Are QED AIRLOC Banana Plugs worth the extra expense over standard ones which cost £1.50 each. I'm only planning to use plugs on one end of the cable
QED AIRLOC Banana Plugs or regular ones
- Thread starter Hems
- Start date
The airlocs have to be terminated using specialist equipment (at your dealer). I have used QED screwlocs which are great but they cost about £14 for 4.
The purpose of a plug is for convenient and robust connection to your speakers/equipment. It is probably better than hardwiring because you can get a good connection (providing you screw the cable down tightly) and there is less of the actual wire exposed to the air.
Depending on the quality of your speakers, cable etc. I would suggest that £1.50 ones should be OK but if your equipment and cable is expensive and warrants it, go for the screwlock. IMO there is no need to go to airlocs.
At the end of the day all you are after is a good sound connection however it is achieved.
The purpose of a plug is for convenient and robust connection to your speakers/equipment. It is probably better than hardwiring because you can get a good connection (providing you screw the cable down tightly) and there is less of the actual wire exposed to the air.
Depending on the quality of your speakers, cable etc. I would suggest that £1.50 ones should be OK but if your equipment and cable is expensive and warrants it, go for the screwlock. IMO there is no need to go to airlocs.
At the end of the day all you are after is a good sound connection however it is achieved.
Thanks for the advice. I'm planning to get plugs for the QED Silver Anniversary and Silver Micro cables
I'm just about to consider exactly this too... how to fit my cables into the back of my onk 606, to my MT30 package. 7oaks were just going to use their cheapest screw on banana's... can you buy these (12) anywhere cheap? Always sus when it comes to ebay as the gold plate is likely to be anything but! Not sure about screw plugs, as my hifi ones were always falling off. Micro cable would be worse?
I find that the screw terminals work fine even on thin cable but you must remember to trim double the required length and fold it back to double the diameter, filling the plug as much as possible.
Cheaper screw type plugs may not be gold plated but I doubt that you would hear any difference. The only thing to ensure is that a few times per year you take the plug from the speaker/amp, clean it and replace it. It is also worthwhile checking how tight the screws are and then re plugging into the equipment.
Cheaper screw type plugs may not be gold plated but I doubt that you would hear any difference. The only thing to ensure is that a few times per year you take the plug from the speaker/amp, clean it and replace it. It is also worthwhile checking how tight the screws are and then re plugging into the equipment.
Well if you do not go for Airlocs then I would suggest that you at least have banana plugs that are soldered (rather than a screw down type) and then you will get the best electro-mechanical connection and long-term performance. Also having the bananas soldered will save the hassle of having to keep on cutting back the cable. If you cannot solder yourself then most hi-fi shops offer this kind of service and it should cost no more than £5.00 per plug (with plug included).
Most cheaper banana plugs will use a low purity gold-alloy with minimal gold content to plate a brass base material. Usually the bananas will be overly large as this is simply more impressive! This does however lower conductivity significantly and reduces performance over lower mass designs. So go for a banana plug which is gold-plated to ensure good long-term performance but look for one that is not overly large. Also if soldering yourself look for a large solder platform as this will make soldering easier and use silver solder if possible.
Hope this helps. Kind regards, Darren
Most cheaper banana plugs will use a low purity gold-alloy with minimal gold content to plate a brass base material. Usually the bananas will be overly large as this is simply more impressive! This does however lower conductivity significantly and reduces performance over lower mass designs. So go for a banana plug which is gold-plated to ensure good long-term performance but look for one that is not overly large. Also if soldering yourself look for a large solder platform as this will make soldering easier and use silver solder if possible.
Hope this helps. Kind regards, Darren
[quote user="Hems"]Thanks for the advice. I'm planning to get plugs for the QED Silver Anniversary and Silver Micro cables[/quote]
I've got the QED screwloc plugs on my Silver Anniversary XT cabling. Makes for a much tidier installation.
I've got the QED screwloc plugs on my Silver Anniversary XT cabling. Makes for a much tidier installation.
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