Recommendations For Banana Plugs Please.

[icehockeyboy]

Needs to be able to accept 6mm cable.

I had read that the Nakamichi ones were good, but I also read somewhere that there had been fake ones circulating of a much poorer quality.

Recommend away! :)

[Audio Al]

Good question I was also going to ask this

[struth]

i have been using them from nak uk

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121187063741?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT


and just got some of these and they look good but not tried them yet

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/200678180434?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[Effem]

Needs to be able to accept 6mm cable.

I had read that the Nakamichi ones were good, but I also read somewhere that there had been fake ones circulating of a much poorer quality.

Recommend away! :)

As I recall the Nakamichi plugs won't accept a 6mm cable, in fact very few of the boutique plugs actually do, either in the connection or the body aperture. You need to read the product description VERY carefully indeed.

The "Michell" style of plugs do accept 6mm wire easily, but avoid the short dumpy ones on ebay as they only take up to 4mm.

Found these which are OK up to 7mm http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-x-4mm-GOLD-BANANA-PLUGS-PRO-for-Arcam-Linn-Naim-NEW-/291154435480?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Audio_Cable_Termin ations&hash=item43ca281d98

http://i3.ebayimg.com/06/i/000/db/eb/54a5_1.JPG

[struth]

not sure but the naks body rear is about as wide as is possible for a plug that width.

[Effem]

not sure but the naks body rear is about as wide as is possible for a plug that width.

According to both the links you provided Grant they only take up to 4mm when you read their descriptions closely. Appearances can be very deceptive

[icehockeyboy]

Grant, correct me if I'm wrong, but both those sets of plugs say up to 4 mm, not 6mm.......?


Typing as Frank replied!

[struth]

thats maybe what they mean. i guess it means the thickness of the wire going into the screw part. i have never used anything that thick except me of course:lol:

[MikeMusic]

Z plugs

Dead cheap and great grip

Speedysteve sourced some cheap ones for me and did the business with the soldering (not my speciality)

The improvement on my Exposure speaker cables from ordinary bananas had to be heard do be believed

[CageyH]

Are you confusing the CSA of the cable with the diameter?
I used Z plugs with my 6mm VD speaker cable.

[CageyH]

Have a look at the last page of your VD Blue speaker cable thread, this post in particular - http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?33148-Van-Damme-Blue-Speaker-Cable&p=567522#post567522

[struth]

that was what i was thinking but in this case he seems to have a diameter of 6mm. i initally thought it was a csa of 6mm so diameter would fit easily ..probably be about 3mm diameter for 6mm csa

6mm diam copper cable is huge though and you could feed a factory electricity down a conductor that thick:lol:

[Tarzan]

Z plugs

Dead cheap and great grip

Speedysteve sourced some cheap ones for me and did the business with the soldering (not my speciality)

The improvement on my Exposure speaker cables from ordinary bananas had to be heard do be believed


Is this a general rule of thumb that z plugs are better than Banana plugs?

[Effem]

Is this a general rule of thumb that z plugs are better than Banana plugs?

Definitely.

Most banana plugs have a "leaf spring" arrangement which lose tension over time and not unknown to split or snap off as well. You try and prise them up back into shape and odds are they fall apart. You can see what I mean in the picture below

http://i3.ebayimg.com/06/i/000/db/eb/54a5_1.JPG

On the other hand, Z plugs are more robust with better grip.

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NDAwWDYwMA==/z/wM0AAOxyRNJSeIvi/$T2eC16dHJGYFFlOUQ!fcBSeIvjMc7g~~60_12.JPG

You can open or close the gap with a small screwdriver but never had to do one yet.

The other type is the "Deltron" style where they have a spring loaded bar to provide grip.

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NjQwWDc3MA==/z/QNUAAOxyx0JTfx-f/$_12.JPG

Not as good as the Z plugs

[CageyH]

If it's a 6mm diameter van damme speaker cable, I'd like to know what it is?
I bought the Blue 6mm and fitted Z-plugs to it, with room to spare.

[struth]

A cross section of 6 mm gives a diameter of under 3 mm. 2.75 give or take.

[Reffc]

I wouldn't recommend any banana plug unless of very high quality, and frankly, it's not worth the cost for those unless for bragging rights. Z plugs are a better design, often cheaper and easy to solder too. Z Plugs every time. They have a larger contact surface and are a better, firmer fit. Beryllium copper (gold plated) on Ebay are inexpensive. I've put a meter across some cheaper ones and their resistance is negligible (as in utterly negligible). Nakamachi spades are good but I don't like their bananas (poor quality). Why spend £££'s on speaker cable and terminate it in a bananas which provide a fraction of the contact surface of a Z plug? Spades better but can be more prone to shorting accidents.

[icehockeyboy]

Have a look at the last page of your VD Blue speaker cable thread, this post in particular - http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?33148-Van-Damme-Blue-Speaker-Cable&p=567522#post567522

And that's where I posted originally about the dodgy Nakamichi plugs too!

[CageyH]

You did.

I bought some z-plugs. ;)

[The Black Adder]

I recently fitted some Cardas ones.. pricey but very good indeed.

[MikeMusic]

After what I found when changing from admittedly old bananas I will always use Z plugs and never bananas

[myles]

I am using the Nak z-plugs (probably fakes) but I find that they hold well and will hold fast when using heavy cable.

[struth]

Ive never had any problems with bananas tbh apart from an outer case breaking . have some z's as well and they may be a tighter fit but not heard any sonic differences. also have a lot of nak spades which are pretty solid bits of kit but need shrink wrapped for safety