Banana plugs are great for experimenters and folks who make a lot of changes, but they don’t offer much contact area with the barrel they fit in to. You want maximum contact area.
For the most part - I agree with this statement
Some banana plugs have little spring clips on the pin
https://www.amazon.ca/Monoprice-109436-Plated-Speaker-Banana/dp/B0097JLQVCSome banana plugs have a little bar on the pin
https://www.amazon.ca/GearIT-Premium-Braided-Speaker-Plated/dp/B0713ZDBM2/ref=redir_mobile_desktop?i...Some Banana plugs rely on the spring effect of the pin itself to hold them in place - BUT they are generally NOT perfectly cylindrical, but elliptical.
https://www.amazon.ca/CERRXIAN-Speaker-Locking-Insulated-Connector/dp/B07TYK9SHQ/ref=sr_1_7?crid=3FV...Some banana plugs have a screw lock that widens the pin
https://www.amazon.ca/Copper-Nakamichi-Speaker-Amplifier-Connector/dp/B072F1YRT7/ref=sr_1_17?crid=3F...Many plugs are gold, rhodium or even platinum plated, but the issue here is - these metals requires a substrate to adhere to the base metal - that substrate normally has a much lower conductivity than the metals being used - so it impedes the transfer of the signal.
All of the above designs are flawed - they all fail to make use of the maximum possible contact area
However, the Banana plugs from KLE Innovations are precisely engineered and are perfectly cylindrical. They do Maximize the contract area of the entire pin - which in their case is approximately 1.1 sq cm. That’s possibly the biggest contact surface area of any speaker cable connectors - spades or bare wire!
https://kleinnovations.com/kle-innovations-klei-products/klei-harmony-connectors/klei-harmony-banana...They are also NOT made of brass or some copper alloy - they are pure copper with a silver plating - so conductivity is maximized
BTW silver applied to copper does NOT requires any intermediate substrate plating material.
But they are not without any shortcomings
- they "may work loose" - IF the speaker cable is heavy - 10 gauge max
- they are a little fragile - they can bend out of shape IF you are not careful
- they can only be soldered onto the wire - some prefer crimp/screw style
Being silver plated they can "tarnish" and some people feel the need to clean them.
But here’s the thing, that dark discoloration is actually SILVER SULPHIDE
- Silver DOES NOT actually oxidize - it reacts with Sulphur in the air
And here’s the thing with Silver Sulphide...
- it does conduct electricity, but not quite as good as silver
- it is only ever microns thick
- restoring full performance is as easy as reseating the plug - i.e. "IF required"
The KLEI Bananas are so well engineered/fabricated that air seldom gets into the joint, so the tarnishing effect on the pin is almost non existent.
If the plug gets deformed, restoring it’s shape is very easy.
They may not be for everyone - BUT if you want to improve the connection of your speaker cables - give them a try
They are the best Banana plug I have tried in the last 4 years
Here is my review...
http://image99.net/blog/files/tag-banana-plugs.htmlRegards - Steve