The 3-pronged strain relief thing? All the Speakons I've bought had 2 or three sizes of them included. Perhaps you just needed the one for thicker wire.
Thanks Chris.
What about the amp side of the connector. Probably an obviously dumb question, but how do you know if the amp is 2 pole/4 pole or 8 pole?
I think on mains cables the problem is not 'solder creepage'.
I think it is because the solder may not be smooth so the contact area can turn out to be pretty small and actually melting the solder leading to either molten solder dripping off and short-circuiting something it shouldn't or sparking.
I have actually experienced this. Not knowing any better I once tinned the wires for a hot tub in the power plug. It quickly failed.
The problem is that when you tin a stranded wire, tighten it under a screw, and then apply a large electrical current, while usually not melting it outright it does soften the solder enough that it relieves the pressure of the screw. This leads to a loose connection, which then is prone to voltage drops, which means more heating, and eventual cascade failure.
This is why tinning wires under screw connections on electrical mains is universally illegal.
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Solder makes an initial connection OK. But as soon as it starts to creep, the pressure comes off and the contact area rapidly reduces. If it's a high current circuit, it starts to heat up and a chain reaction ensues - faster creep, higher resistance, more heat...
I had many years of practical experience with solder creep. I worked for IBM, servicing midrange and mainframe computers. They had huge (up to half gallon can size) capacitors in their power supplies. These had screw terminals, and were commonly connnected to heavy printed circuit boards by their terminals. The printed circuit traces were heavily tinned to increase their current carrying capacity. After a few years in service we would start to get faults due to low power supply rail voltages. This was invariably fixed by tightening the screws. It wasn't screws coming loose - I started marking the screw head position. Next fault call, the head hadn't moved but I got another 1/4 turn on the screw.
I had many years of practical experience with solder creep. I worked for IBM, servicing midrange and mainframe computers. They had huge (up to half gallon can size) capacitors in their power supplies. These had screw terminals, and were commonly connnected to heavy printed circuit boards by their terminals. The printed circuit traces were heavily tinned to increase their current carrying capacity. After a few years in service we would start to get faults due to low power supply rail voltages. This was invariably fixed by tightening the screws. It wasn't screws coming loose - I started marking the screw head position. Next fault call, the head hadn't moved but I got another 1/4 turn on the screw.
Everyone should go down to their basement and tighten all the screws in their fusebox. Those in older homes might be shocked at how much the screws turn, and they'll certainly feel safer afterwards.
If there are 200 year-old houses nearby you can tour, go look at the window panes. You'll see the glass is thicker at the bottom. If a material as hard as glass can 'flow' downward just from the force of gravity, think how much more flow will occur in a softer material like copper when under pressure from a terminal screw.
If there are 200 year-old houses nearby you can tour, go look at the window panes. You'll see the glass is thicker at the bottom. If a material as hard as glass can 'flow' downward just from the force of gravity, think how much more flow will occur in a softer material like copper when under pressure from a terminal screw.
Ahh, the Speakons I got from PE only had one strain relief doohicky. That might explain why I had trouble with them.
Now, if they'll only give up the Playskool colours....
Everything flows like a liquid, it is just a matter of time scale.
For example the entire greek mainland is slowly running into the sea. Slow enough not to completely destroy ancient temples, some of which were built 3500 years ago near the shore and they are now only accessible to divers.
Is there any recommended convention regarding male vs female chassis mount connectors.
Usually for mains wiring you would go with female at the source, but this is audio and regular binding posts stick out there like dog's balls so.....
Just wondering if there is something I am missing?
The only thing I can think of is if a cable is wired differently at each end then maybe you want male and female at either end to avoid connecting cable the wrong way.
Please enlighten me what Neutrik's intent is for the male/female chassis mount gender.
Usually for mains wiring you would go with female at the source, but this is audio and regular binding posts stick out there like dog's balls so.....
Just wondering if there is something I am missing?
The only thing I can think of is if a cable is wired differently at each end then maybe you want male and female at either end to avoid connecting cable the wrong way.
Please enlighten me what Neutrik's intent is for the male/female chassis mount gender.
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Old, thread.
The convention is simple. All chassis and speaker boxes are female. All cable are male on each end.. Actually I don't think of gender, just the chassis kind and the cable kind.
The make a cable longer you need a coupler.
The other convention is to always run and use all the poles through the cables. If you are using this for thetypeical home HiFi where there is a crossover in the speaker cabinet then run four wires and use pairs parallel.
Binding posts are pretty much obsolete except for home use.
If you follow this convention then you can walk into any audio or music store, anyplace and just buy a"Speakon Cable" and it will just work.
The convention is simple. All chassis and speaker boxes are female. All cable are male on each end.. Actually I don't think of gender, just the chassis kind and the cable kind.
The make a cable longer you need a coupler.
The other convention is to always run and use all the poles through the cables. If you are using this for thetypeical home HiFi where there is a crossover in the speaker cabinet then run four wires and use pairs parallel.
Binding posts are pretty much obsolete except for home use.
If you follow this convention then you can walk into any audio or music store, anyplace and just buy a"Speakon Cable" and it will just work.
Cool.
I make my own cables but that's useful information I wasn't aware of.
Do you know any other reasons (other than my suggestion) for why Neutrik make both male and female chassis connectors?
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