How to Choose and Install Speaker Wire Connectors

This article explains how to choose and install different speaker wire connectors: banana plugs, spade connectors, and pin connectors. It's an easy and inexpensive upgrade to your home stereo system.

Choose the Right Speaker Wire Connector

There are three types of wire connectors that you can use with your speaker cables: banana plugs, spade connectors, and pin connectors. Each is easy to install, requiring only a few simple tools. To choose the right kind, you first have to look at the terminals available on your equipment.

• Banana plugs work with binding posts, inserting straight into the holes on the ends (note: not all binding posts have this). There are also dual banana plugs, which are for bi-wiring/-amping speakers.
• Spade connectors (typically u-shaped) also work with binding posts, maintaining contact with the terminal base (as bare speaker wire does) once you've tightened down the binding post screw.
• Pin connectors work with spring-loaded terminals (also known as spring clips) but can also work with binding posts that have a hole in the side of the inside connector (you have to unscrew the top back far enough to see it).

You can have different types of connections on the backs of stereo equipment. Sometimes you might have more than one type on each (e.g., receivers and amplifiers). So, for example, if your speaker has spring clips, you'll want a pair of pin connectors. And if your receiver/amplifier has binding posts, you would pick either a pair of banana plugs or spade connectors.

Before purchasing any connector, know the gauges of your speaker wires.

How to Prep Speaker Wires for Connectors

You'll need a pair of wire/cable strippers to prep the speaker wires for the connectors. While it is possible to substitute a pair of scissors or a small knife, we highly recommend actual strippers for safety reasons. Make sure you start and finish each end of the speaker wire (i.e., installing the connectors) before moving on to the next. Here are the steps for prepping:

1. Cut the end of the speaker wire so that you don't have any exposed copper wire sticking out.

2. Carefully separate the individual wires (positive and negative terminals) from each other by about two inches, which should provide ample room.

3. Choose one individual wire and set the cutting edge of the wire stripper about half an inch up from the end. If your wire stripper is designed/labeled with different cutting sizes, pick the one that matches the cable gauge.

4. Clamp down on the wire stripper to cut through the jacket/insulation and rotate the tool around the wire to ensure a clean cut.

5. Peel the cut part of the jacket off — it's easier with the wire stripper, but be careful not to accidentally cut the copper underneath — to expose the bare wire.

6. Using thumb and forefinger, put a slight, gentle twist on the copper wire so that the individual strands all stay as one.

7. Repeat the process with the other individual wire.

Now that your speaker cable is forked with exposed ends, you're ready to attach connectors. Be sure to identify and match the correct polarities (positive and negative) of the wires and connectors so that your audio equipment will be adequately in-phase.

Installation Methods

Depending on each manufacturer's particular design, there are different techniques for installing speaker wire connectors. Although they come as banana plugs, spade, or pin connectors, the method of installation generally falls into one of the following categories:

Basic Speaker Wire Connector

A basic speaker wire connector will unscrew for a few turns and stop (some separate completely). With this type, feed the bare speaker wire into the bottom end as far as it will go. Once you can't push the wire in anymore, screw the top of the connector back down. As you screw it down, the bare speaker wire gets twisted snugly into the plug for a solid connection. The wire should stay in place when you lightly tug on it.

Self-Crimping Speaker Wire Connectors

"Self-crimping" speaker wire connectors separate into two (sometimes three) parts. With this type, feed the bare speaker wire into the bottom half of the connector so that the copper strands are poking out the top. Now you'll fan and bend the strands back over the tip, being careful not to cover any parts of the screw threads. Once that's done, the top half of the connector screws onto the bottom part, which clamps the copper wires in place.

Open Screw Speaker Wire Connectors

Open screw speaker wire connectors have a gap through the connector itself. In addition to feeding the wire through the bottom, these connectors let you insert it through the hole in the side.

Unscrew the connector parts until you see that there is enough space to feed the bare copper wire into the side gap. Stick the speaker wire in and then tighten the connector to lock it in place (you can see the parts sandwiching together). These types (when the wire connects through the side) are helpful for those interested in daisy-chaining speaker connections.

Screw-Locking Connectors

Some speaker wire connectors, sometimes known as screw-locking connectors, require a small flathead screwdriver for installation. These connectors come in two parts — we can refer to them as "inner" and "outer."

Take the inner part of the connector and loosen the two embedded screws with the screwdriver. Now feed the speaker wire into the end until it can't go any further. Tighten the embedded screws with the screwdriver to secure the wire. Attach the outer part of the connector over the inner part, and screw (by hand) the two parts together.

Why Use Speaker Wire Connectors?

By using colored connectors, you’ll never have to scrutinize, worry, or second guess ever again. Speaker wire connectors can spare many headaches, especially with multi-channel home stereo systems.

Not all speaker wire has two-tone insulation and prominent markings (e.g., text, dashed lines, or stripes typically indicate the positive end) for easy identification.

If you’re ever unsure, you can always quickly test the speaker wires.

Speaker wire connectors also make it easier to plug and unplug speakers from receivers and amplifiers. The strands have to be as one (usually by twisting them together) before inserting them into a spring clip or binding post. It can be difficult when it’s harder to see, and spaces between posts are confined; if you miss and mush/fray the wire, you’ll have to re-straighten it and start again.

But since speaker wire connectors house and protect the bare wires, the experience of plugging and unplugging audio is greatly simplified, not unlike using RCA jacks.

On top of streamlining audio cables, speaker wire connectors help maintain a solid connection. As long as the tips are installed correctly, your stereo speakers will keep a high-quality signal for the best possible sound. And if all that wasn’t enough reason to consider using speaker wire connectors, they also help lend your equipment a cleaner, organized, and more sophisticated appearance.

Sure, the backsides of speakers, receivers, and amplifiers may not be the most provocative. However, the people to impress (including yourself) would be the enthusiasts who do care to take a peek at what you have going on.