OK, so I have a nice amp (not going to mention the name, starts with C and tends to lead to lots of argumentation), but it's old and has the then "standard" spring-loaded "push down, insert wire, let go" type of speaker wire connection. Each channel has a set of two of these that make up one "module" that's about 2 inches wide (screws holding it onto cabinet are 1 3/4" apart, holes for each connector component are 5/8" in diameter (plenty big) and are about 1 3/4" apart center on center).
So, of course, one of 'em breaks. Being the DIY'er I am, I figure, hey, what a great upgrade anyways, let's just rip 'em out and replace with binding posts. Problems is, most/all binding posts I've found expect much smaller 11mm hole and would "fall through" my existing holes unless I used some weird shim system or something.
So now it's occuring to me, doesn't somebody have a "out with the old, in with the new" kit for this? I mean, most of these modules look to be about exactly the same and create a replacement set shouldn't be a big deal. Anything out there that anybody knows of or know of somebody that has a HUGE selection of binding posts with various diameters? (I've checked parts express and connexion, of coruse).
TIA for any insights or advice,
Terry
So, of course, one of 'em breaks. Being the DIY'er I am, I figure, hey, what a great upgrade anyways, let's just rip 'em out and replace with binding posts. Problems is, most/all binding posts I've found expect much smaller 11mm hole and would "fall through" my existing holes unless I used some weird shim system or something.
So now it's occuring to me, doesn't somebody have a "out with the old, in with the new" kit for this? I mean, most of these modules look to be about exactly the same and create a replacement set shouldn't be a big deal. Anything out there that anybody knows of or know of somebody that has a HUGE selection of binding posts with various diameters? (I've checked parts express and connexion, of coruse).
TIA for any insights or advice,
Terry
new amp spekaer connectors
Well of course I'll soldering the interior connections, just as they currently are (de-solder, solder onto new connectors). The diameter is important as I have to worry about it mounting properly and being stable and also not having any potential shorts with the case.
Well of course I'll soldering the interior connections, just as they currently are (de-solder, solder onto new connectors). The diameter is important as I have to worry about it mounting properly and being stable and also not having any potential shorts with the case.
By coincidence I'm replacing the same style clips on my NAD3020 with some "proper" terminals, but the spring ones are a block of four soldered straight to the PCB like the ones on the right here.
If yours are like the ones left I'd replace them with these with the twin washer, making a plate from a scrap of thin sheet to take the terminals and cover the old holes. In the case of the NAD it will have to be fresh holes in the back panel, the terminals have all the insulation needed for isolation.
If yours are like the ones left I'd replace them with these with the twin washer, making a plate from a scrap of thin sheet to take the terminals and cover the old holes. In the case of the NAD it will have to be fresh holes in the back panel, the terminals have all the insulation needed for isolation.
Replacement speaker connectors for amp
Well, I spent 20 minutes on that web site putting together and order, only to find out at the end they only take minimum 100 pound (monetary) orders outside of UK. I don't have close to $200 US in parts to order, so what a waste of time.
If somebody knows of similar supplier here in US that'd be great. Parts Express and Connexion have terminals, but they're so small I'd have to create sheet metal blanks, etc, and I was REALLY wanting to avoid the hassle of that and the unprofessional looking results. I would like this to look like an upgrade, not a "fix".
Well, I spent 20 minutes on that web site putting together and order, only to find out at the end they only take minimum 100 pound (monetary) orders outside of UK. I don't have close to $200 US in parts to order, so what a waste of time.
If somebody knows of similar supplier here in US that'd be great. Parts Express and Connexion have terminals, but they're so small I'd have to create sheet metal blanks, etc, and I was REALLY wanting to avoid the hassle of that and the unprofessional looking results. I would like this to look like an upgrade, not a "fix".
I had a broken speaker connection clip on my old Sansui amp. The original speaker connection module attached to the amp enclosure with a steel spring clip on each side of a rectangular cutout in the enclosure. I made a new speaker connection module using a piece of Plexiglas (from Home Depot) that I painted black and with binding posts I purchased from PartsExpress. I attached the new module with a couple of screws to the enclosure. Looks as good as the original and now I can us banana plugs.
Re: Re: Replacement speaker connectors for amp
Yeah, I actually liked these, except for the 'up to 16 awg' wire. I mean, any decent amp these days should take at least 12 awg, 16 is embrassing. The other measurements are so close I may try it out and use bananas (which I think stink, rather use wire/nut for connection).
cpemma said:
Yeah, I actually liked these, except for the 'up to 16 awg' wire. I mean, any decent amp these days should take at least 12 awg, 16 is embrassing. The other measurements are so close I may try it out and use bananas (which I think stink, rather use wire/nut for connection).
'audiophile' look
This is not a matter of function over form. Unless the springs in your amazing set of spring-loaded terminals provide 50 pounds or so per square inch of tension, then they cannot compare to "5 way bind posts". I myself think banana's are a bad connection, and that the best is wire, through a hole, then tensioned down with a nut, plain and simple, lots of contact, high tensile strength, little to complain about. Spades would be my next choice, but no popular in the U.S. for some reasons. If you talk to the vendors at CES the primary reason for bananas to even exist is for vendor put-up and tear-downs, it saves them a tremendous amount of time not just for initial config's, but also changing config's for various demos or other reasons during the show. In fact, I've had one high-end vendor tell me straight out that they did not want to offer banana connection but that their distributors went nuts when it was suggested they actually spend the time to make/break proper connections.
sam9 said:
This is not a matter of function over form. Unless the springs in your amazing set of spring-loaded terminals provide 50 pounds or so per square inch of tension, then they cannot compare to "5 way bind posts". I myself think banana's are a bad connection, and that the best is wire, through a hole, then tensioned down with a nut, plain and simple, lots of contact, high tensile strength, little to complain about. Spades would be my next choice, but no popular in the U.S. for some reasons. If you talk to the vendors at CES the primary reason for bananas to even exist is for vendor put-up and tear-downs, it saves them a tremendous amount of time not just for initial config's, but also changing config's for various demos or other reasons during the show. In fact, I've had one high-end vendor tell me straight out that they did not want to offer banana connection but that their distributors went nuts when it was suggested they actually spend the time to make/break proper connections.
Banana plugs vs. other connectors
So, assuming we're 'on the same page', I don't suppose you have a link to a wholesaler or retailers who sells parts to replace all of these awful spring-loaded connecters? It's so easy to do at the amp level given the access, and also happens to be the place it's needed most, since bananas and others can fall out vs. a good inserted wire that's that's been nut-tightened down would be the best (IMHO). I'm sure there are various other DYI discussions, though I could'nt' find any, I'd apppreciate any input folks have to do a one-for-one replacement for the vary standarddizaed spring-loaded connectors vs. replacing them with something else, whether it be X-brand binding posts or Eichmann connectors (which as far as I've seen look pretty close measurement-wise, but hard to justify $100+ "upgrade" for one amp unless people really appreciate the difference). TIA,
Terry
sam9 said:
So, assuming we're 'on the same page', I don't suppose you have a link to a wholesaler or retailers who sells parts to replace all of these awful spring-loaded connecters? It's so easy to do at the amp level given the access, and also happens to be the place it's needed most, since bananas and others can fall out vs. a good inserted wire that's that's been nut-tightened down would be the best (IMHO). I'm sure there are various other DYI discussions, though I could'nt' find any, I'd apppreciate any input folks have to do a one-for-one replacement for the vary standarddizaed spring-loaded connectors vs. replacing them with something else, whether it be X-brand binding posts or Eichmann connectors (which as far as I've seen look pretty close measurement-wise, but hard to justify $100+ "upgrade" for one amp unless people really appreciate the difference). TIA,
Terry
Re: Re: Re: Replacement speaker connectors for amp
That is a small crosshole, would take a 2mm plug. Better picture here at the UK equivalent to Radio Shack (cheap tat at high prices
).
The first ones I linked (Rapid's) have a 4mm dia. cross-hole; that's quite heavy wire, looks as though 8 AWG would (just) fit.
I'm sure plenty of the bigger US places have them, Digikey, Mouser, etc, and they're a better quality feel than the others.
tlparker said:
That is a small crosshole, would take a 2mm plug. Better picture here at the UK equivalent to Radio Shack (cheap tat at high prices
).The first ones I linked (Rapid's) have a 4mm dia. cross-hole; that's quite heavy wire, looks as though 8 AWG would (just) fit.
I'm sure plenty of the bigger US places have them, Digikey, Mouser, etc, and they're a better quality feel than the others.
Binding post (source side - i.e. amp) sources
OK, now we're off in a new direction. I must admit, I haven't thumbed through the 10,000 or so pages from Mouser lately, but I wasn't even aware they carried binding posts, should've thought of that. Digikey likewise. My problem is that when you deal with either of those sources you can feel their eyes gloss over when you start to talk audio vs. plain old electrictal stuff with them.
To that end, do I have any other alternates offered up as potential U.S. (or Canada, not much difference these days, particularly as our dollars weaken they seem even more and more anxious to do business with us... I wonder why?) sources for binding posts or other build-level type connectors?
I'm thinking the sources I'm looking for would also provide RCA analog, digital, optical, etc. "through-wall" connectors for diy-ers or other prototype builders. I have a short list of these folks and I definitely need to lengthen it, any names/urls/etc much appreciated. As always, the DIY community continues to assist in times of need! (BTW, I did suck it up and buy some Eichmann "cable pods" as they look like a very close match to my existing holes and I can easily sell them as an upgrade -- which they ARE). TIA,
Terry
OK, now we're off in a new direction. I must admit, I haven't thumbed through the 10,000 or so pages from Mouser lately, but I wasn't even aware they carried binding posts, should've thought of that. Digikey likewise. My problem is that when you deal with either of those sources you can feel their eyes gloss over when you start to talk audio vs. plain old electrictal stuff with them.
To that end, do I have any other alternates offered up as potential U.S. (or Canada, not much difference these days, particularly as our dollars weaken they seem even more and more anxious to do business with us... I wonder why?) sources for binding posts or other build-level type connectors?
I'm thinking the sources I'm looking for would also provide RCA analog, digital, optical, etc. "through-wall" connectors for diy-ers or other prototype builders. I have a short list of these folks and I definitely need to lengthen it, any names/urls/etc much appreciated. As always, the DIY community continues to assist in times of need! (BTW, I did suck it up and buy some Eichmann "cable pods" as they look like a very close match to my existing holes and I can easily sell them as an upgrade -- which they ARE). TIA,
Terry
Re: Re: Re: Re: Replacement speaker connectors for amp
Geez, why not just machine them from scratch (I have my grandfather's tool and die set to create the threads)? I mean, this seems very odd to me. Here we have all this equipment, many high quality (like the Carver m500t amp, which I'm not going to argue about) that have the old standard spring-tension system that is as bad a connection as was every made! And most (all?) of them seem to have the same param's re separation, size, mounting holes (though that's easy), etc.
So what I'm surprised at is that someone hasn't already created the "upgrade to binding posts" kit in the diy area. Heck, Nuforce includes the eichmann upgrade as part of their almost-free 9 to 9.02 upgrade. The Eichmann's are overly expensive for many amps and WE should be able to source or create some washers, small mounting plates, etc, which would make conversion easier if the "push wire" modules are more varied than I think (which I don't, I think they're pretty standarddized).
I'm a bit taken shocked there isn't a (velleman kit that already allows for this simple upgrade / change. I mean, who LIKES those nasty push-in spring things? They're horrible from so many standpoints.
Anyways, I continue to ask for more sources for amp-side binding posts, particularly "pairs". It's easy to order singles and do the replace/upgrade, but it ends up ugly, and as I mentioned before, this is an upgrade and should be seen as such!
MadMutt said:
Geez, why not just machine them from scratch (I have my grandfather's tool and die set to create the threads)? I mean, this seems very odd to me. Here we have all this equipment, many high quality (like the Carver m500t amp, which I'm not going to argue about) that have the old standard spring-tension system that is as bad a connection as was every made! And most (all?) of them seem to have the same param's re separation, size, mounting holes (though that's easy), etc.
So what I'm surprised at is that someone hasn't already created the "upgrade to binding posts" kit in the diy area. Heck, Nuforce includes the eichmann upgrade as part of their almost-free 9 to 9.02 upgrade. The Eichmann's are overly expensive for many amps and WE should be able to source or create some washers, small mounting plates, etc, which would make conversion easier if the "push wire" modules are more varied than I think (which I don't, I think they're pretty standarddized).
I'm a bit taken shocked there isn't a (velleman
kit that already allows for this simple upgrade / change. I mean, who LIKES those nasty push-in spring things? They're horrible from so many standpoints. Anyways, I continue to ask for more sources for amp-side binding posts, particularly "pairs". It's easy to order singles and do the replace/upgrade, but it ends up ugly, and as I mentioned before, this is an upgrade and should be seen as such!
I loathe binding posts in general. I favour BIG cable, and if it shifts even a little bit the post loosens and the wire falls off. The things also look like something from a mediocre science fair project; this is the 21st century, what is this antiquated junk doing on the backs of amplifiers?
Some power amps now have speakons beside the junk, a major step forward. Would that more manufacturers follow their lead.
Some power amps now have speakons beside the junk, a major step forward. Would that more manufacturers follow their lead.
DSP_Geek said:
Yeah, I like to see at least a 10-awg hold, preferably an 8. And "binding posts" are no big deal so long as you don't defer to the ridiculous "banana" part. I mean, straight wire knuckled down is best, then spades of even those whacky pin things they're using to tidy up a fine set of strands, but all that rigamarole just to stick a "banana jack" on the end of a wire so you can stick it into a banana post is BS. The connections suck 1/2 the time, are prone to falling out, and I would bet dollars to doughnuts that more amp shorts are cause by these horrendous things than any other single termination method (or course, we're talking the other end of the cable here, in variable banana'd).
DSP_Geek said:
My Rotel amp has posts similar to the system shown left. The slotted surround "washer" guides the bared wire end to the right spot and prevents rotational movement. Works well.
Nearest thing is maybe Mouser's Pomona 6884 though its slot is "upside-down".
speaker spring clip -- binding post replacements
The other product looked good, I just wasn't going to commit to $200 of an order just to get some interior binding posts, which is what they wanted for US order.
The pomona item from Mouser looks very good! Thanks a bunch, don't know how you found it. Not sure what you mean by "upside-down" slot, but I really appreciate the reccomendation, I'm going to order some just to try 'em out! Thanks again!
Terry
cpemma said:
The other product looked good, I just wasn't going to commit to $200 of an order just to get some interior binding posts, which is what they wanted for US order.
The pomona item from Mouser looks very good! Thanks a bunch, don't know how you found it. Not sure what you mean by "upside-down" slot, but I really appreciate the reccomendation, I'm going to order some just to try 'em out! Thanks again!
Terry
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