SpeakON connector for speaker wiring

Great. Yes I would probably use 2 pole. One for each driver to make it less confusing.

What about gold plated and all that bling bling coating. Does it help at all? All my wires are copper just want to make sure I don't screw things up by using subpar connectors

I appreciate
 
For all speaker connections SpeakON is the way to go, period.

Very, very low contact resistance, very long term reliability, hot plugin, nor risk of short circuit and blown amps (as with two wires or banana plugs dangling around), really cheap compared to "high end" hifi connection solutions
150 W .... well they are usable in multi kW connections, if you chose the high current version.

As Citizen124032 points out, there is a 8 pole version, usable for 3-4 way solution.

See connection suggestions (conventions) here:
file:///F:/Users/Mads%20K.%20Madsen/Downloads/03%20NEUTRIK%20PG%20EN%20-%20Section%20speakON%20-%20202110-V22.pdf

Be aware that the normal versions take up to 2.5 mm2 cable, but there are versions taking 4mm2

Go for it ... you'll come to love the easy connection 😉
 
There is nothing subpar about SpeakOn .... it is probably the best field tested connection there is ......
They use Silver as plating, which has a lover resistance than gold.
Unplug and reconnect a few times a year to ensure no build up of oxidation (which is what gold prevents) .... not a problem in the pro world as things are plugged and un plugged all the time ....

SpeakOn is real engineering and real science ....


!!! correction; most types take 4mm2 and some take 6 mm2 !!!


And look for pro cables matching with e.g 4 or 8 times 2.5mm2 or 4mm2 ........
 
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What about gold plated and all that bling bling coating. Does it help at all? All my wires are copper just want to make sure I don't screw things up by using subpar connectors
Gold only provides benefit for "dry" currents. <50 ma and <50 v. Reference the Deltrol relay catalog (now bankrupt). Speaker currents are much higher than dry circuits.
Gold is somewhat useful for line level connections, for example. The RCA plug/jack has low contact force and a tin plated one went open circuit on me between PAS2 preamp & Stereo 70 amp when not unplugged+replugged for 4 years. Unplugging & replugging scraped the oxide off.
The speakon has screw terminal connections to the wires, which provides enough contact force to exclude oxidation.
 
Very reassuring responses. So speakOn is only made by speakOn ? There shouldn't be AliExpress replicas ?

Basically want to make sure I don't buy some fake speak on connector on parts express.

I see neutrik and switchcraft branded speakons on parts express. Is any one of them more genuine or original than the other. What's the cheapest silver coated

Thanks a lot.
 
Very reassuring responses. So speakOn is only made by speakOn . There shouldn't be AliExpress replicas .
Basically want to make sure I don't buy some fake speak on connector on parts express.
In the US the copywrite of the name protects you if sold by US vendors. The patent expired 2 years ago and ****ese copies are now available. For best results purchase from a Neutrik authorized distributor. https://www.newark.com/neutrik/nl2fx/connector-speakon-2-pole-cable/dp/08X0951
 
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Very reassuring responses. So speakOn is only made by speakOn ? There shouldn't be AliExpress replicas ?

Basically want to make sure I don't buy some fake speak on connector on parts express.

I see neutrik and switchcraft branded speakons on parts express. Is any one of them more genuine or original than the other. What's the cheapest silver coated

Thanks a lot.
SpeakOn is made by Neutrik in Lichtenstein.
They are fairly cheap, especially compared to "HiFi" so do NOT go for replica .... use the real thing only

Shop e.g. at Thomann https://www.thomann.de/

Man 5€ for a top class 4 pole connector:
https://www.thomann.de/intl/neutrik_nl4fc.htm

and the same for chassis https://www.thomann.de/intl/neutrik_nl4_mpxx_d_typ.htm for 2€

it don't get more value for money 😉

PS. for mounting on wood use the larger round type https://www.thomann.de/intl/neutrik_nl4_mprxx.htm to ease getting it air tight around the hole you make to mount it
 
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I went with speak-on's in my latest (active) build just to make sure I don't switch tweeter and mid when I disconnect the speaker cable. However, the amp ends still have banana plugs, so anything can happen in that end.. Well, at least there is one less source of error.
 
At loudspeakers ends, pros in PA setup use pin +1-1 = bass

pin +2-2 = mid/hf

I can see the benefit of this. However, my system is 4 way so I could easily plug the mid bass into 6khz and above CD by mistake and still destroy it in a nanosecond. I just make sure I plug them in appropriately and test each one after I connect it: mute everything except the one I'm expecting to hear sound from. I do this starting from the high frequency tweeter and work down to the bass. This also has the benefit of being able to use all cables for any job: you never know when they might be needed to extend to a speaker that has to be further away than normal with spare cables and couplers joining them together (this happened at my last 2 gigs).
The exception to this is I have some amps with different configurations in bridged mode, so I've got a half metre long cables with the require pin connections on one end (clearly marked), that are wired to -1 +1 on the other which can be coupled to normal -1 +1 cables and its good to go, anywhere.
 

That would certainly help keep things a bit tidier around the back of the amplifier rack. With the 8 individual speaker cables and XLRs in and out of the active crossover it gets into a right mess. The problem is I am well and truly invested in a lot of good quality cables already, about 100 metres of it in total. Half of that is fairly expensive 4mm squared cable.