Banana Plug Help Please.

Hello all.
Looking for a little help here.
Can someone point me in the direction of some good quality plugs to go on the ends of my new speaker cable that I'm making up. They are said to be 4.2mm sq in size, and I would prefer to solder them. I do have the required soldering irons etc, but am a bit stuck as to where to get the actual plugs from.
I dont mind paying for good ones (are the WBT ones as good as they are made out to be? and they appear to be screw connecting rather than solder)

Is soldering better or as good as screw / grub screw connectors?

Is silver solder better than this new lead free stuff that we are now obliged to use?

Any thoughts gratefully received.

PS - red heat shrink supplies?

 

I think plug choice is mainly down to practicality and personal preference. Have a look on Ebay. You'll be spoilt for choice!

I've tried loads of different types except for the WBT. I just don't see the point in spending the money when they could well end up stuck on the ends of the many cables in my 'spares' box.

Every type has it's own advantages and disadvantages. The fat metal ones are sturdy but are just begging to short your amplifier and release the magic smoke.
The plastic barrel ones are great for not killing your amp and it is thought that removing as much metal as possible from the connectors is a good plan (up to a point) but, some of the plastic types have a hollow 'zig- zag' contact area that makes a fantastic connection but warps with repeated use.
Actually, the WBT methodology is starting to sound good!!

Whether you solder or not is down to your own superstitions. Screws can be very secure or not depending on the cable you are using. Surprisingly I find screw fitting most ill suited to solid core speaker wire. It seems to weaken & break it. Stranded wire is happier when tinned with solder before screwing into place but then you'll be putting a less 'desirable' metal in between the cable and the connector. Do you believe in diode junctions occurring where differing metals join?

Soldering directly can be good but I often find it to be inconvenient. It can also be tricky to do (and undo).

If you can get away with it I would recommend not using bananas at all and simply restrip the cables every few months to find fresh un-oxidised cable.

I haven't personally heard a difference between regular and silver solder. I use the silver stuff because it isn't much more expensive really and I have to solder to pure silver wire a lot. Also, I spend far too much time working out how to make my system sound better so I'd rather remove the doubt and pay the little extra. I don't really believe in the very expensive audiophile silver solder but others may know different.

Heat shrink is also available from Ebay in any colour you could wish for.

I'd be very interested in Zanash' opinion on this.

 

if using a screw down type connection i wouldn't tin the cables,or you'll forever be retightning the dam thing

 

look for stackable 4mm plugs on RS get the low mass beryllium copper types ...they are far superior to the hifi brass offerings. discard the plastic housing and solder with silver solder [4%] to the cable ends, finish of with a bit of 8mm heat shrink for a clean finish

 

oh yes best of all if you can get away with it is to use bare wire .....but not alway convenient.

 

Thanks for the hints n tips guys, much appreciated.
Will let you know how I get on!

 

No. The segmented 4mm pins are brittle, and it's quite possible to snap segments off with only moderate mishandling; and the cable clamping isn't great either. At the price I thinks such problems are unforgivable.

Zanash is spot-on, the RS plugs are a good recommendation; as Are the Deltron ones with the bar spring.

 

As mentioned, go with the simple RS plugs.
Why would you solder or screw jewellery to the end of your cable?
<goes for interconnects and speaker cables>