Speaker wires - is a bare connection OK?

I have some silver speaker cable that I will be cutting in half to make two runs.

Should I add banana plugs or just use the bare wires to connect up?

What are the advantages (apart from cheaper) or disadvantages (apart from not so easy to connect/disconnect) of bare cable ends?
I guess I would need similar suitable silver banana plugs if I did get any. But I can't imagine that I would be connecting/disconnecting them very often.

 

Bare ends are a pita, also use pure copper spades with gold or rhodium plating if possible, good banana plugs cost a lot. But if you must use bananas I'd look at Furutech FT-212.

If you do use bare wire also remember to clean the bare wire every so often, actually, clean all your connections fairly often but bare wire does degrade faster...

 

Connecting with bare wire is fine. Just be sure when you strip the ends you use the correct gage tool and remove only insulation and not bits of the wire.

If you want to use connectors by all means do so.

 

The chief advantage is that the connection is more direct. In my experience, bare wire, spades, and bananas are all a PITA, but spades are the worst because they wiggle loose constantly whereas bananas fall out, but less frequently. I have to check and tighten my turntable ground cables like once a week, ugh. Locking bananas are probably the least annoying connector option.

I sort of long for the good old days with my cheap Onkyo receiver where you'd strip a bit of speaker wire and insert it into a tension/spring clamp dealie -- because those dang things NEVER let go.

 

Have to say that any time a signal goes to a connector, the connector will degrade the signal, it's all a matter of degree. I've modified my old Kenwood 9600 receiver to bypass it's crappy speaker connectors, hook up the speaker to some bare wire connections inside the receiver, use wire nuts to hold the connections together. But you don't have to go that extreme. I suspect that silver is going to corrode faster than copper so you probably will want to periodically clean the exposed bare wire. You probably want to get some De-Oxit as well, hit up the ends of your cable with it and corrosion will slow down.

 

I think the only problem is the risk of the wire getting loose with time, which should be checked now and them.

 

The instructions with Kimber 4TC used to recommened bare wire, and actually came prepared to use that way. I use bare wire for years now, I've used connectors too. I'ts funny the audiophile dogma buzz words like no extra stuff in the signal path/most direct signal path does'nt seem to apply to connectors (could it be because those little do dads are 50, a hundred bucks a pop or more?). Connectors add extra solder and/or metal in the signal path. A guy at Kimber told me connectors create more resistance. I'm totally fine with bare wire, just make sure its done right- a properly stripped and soundly secured to terminal bare wire connection is good, as suggested just be sure to deoxit every now and again.

 

The answer to the question is there is nothing wrong with bare wire if it works for you.

I like spades but that's just me. I've switched to silver plated on copper ones over the years, using silver solder and a big-ass iron to solder them on.

 

I don't know how your banana plugs fall out, I have to seriously tug mine to get them out.

 

Using bare wire ends leads to your cables becoming shorter in length as time goes by. With silver cables it is a waste.

Good spades can be had for very little money:
http://www.partsconnexion.com/connectors_spd_audioquest.html

 

I've been fine using ones from GLS. No difference in sound between bare wire to the speaker and using them. Totally transparent at $20 for 4 pair.

 

I cannot help but feeling bare wire having better surface area contact than that presented by a single connector - therefore probably slightly advantageous.

I say this as a connector user!

 

How often did you connect and reconnect before that really became an issue? And still....re-stripping wire an inch or two at a time is of no significance.

 

I think bare wire is a perfectly good connection and in many ways better than imposing any other additional connector between the wire and the lug, but I agree that since silver tarnishes pretty quicky in open are, exposing silver isn't ideal even if you're making the connection to spades or bananas I would think you would want to make it airtight if possible.

 

I don't understand the idea that you must reclean or shorten wires to have a new connection.

I've taken spades out from under screws that had been in place 40 years or more and the metal underneath was still shiny new looking.

That connection point is the only place it matters. Anytime you have an airtight bond, then it's not necessary to to disturb it. If you don't have a tight connection, then you need to do whatever is necessary to have one.

CJ

 

I use bare wire connections at the amp and the speaker terminals. I don't see how introducing more connections could possibly improve the sound.

I realize that's merely a belief, though. I haven't auditioned speaker wire in a long time. I just buy according to that assessment.

 

It really depends on the particular banana and particular binding post since there's no universal size or snugness standard.

 

Solder the ends

 

Doubt you can actually hear the difference between bare wire or connectors.. Use whatever works best for your application. Just make sure the connection is clean and tight.

 

I have bare ends going into my Harbeths and only recently slapped some Blue Jeans banana plugs on the other ends to go into my amp, after going bare for a few years, so I could more easily switch back and forth between the 4ohm and 8ohm taps to see if I could hear a difference with those 6ohm speakers.

Bananas are quick and easy to swap in and out but I didn't notice any sound difference before and after.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. If I was to terminate, I'd probably go bananas rather than spades, as I find spades almost as fiddly as clamping bare wires.

Manufacturer blurb "It is 6% more conductive than copper.
The real benefit though is its ability to sustain this performance when exposed to air. Silver oxides are highly conductive so as your cable ages it will not audibly deteriorate like other products."
They are referring to the silver core within the plastic sheath, but I guess this would apply even more to exposed silver wire.

 

bare wires work for me. Where my AVR is it's very hard to reach for wires so having the bare wires there work for me. Al long as nothing goes wrong, i don't have to unplugg the speaker wire.

 

Didn't know that, I thought they'd all be standard, they should be really. That said I prefer bare wire, just banana plugs are safer with a young child in the house.

 

The same goes for RCA connectors and jacks. Some fit so tightly it feels like you're going to break the input jack trying to get the interconnect onto it. Others, not so much.

 

can't imagine screwing around with bare wire after using bananas. i've found i prefer non-locking bananas to locking.