Speaker Connection Advice

Hi All,

I've recently bought myself a pair of B&W 686s, and was planning to wall mount them.

My speaker cables are terminated with QED banana plugs, and I'd rather not chop them off, however this means they stick too far out the back of the speaker to mount easily against a wall.

I've tried inserting them through the side holes, which I know is intended for bare wire, but wanted to check that this isn't going to cause any problems.



Will I be OK using them like this, or am I likely to compromise sound quality from reduced contact area, and find they vibrate out later on?

Cheers,

Rich

 

there is reductiun on the sound quality the only thing is that copper oxcidises with oxigen there for silver is used to minimise the corrode, in my experience you will not loose sound quality but may afect the sound if "as you are" placing them so near the wall, if you mount them on a bracket let's say 5 to 7 " and give them room to breathe then they will perform well with the banana plugs that are terminated with, those speakers are not to be so close to any wall or ceilings.
nando

 

Its a problem, not because of the cable but that you are trying to place them that close to a wall. They are rear ported speakers (that big hole in the back) and it needs some clear space behind them to operate correctly.

In the user manual it does show them being wall mounted but they have some space still. I don't know how much you need but I'd guess at least 15cm.




If you insist on having them close to a wall you should try stuffing the port with a rolled up pair of socks or something to reduce its output. This could help quite a bit, see what you think. It wont damage them as long as you can get them back out!

You should also be aware that placing a speaker close to a wall, rear ported or not will alter the sound, usually for the worse unless they are designed specifically for close to wall use.

You can get wall brackets for speakers in B&Q and the like that will hold it some distance from the wall and allow you to angle them.

Silver also oxidizes by the way Nando, thats why they use gold on connectors.

 

I personally would use wbt bananas and go in the top of the binding post where you can get a tight connection.
if you use the angled type it should be ok

http://www.vhaudio.com/images/wbt-0645.jpg

 

Thanks for the replies guys,

The speakers had some accessories in the box that gave me the impression mounting close to the wall was something the designers envisaged. There are (larger than the feet) rubber lumps to brace the bottom edge against the wall, and pre-cut foam plugs to block the ports

My biggest worry was the potential for problems using banana plugs oddly, but hifinutt's suggestion of the wbt plugs that I'd never seen before seems the way forward!

Thanks again!

 

If you are okay using the speakers close to the wall then don't bother changing your plugs, keep them as they are. Putting the banana plugs through the center hole as in your picture will be fine, just don't over tighten the sockets.

If you are worried about it then cut the plugs off and use bare wire.

Honestly, wire and plugs etc make far less difference than your local hi-fi dealer would like you to believe.