Spades vs. Banana plugs ??

I've made several sets of speaker cables using crimp on connectors from Analysis Plus.  I put spades on the speaker end because I don't want the weight of the cables pulling down on banana plugs. Plus spades are more secure if you occasionally move your speakers around seeking the perfect spot or just to vacuum underneath.  I put bananas on the amp end because the connectors are usually an inch or two above shelf with minimal strain on the plug.  Also, the connectors on the rear of some amps can be quite cluttered making bananas the easy choice.  I use a ratcheting crimper which produces a proper secure crimp every time.

The ubiquitous five-way binding posts are hard pressed to cope with the mechanical stress imposed by the massive cables folks use. 12AWG is about as far as five-way will comfortably handle.

Speakon connectors address five-way's shortcomings but are still largely absent from the audiophile world. There are signs this is changing though, for instance Linkwitz uses Speakons in their LX521 flagships. Benchmark does too.

If Furutech, WBT et al start making $500 Speakon connectors, they may yet become the audiophile standard.

If Furutech, WBT et al start making $500 Speakon connectors, they may yet become the audiophile standard.

Are you in marketing?  What a great idea!  Create a new "audiophile standard" that almost nobody currently uses so that almost everybody would have to purchase the new standard to avoid audiophile FOMO!

Since I have used spades without fail for the past 40 years, this is like so many other audiophile products in that it sort of solves a problem not in evidence (IMO), even though I would not argue that Speakon connectors are better.  Of course, the ring connector idea also solves the same problem but the binding post and connector people have never collaborated on a consistent/universal size for the hole and the post.  A simple screw post and nut holding a ring connector and we would have never needed fancy spring loaded bananas or multiple types and sizes of spades.

Good quality spades for best sound. 
 

Bananas for convenience but poor sound. 
 

The tight screw down compression of a spade is always better than loose banana slip in connection. 
 

Just don’t be a dummy and let the spades short/touch. 

@sudnh 

So you learned this by experimentation? Please tell us the details.
 

I have always thought that spades should sound the best… but after hundreds of hours of experimenting with interconnects, and a hundred hours with speaker cables etc. it has just been easier to choose spades on the logic and not actually do the work comparing them. I’d love to hear the details.