while they sound wonderful, the build quality might leave a little to be desired. Right now, the banana plug end is a minuscule gold pointed spear and I'wondering if there isn't something that I could do without causing a sound contrast between the two speakers? I'm pretty certain that Cullen Cables can help me with his issue but I need to buy myself some time before having them properly repaired. Any help would be greatly appreciated,
Thanks!
128x128goofyfoot
gdhal's avatar
gdhal
1,641 posts
 
The thin gold plated pieces that splay apart on the end of my banana plug have broken off and now, I'm having some conductivity issues.

This is one reason I use bare wire at the terminal connection point. Theoretically better because less is more in this case. I think the only reason to use some kind of terminator is in cases where you would frequently take on and off the speaker wire, like at an audio dealer. 
toddverrone's avatar
toddverrone
840 posts
 
As gdhal says, bare wire is a completely valid solution to connect your cables as well. However, based on you posts, I’m guessing that there’s no way you’d go for that because that’s not how they come from the manufacturer. With that said, might I recommend that you change all the bananas to the newer BFA banana design? It’s far superior to the old school banana connector. It provides a much larger, stronger contact area and, because of this, I’ve found it to be even better than bare wire. Here's an inexpensive example and it has a screw on connection system, so you wouldn't need to crimp or solder:
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F201718034056

These are what I use, but you'd need to crimp or solder them:
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F160535708043
czarivey
5,946 posts
 
chop them off and use bare wire.
goofyfoot's avatar
goofyfoot OP
1,384 posts
 
Thanks todd & dhal. I wouldn't totally discount bare wire but am unsure how to remove the banana plugs. I did receive a response from HiDiamond but my Italian is till so there's a slight communication issue. This is essentially the advice I got,
'Please send photo. If the problem is the final plug , your possible buy other banana and change. The bananas are normally forgotten on the wire and not solder.'
goofyfoot's avatar
goofyfoot OP
1,384 posts
 
There is a way to remove the front of the banana plug by unscrewing a silver ring. This will expose the two screws holding the plug to the wire. I'll take the screws apart and attach the bare wire to the post. The important thing is not to make contact with the other terminal. Much appreciation to HIDiamond for their customer service.
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