Can a 4 pole Speakon be wired as a 2 pole for mono?

[bassmann4020]

Hi - I've just spent the afternoon wiring in a passive sub and cables but I've hit a dead-end and cannot diagnose where i'm going wrong.

From amp, cable to cab i'm using 4 pole Speakons.

The cable I've made is using 2 core cable since I only need mono. Its connected to the 1+, 1- connectors of the Speakons throughout including amp output connector.

- I do not get any sound however.
- If I connect a 4 core cable I do get sound.
- So i made a 2nd, 2 core cable with the same result, no sound.

Is there a way to wire a 4 pole Speakon for mono use?

Alternatively I could switch to 2 pole connectors or
4 core cable (and not use the additional 2 channels) but seems like a last resort.

Any thoughts appreciated

 

[JonSnell Electronic]

Yes.
The standard wiring configuration is as follows;

2pole
1+Speaker +
1- Speaker-

4pole
1+ either Full range or Bass+
1- either Full range or Bass-
2+ HF+
2- HF-

8pole
1+ Sub+
1- Sub-
2+ bass+
2- Bass-
3+ Mid+
3- Mid-
4+ HF+
4- HF-

Any other wiring is acceptable as long as not for commercial use.

 

[bassmann4020]

Any other wiring is acceptable as long as not for commercial use.

I take it from that there's no reason why 2 core wired in a 4 pole to 1+ 1- should not work.

If that's the case, I'll triple check my signal path.

 

[JonSnell Electronic]

A bit more info for you.
http://www.n4tze.com/speakonconnectorwiring.pdf

Most 4way sockets are wired 1+ & 1- only.

 

[bassmann4020]

Thanks JonSnell - I'll review your source and update the outcome...
Thanks for your help.

 

[bassmann4020]

Just ran the multimeter from amp to speaker

1+ ok
1- not ok.

Since I have tried different cables and now sockets I'll now read JonSnells doc...

 

[bassmann4020]

Problem solved i.e. my wiring.
Connectors were correct, I had the - on wring terminal in cable.

Learnt some stuff about speakon conventions however!