I'm using Sewell SW-29863 deadbolt banana plugs and they work very well with no issues. SVS Ultra set up with Emotiva amps. I watched your SVS reviews before my purchase and I am thrilled with them. Thanks for your great reviews.
Thanks, Barrett! Anyone familiar with your channel knows you are fair to a fault and would never tell your subscribers to avoid a product unless there was a severe issue. Like you, I review A/V gear and therefore do use banana plugs but it boggles the mind no one [to my knowledge] has made a super-simple yet super-reliable option that are reasonably affordable. I've had similar issues with a set of plugs using this same design. I now use a simpler type where you feed the speaker wire through a hole in the base of the plud and just clip off any excess. It's not quite as elegant but it works and any issues will be obvious and easily resolved.
🤣I literally just purchased a few of these after spending hours looking at plugs. So far no issues, and as you said, seeing as I should rarely if ever need to unplug them, we shall see how long they last.
Excellent lecture, and also a magnificent demonstration! Thumbs up easily, and I Subscribed. Thank you very much about NOT buying this brand of Banana Plugs! In fact, I had that brand on my list, and I was considering in making a purchase. Very fortunately I saw, heard, and carefully paid attention to these video on UA-cam. And thanks for advising on Banana Plugs that most likely could connect to a Receiver, or Amplifier. I now chose to stay with a bare wire connection to my Paradigm Monitor SE bookshelf speaker. Today I was actively searching for Banana Plug Connectors to re-attach the Speaker Wires of 14 Gauge to my hi fi audio system. I was planning on buying Banana Plugs. If a connection with Banana Plugs, it is more likely for an terminal connection to my Cambridge Audio AXR100 Receiver. Again, thank you!🔉🎵🎶
No issues with mine so far 1 year in but it doesn't mean it can't happen. Just annoyed that I bought the exact plugs you mentioned not to buy but this was a year ago so it is what it is.
No issues here either. But then again I don't continuously unplug and plug in my banana plugs. BTW, why would someone that has 25 K speakers scrimp on bananas and look at Amazon for the cheapest ones in the first place.
You are spot on. I bought Fospower plugs myself and so far I have had 3 go faulty on me. one of the banana ends broke off into my terminal and that was one big pain in the ass to get out. This whole time I have been blaming myself for making some kind of mistake while I was assembling them. This video is a huge relief for me. Thank you for sharing my man!
I purchased the same plugs from amazon before seeing your video. I have not had any issues with the plugs thus far but they are only being used on a couple of secondary systems that see lighter use.
My Fospower plugs are still working fine. Did have two (out of 25) with a setscrew issue. Contacted them, and they promprly mailed replacements. Not claiming that their the best, but so far so good.
Thanks for this video. I have also had issues with the Fos plugs and agree with your design assessment. I have also used the Sewell and I like them much better and have had no issues (yet) with them.
I have a lot of Nakamichi as well. Never had a problem, but they do look exactly like these. Maybe they are just better quality materials - they arent as cheap as the Fospower !
@@kiwiaudio8462same things.. The Nakamicihi name was bought by a random Chinese compnay that sticks it on random Chinese stuff so they can charge more..
Thanks man. These were actually on my Amazon wishlist so I deleted them and added the Sewells. I use Sewell's deadbolt connectors running from my Denon stereo receiver and they work great. I'm running high level outs to a powered sub, so using banana plugs for the speaker connection and hooking in the copper wire for the sub run made sense.
I’ve had problems with these too, set screws cross threading when loosening among other problems. The speaker snap banana plugs are the best I’ve found so far
I have had both the Sewel and amazon plugs. Although they look very similar the spring portion of the Sewel has been much better in my experience. With repeated use the Amazon arced portion would collapse and lose connection. I have had to rearc these with a small screwdriver but they are very fragile. The Selwel have fewer arced strips but tend to stay flexable and remain in contact better.
I feel my banana plugs messed up my Denon receiver. I feel the ones I bought didn’t connect inside the channel correctly and the bass caused it to constantly loss connection. I’ll just solder the tips and put them directly in the channels from now on with my new receiver.
I started off with these Fospower ones and soon found a couple broken in early use. I switched to the Sewel ones and found them a better fit for me, so much so that I will be changing the remaining Fospower ones on my sides and rears out shortly.
I’ve had dozens of the Nakamichi ones that look very similar, bought them from AliExpress and used them for over 5 years, on multiple stereo and surround systems and had no problems at all.
Like others have said, I fell fot the fospoer plugs. The ones you recommend were originally made by monster cable. I had a set and lost them in a move and thought I would try something else. Thanks for the video. Definitely have to move the getting new banana plugs up on the list.
Very interesting video. I had been using fospower plugs without issue. Maybe one had the threads break but that was more user error. I recently needed some more and got an even cheaper different brand. Something always sounded off and only after I took measurements in rew and applied fdw to remove some reflections, I saw that the cheaper brand was having less output in the highs. It explained the differences I heard. I had 3 on hand, fospower, sewell and another off brand. Both fospower and sewell measured similarly and sounded fuller in the highs compared to the off brand one.
I picked up the Sewell ones a few years ago after Youthman recommended them. Moved stuff around several times unhooking and hooking my speakers back up and have had zero problems with them
Well good to know ,late ,but better late than never . I bought a few dozen and only had one issue where I assumed I tightened the screw to tight and stripped it , so I just made sure I had extras on hand . Interestingly on Amazon comments a few guys recommended ordering extras as they had screws stripping to . This should have been a red flag , and I should have found an alternative. It’s not like I have a lot of money invested in them thankfully,so I’m going to change them all out to the ones you’re recommending . I’m just glad I seen your video . I also used wall plates with the banana plug female connections , but from a different brand called Fosmon . I have a feeling they are similar in quality,but hopefully better
I tried 16 gauge bare speaker wire but didn’t get a good connection with my old Yamaha AVR. I bought a pack of 5 pair of Fospower plugs on Amazon. One was defective. Used the other 8 with one left over. Got good connections for 2 pairs of speakers. Plugged in okay and the speakers sound good. I haven’t unplugged them yet. We’ll see how things go. I tried Seawell speaker cables on another system and the banana plugs kept loosening, so I wouldn’t recommend them. Thanks for sharing your experience. Rock on.
I've had same issue few years ago with same Fospower plugs....lol... I use the Amazon Basics now too, besides being slightly wider, they definitely don't fall apart
I’m glad people like you make videos like this!! 🎉 for those of us who haven’t purchased these kind of items yet but have already saved them to the shopping cart! 🎉lol
Lol, I'm glad it helped brother. It sounds like there are others that have had luck with these banana plugs. But it appears they don't plug and unplug them as often and I do. Possibly, I just wear them out much faster than the average bear haha.
I literally have them arriving today for my 1st system. (Only a 2.1 to start for my receiver). Will definitely be on the lookout for the issues you had and will look into other brands when expanding. Went with them largely due to the 2 screw locking method, never would have thought the sheath would be an issue.
That might be the trick, is to just plug them in and leave them alone. But then a person might as well just use the bare wire if they aren't plugging and unplugging often.
Yup, both brands rattle like crazy. Been using crimp on and solder BFA bananas for years now. Less resistance, better reliability. The only downside of bare wire is oxidation, which sucks here in FL.
I bought eight of these, and at least four of them had one of the two cable securing screws missing, not a major issue as one does the job, but indicates quality control isn't as it should be !
Spec, thank you for sharing this video. I am in the process of upgrading my HTS and I wanted to have Banana Plugs included in the revamp and I did come across these plugs and have them in my SAVED lists. I was a lil skeptical of them and I am glad I found your video before I pulled the trigger. I came across the SEWELL plugs and I may go with them. Thank you again for saving me a possible headache with those Fospower plugs. Appreciate you, bro!
use the bananas without the outside "cover", take the time to solder inside, then heatshrink the outside with respective colour code. your welcome. the sewell and the amazon basic plugs damage the wire and often break off the strands. they are problimatic in a different way
This. In general, always prefer soldered connections to screwed ones, for any type of plug. Sometimes I see screw-type RCA plugs, on Amazon for example, and I'm like "what the fuck, that can't possibly last".
Agreed, I dont use banana plugs in my speakers. But i definately used them to connect to receiver, just for clean organization of wires, etc. Im glad i did. Because i have changed things up more often than rewiring speakers, like moving the receiver or changing out media console/server rack, or cleaning server rack
Those BREAK really easy with the weight of the cable. I am using 12 awg Belden. I had the same issue. Sound would go in and out. I could not figure out why till I looked at the led meter of my amp. Only one side was lighting up meaning no signal coming in from pre amp. I pulled the plugs and they were broken. Also if they do not break completely the plating cracks and it does not pass the whole signal. The core of those plugs is made of what looks to me like harden resin. I switched to the GEAR IT for the braided spring terminals. For the screw down and I soldered the tip of the bare wire after rolling it. This is the best method as it allows full contact when screwing down the terminals yet it keeps the copper strings from splitting.
Same issues with the Fospower banana plugs here. I bought the Sewell plugs a few months ago but have not swapped them out. I'm constantly tightening the Fospower sheath, very annoying. Great video!!
I think its the design type and not limited to Fospower specifically. I have the 2 screw Nakamichi plugs and they have the same issue as the Fospower ones you show in this video.
I have just completed making interconnects for 13 channels between my AV receiver and the wall plates using these Fospower banana plugs using 12 gauge wire. I discovered that the wire bundle is very heavy ( 4 or 5 pounds/ 2kg) seeing your video on how these plugs seem to fail I will definitely be doing something to provide strain revief on the plug ends as it look like they would vulnerable to an axial loading.
I don’t unplug my speaker wire at all but I do use banana plugs regardless. My reasoning is quite simple. For most AV Receivers, they are so crammed these days that it’s next to impossible to easily reach the binding section and slip in the bare wire. And even after getting it barely in, it just looks messy to me and will be hard to verify if I got the polarity correct since there is usually no color coding on the wire. So yeah…. I’ll sacrifice possibly a little performance for convenience & neatness but it’s worth it.
I solely understand that, but that's laziness. I have a yamahal A2A receiver. That's over a $1000 receiver, and it has everything. And I have no problems getting my wire in without banana plugs, because I take the time to do it right. And I'm smart enough to leave my receiver out in the open, not stick it in a little cubby hole to overheat it. It's easy to get to things when you don't do that, God. The laziness in the world today that excuse in the military would get you scrubbing pots and pans and stairs real quick
@MetalHead123345- Condescending much? I use banana plugs on the receiver end for the simple reason that there's no possibility of a stray strand of wire crossing terminals because yes, those binding posts are very close together. I also have my receiver in a "little cubby hole" so connections are much simpler to make. And that "little cubby hole" is ventilated with an exhaust fan like a lot of people add in those "little cubby hole" installations. 🙄
@@ashemoski I agree with everything you said especially the issue of shorting. I probably should have mentioned how ridiculous it is when I see someone try to insert a thick gauge cable into a binding post and increasing the risk of those tiny strands to make contact with the chassis. Also, I think it’s “pure laziness” not considering something like a banana plug. One is actually spending the time to ensure one is stripping the cable neatly, crimping or screwing them to the connector, and making sure the color codes are correct.
Spade connectors are a happy medium where they are tightened on like a wire through the hole but easier to attach. I like tinning wires so they wont fray. This will make them far more convenient if you use the wire through the terminal hole method.
I have a 5.1.2 home theater and I have 16 speakers for a whole home music system for my house and I used Fos plugs, they are not perfect but they are way better than the ones you suggested. I ran 12 gauge wire for all my speakers and the fos ones were the only ones that will work for the size of wire I used.
Dang. Have some of the Fospowers I bought as backups but have never used. HOWEVER, I have some Sewels that look like the Fospowers you do not recommend. I have used them on all my stereos since the mid 90’s with no problems. I will continue using them, unless/ until two fail like your Fospowers did. Otherwise I will assume their manufacturer uses poor methodology. Of course these days they may change manufacturers occasionally chasing lower costs. So YMMV and folks may want to avoid to be sure. But I don’t like the mating style of the connectors you recommend, since they may break wire strands off when mated/ unmated, or when installed/ uninstalled onto a wire. Thanks for the heads up, it may save me some future headaches!
I've only been running the Nakamichi banana plugs the last 4-5 years and only one broken because I yanked the plug out by the wire, but appreciate the warning
Looks like I’ll be purchasing SEVERAL packs of those Sewell bananas, here shortly. I recently relocated six months ago and have yet to set my system up…. thank you for this very informative post.🌹
Post this video on video reviews for them. I watch them before buying. Just bought the same style but different brand and waiting for them to get delivered. Wish I saw this first.
Hmm I have these on all three of my systems and other then one having a bad thread on one of the 2 set screws have been great. I have bought probably 60 and only one had an ignorable issue. I still recommend these
I use banana plugs into my amps but bare wire into my speakers. Might seem an odd way round, but I have an open rear rack for my amps and I'm driving 16+ speakers and do like to tweak ! I also use the Amazon Basics Banana Plugs, really grip onto the wire well.
I just discovered your channel today and subbed. I only use the two screw type banana plugs because the other types seem to pull apart easily. I had a Sewell fail recently sadly. I have some Fospower audio cables that fit really loose. I had to give them a little "squeeze" with a vice grips to get them to stay on. Aaargh! I'm moving to a new house at the age of 67, (STUPID) and I'm getting a listening room that's over twice as big as my current room of 27 years. I'm going to carefully eliminate any crappy cables because I'm getting too old to keep climbing around behind my surround and stereo shared cabinet. LOL
Interesting. I have used the Fospower for a few years without any issues. I'm only using them at the AVR for connections and all of my speakers are using the wire direct into the terminal. I'm curious if they've changed how they are made? Either way, if you were having issues, I'm happy that you found a resolution to your issues
I hope you don't have the issues I've had. I don't think they aren't designed to be handled too much. I also think intense bass doesn't help the situation. Either way, I wish they'd redesign them to NOT have those issues.
I use Sewell Silverback speaker wire which comes with its own banana plugs. The only issue with those is the metal caps are possibly conductive, so I wrapped all the end caps with black electrical tape just to be safe so that they don't short out my amp.
Oof. I had those years ago. They weren't very tight inside the speaker binding posts. And the barrel covers love to rattle loose from bass. Do yourself a favor and replace those bananas. Stay away from Sewell and the springy style bananas. Find some z-wave style or spades.
Great video Barrett. Thank you for the recommendation, I've not tried the basics yet but the Sewell get a lot of kudos. I personally have been buying the Nakamichi
I’m an end user that set it and forgot it Until I upgrade. I like it raw! I always figured Why would i introduce anything that would degrade the signal or worse fail. 12 gauge screwed down tight!
I have watched your content, I am 5 years in audio ,never have had an issue with banana plugs. I am a bit wondering ,how it is you have had issues with those plugs , maybe I was lucky, I have 3 music systems . All are in use with banana plugs
oh thank you so much for this. I was going to get them myself because they're cheaper and they were on my Amazon wish list, but i won't be getting them now.
I've had a love hate relationship with my Nakamichi plugs for a few years. The have the same issues as the Fospower. I've learnt how to deal with them so they don't annoy me as much. I'll be looking for other brands on chinabay soon.
Thanks for this. I use the W&G Electric plugs (they use a simiar type of connection as the Amazon Basics version) on my gear, great quality, 0 issues. Sorry you had all these failures with yours. I know the frustration with these things😢
Agreed! I also don't like Banana Plugs with metal sheaths. If you accidentally touch them together you can shut-off your amp into protection mode or worse, short out a channel.
@chrisdrew9767 I've got three different brands that are conductive and will continue to avoid all metal sheath plugs, even anodized. There's no need for them.
I got some gold plated versions of the classic Deltron banana plugs. Plain, unpretentious red and black plastic and they use solder, not tiny grub screws. In my opinion this must make a far better connection that's more secure and with lower resistance.
I'm going to banana plugs on my 2 home theater setups because I have 4 cats in the house and I want it to be easy to move things around to vacuum up cat hair behind the equipment. I've been avoiding deep cleaning back there for years because I didn't feel like disconnecting and reconnecting everything
I'm using premade speaker cables from GearIT that has banana plugs built-in. No chance of the tips of banana plugs falling off when I unplug and plug my speaker cables in for traveling. Can't tell you how many tips of the banana plugs I've lost during previous years. Well, better late than never when it comes to buying premade speaker cables.
Dood 💯exactly. Bare wire and 2 years later I check it and the wires are still corrosion free. Best is a mechanical connection with tightening bolt or binding post screw to eliminate as much contact transitions.
The sewell plugs use the same 4 leaf tip style though. I find such style is prone to deformation if you plug into something tighter and then have a looser fit on another terminal etc
If you’re disabled or in a wheelchair banana plugs are a must. There’s not much hazle to changing connections, speaker cables etc. is less likely you have to move the speakers to change cables or have to bend down or even go on all fours. Just speaking from experience
The Amazon Basics also is a 2-part connector body (excluding the outside) and does also have the tip come loose every now and then. They're actually pretty bad also. A real banana plug that DOES work that is milled in ONE piece is the Norstone BLS-500 which are phenomenal. They also have dual opposing screw's that clamp onto the wire in a MUCH more secure manner.
I have been using these and watched this video when it came out and thought "hmm, guess he got a bad batch or something". Then it happened to me tonight. The end popped right off and was left behind in my speaker when I tried to pull it out. Luckily it wasn't hard to get out and then I was able to just seat it right back in the banana plug but it doesn't inspire much confidence...
I stayed away from banana plugs for a long time. It was because i was too lazy to screw them together. I use Speaker Snap banana plugs. Very easy to use use and sound great. Just lift the lever, insert, close and done
Oh wow, it’s the ones I have for my wire lol. Never had a problem with in the 4 years I’ve had them. I actually recently checked them and they look the same. Before these I always bought the monoprice ones from Amazon and those things would always turn black 🤨 so I decided to go with a new brand.
If u bye 'Some Chinesium ' plugs the metal is coated with something nice looking like gold or silvery shinny stuff. Ultimately it's all about contact resistance and perhaps more importantly how many wire strands you wire has
Just remember that banana, spade plugs etc is another layer to the signal path. In some cases can reduce your sound quality. Sometimes it's just better to stick with bare wire.
@randomtube8226, thank you very much for this logical, and trouble-free option. An option of bare wire that I already have within my hi fi audio system.🔈🎵🎶
The outside of the plugs are NOT insulated. If your amp and speakers have properly spaced connectors get the paired banana plugs for each channel. Safer.
I just wanted plugs because it looks good, and it's more convenient. Especially when plugging into the AV receiver, with a whole forest of binding posts back there. My plugs are cheap, but not "Fospower".
I have only used sewel and Amazon basics ✅✅, but I will not watch another video unless you say "tonewinner" 😂😂😂 you did say summit Hi-fi which almost was satisfactory, but still 🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️👁️👁️😂😂🔥🔥🎼🎼🎙️🎙️🔊🔊 good vid.
I've NEVER had problems with my Fospower banana plugs. I've had them for literally YEARS and none of them have ever failed. Plus, they're non-magnetic too. Come to think of it, it may be time for me to cut and strip my copper speaker cables to cut away the oxidation from the bare copper wires. Of course mine aren't used for a subwoofer, but bookshelf speakers instead.....
Well now, I bought a set of these. They do not fit in the banana plug on the the speakers nor the amps, I have Polk Audio and Monitor Audio speakers also a Denon and Onlyo AVR’s and the plugs dont fit anything. Sent them back straight away😢
Thanks for the heads up.I've been using Sewell and Amazon Basic for years and never had a problem with them.
I'm using Sewell SW-29863 deadbolt banana plugs and they work very well with no issues. SVS Ultra set up with Emotiva amps. I watched your SVS reviews before my purchase and I am thrilled with them. Thanks for your great reviews.
Thanks, Barrett! Anyone familiar with your channel knows you are fair to a fault and would never tell your subscribers to avoid a product unless there was a severe issue.
Like you, I review A/V gear and therefore do use banana plugs but it boggles the mind no one [to my knowledge] has made a super-simple yet super-reliable option that are reasonably affordable. I've had similar issues with a set of plugs using this same design. I now use a simpler type where you feed the speaker wire through a hole in the base of the plud and just clip off any excess. It's not quite as elegant but it works and any issues will be obvious and easily resolved.
Thanks for the heads up
I have purchased the Amazon basics and they have not failed in the several years in use.
🤣I literally just purchased a few of these after spending hours looking at plugs. So far no issues, and as you said, seeing as I should rarely if ever need to unplug them, we shall see how long they last.
Excellent lecture, and also a magnificent demonstration! Thumbs up easily, and I Subscribed. Thank you very much about NOT buying this brand of Banana Plugs! In fact, I had that brand on my list, and I was considering in making a purchase. Very fortunately I saw, heard, and carefully paid attention to these video on UA-cam. And thanks for advising on Banana Plugs that most likely could connect to a Receiver, or Amplifier.
I now chose to stay with a bare wire connection to my Paradigm Monitor SE bookshelf speaker. Today I was actively searching for Banana Plug Connectors to re-attach the Speaker Wires of 14 Gauge to my hi fi audio system. I was planning on buying Banana Plugs. If a connection with Banana Plugs, it is more likely for an terminal connection to my Cambridge Audio AXR100 Receiver. Again, thank you!🔉🎵🎶
I use these now. They are great.
"Speaker Snap Banana Connectors"
I’ve used these for a while and so far no problems.
I hope you don't have issues, fingers crossed buddy. I've had so many go faulty on me.
Agreed, 3 years using them , no problem. But not using on Subwoofer. RCA CABLES FOR THAT .
I literally upgraded my 5.1.2 this week and used this brand for all the speakers... except subwoofer.
No issues with mine so far 1 year in but it doesn't mean it can't happen. Just annoyed that I bought the exact plugs you mentioned not to buy but this was a year ago so it is what it is.
No issues here either. But then again I don't continuously unplug and plug in my banana plugs. BTW, why would someone that has 25 K speakers scrimp on bananas and look at Amazon for the cheapest ones in the first place.
You are spot on. I bought Fospower plugs myself and so far I have had 3 go faulty on me. one of the banana ends broke off into my terminal and that was one big pain in the ass to get out. This whole time I have been blaming myself for making some kind of mistake while I was assembling them. This video is a huge relief for me. Thank you for sharing my man!
Glad it helped brother. Looks like it's time for some new plugs for you too haha.
I purchased the same plugs from amazon before seeing your video. I have not had any issues with the plugs thus far but they are only being used on a couple of secondary systems that see lighter use.
My Fospower plugs are still working fine. Did have two (out of 25) with a setscrew issue. Contacted them, and they promprly mailed replacements. Not claiming that their the best, but so far so good.
Happy to hear there are some out there that didn't have the same issues.
Yep have the same ones myself. I thought they were good.
Thanks for this video. I have also had issues with the Fos plugs and agree with your design assessment. I have also used the Sewell and I like them much better and have had no issues (yet) with them.
Strange. I have been using Nakamichi for a while now, and never had an issue
Me as well.
Mine are all Nakamichi with similiar design, there have been no issue unless I mess around with it.
I have a lot of Nakamichi as well. Never had a problem, but they do look exactly like these. Maybe they are just better quality materials - they arent as cheap as the Fospower !
@@kiwiaudio8462same things..
The Nakamicihi name was bought by a random Chinese compnay that sticks it on random Chinese stuff so they can charge more..
I had 40 of them on their way when I found this video yesterday. Wow. Well, today they came in and I hooked up my 5.1 system and so far so good.
Thanks man. These were actually on my Amazon wishlist so I deleted them and added the Sewells. I use Sewell's deadbolt connectors running from my Denon stereo receiver and they work great. I'm running high level outs to a powered sub, so using banana plugs for the speaker connection and hooking in the copper wire for the sub run made sense.
Great video mate! Banana plugs are a game changer for quick and easy connections, but they aren't all equal that's for sure!
Thanks brother! I just hope it saves some other poor unexpecting soul some aggravation haha.
I’ve had problems with these too, set screws cross threading when loosening among other problems. The speaker snap banana plugs are the best I’ve found so far
I have had both the Sewel and amazon plugs. Although they look very similar the spring portion of the Sewel has been much better in my experience. With repeated use the Amazon arced portion would collapse and lose connection. I have had to rearc these with a small screwdriver but they are very fragile. The Selwel have fewer arced strips but tend to stay flexable and remain in contact better.
I’m using the Sewell product in high-power recording studio applications without issues.
I feel my banana plugs messed up my Denon receiver. I feel the ones I bought didn’t connect inside the channel correctly and the bass caused it to constantly loss connection. I’ll just solder the tips and put them directly in the channels from now on with my new receiver.
I started off with these Fospower ones and soon found a couple broken in early use. I switched to the Sewel ones and found them a better fit for me, so much so that I will be changing the remaining Fospower ones on my sides and rears out shortly.
I’ve had dozens of the Nakamichi ones that look very similar, bought them from AliExpress and used them for over 5 years, on multiple stereo and surround systems and had no problems at all.
Like others have said, I fell fot the fospoer plugs. The ones you recommend were originally made by monster cable. I had a set and lost them in a move and thought I would try something else. Thanks for the video. Definitely have to move the getting new banana plugs up on the list.
Very interesting video. I had been using fospower plugs without issue. Maybe one had the threads break but that was more user error.
I recently needed some more and got an even cheaper different brand. Something always sounded off and only after I took measurements in rew and applied fdw to remove some reflections, I saw that the cheaper brand was having less output in the highs. It explained the differences I heard. I had 3 on hand, fospower, sewell and another off brand. Both fospower and sewell measured similarly and sounded fuller in the highs compared to the off brand one.
Thanks, nearly bought these
I picked up the Sewell ones a few years ago after Youthman recommended them. Moved stuff around several times unhooking and hooking my speakers back up and have had zero problems with them
Well good to know ,late ,but better late than never . I bought a few dozen and only had one issue where I assumed I tightened the screw to tight and stripped it , so I just made sure I had extras on hand . Interestingly on Amazon comments a few guys recommended ordering extras as they had screws stripping to . This should have been a red flag , and I should have found an alternative.
It’s not like I have a lot of money invested in them thankfully,so I’m going to change them all out to the ones you’re recommending .
I’m just glad I seen your video .
I also used wall plates with the banana plug female connections , but from a different brand called Fosmon . I have a feeling they are similar in quality,but hopefully better
I tried 16 gauge bare speaker wire but didn’t get a good connection with my old Yamaha AVR. I bought a pack of 5 pair of Fospower plugs on Amazon. One was defective. Used the other 8 with one left over. Got good connections for 2 pairs of speakers. Plugged in okay and the speakers sound good. I haven’t unplugged them yet. We’ll see how things go. I tried Seawell speaker cables on another system and the banana plugs kept loosening, so I wouldn’t recommend them. Thanks for sharing your experience. Rock on.
I've had same issue few years ago with same Fospower plugs....lol... I use the Amazon Basics now too, besides being slightly wider, they definitely don't fall apart
Have these and have No issue's! Thanks
I’m glad people like you make videos like this!! 🎉 for those of us who haven’t purchased these kind of items yet but have already saved them to the shopping cart! 🎉lol
Lol, I'm glad it helped brother. It sounds like there are others that have had luck with these banana plugs. But it appears they don't plug and unplug them as often and I do. Possibly, I just wear them out much faster than the average bear haha.
I literally have them arriving today for my 1st system. (Only a 2.1 to start for my receiver). Will definitely be on the lookout for the issues you had and will look into other brands when expanding.
Went with them largely due to the 2 screw locking method, never would have thought the sheath would be an issue.
Thanks for this video. I have those exact Fospower banana plugs. No issues so far but I haven't been pulling them out very often.
That might be the trick, is to just plug them in and leave them alone. But then a person might as well just use the bare wire if they aren't plugging and unplugging often.
Yup, both brands rattle like crazy. Been using crimp on and solder BFA bananas for years now. Less resistance, better reliability. The only downside of bare wire is oxidation, which sucks here in FL.
I bought eight of these, and at least four of them had one of the two cable securing screws missing, not a major issue as one does the job, but indicates quality control isn't as it should be !
Spec, thank you for sharing this video. I am in the process of upgrading my HTS and I wanted to have Banana Plugs included in the revamp and I did come across these plugs and have them in my SAVED lists. I was a lil skeptical of them and I am glad I found your video before I pulled the trigger. I came across the SEWELL plugs and I may go with them. Thank you again for saving me a possible headache with those Fospower plugs. Appreciate you, bro!
use the bananas without the outside "cover", take the time to solder inside, then heatshrink the outside with respective colour code. your welcome. the sewell and the amazon basic plugs damage the wire and often break off the strands. they are problimatic in a different way
That's a great idea also, thanks for sharing.
Do all of that and then watch the tip fall off in ur speaker. Your welcome
This. In general, always prefer soldered connections to screwed ones, for any type of plug. Sometimes I see screw-type RCA plugs, on Amazon for example, and I'm like "what the fuck, that can't possibly last".
For the record WBT connectors use screw hold downs. Or at least they used to.
@@bingdong8571 ya that always sucks, but that is usually a quality control or user errot TBH
Agreed, I dont use banana plugs in my speakers. But i definately used them to connect to receiver, just for clean organization of wires, etc. Im glad i did. Because i have changed things up more often than rewiring speakers, like moving the receiver or changing out media console/server rack, or cleaning server rack
Those BREAK really easy with the weight of the cable. I am using 12 awg Belden. I had the same issue. Sound would go in and out. I could not figure out why till I looked at the led meter of my amp. Only one side was lighting up meaning no signal coming in from pre amp. I pulled the plugs and they were broken. Also if they do not break completely the plating cracks and it does not pass the whole signal. The core of those plugs is made of what looks to me like harden resin. I switched to the GEAR IT for the braided spring terminals. For the screw down and I soldered the tip of the bare wire after rolling it. This is the best method as it allows full contact when screwing down the terminals yet it keeps the copper strings from splitting.
Same issues with the Fospower banana plugs here. I bought the Sewell plugs a few months ago but have not swapped them out. I'm constantly tightening the Fospower sheath, very annoying.
Great video!!
I think its the design type and not limited to Fospower specifically. I have the 2 screw Nakamichi plugs and they have the same issue as the Fospower ones you show in this video.
I have just completed making interconnects for 13 channels between my AV receiver and the wall plates using these Fospower banana plugs using 12 gauge wire. I discovered that the wire bundle is very heavy ( 4 or 5 pounds/ 2kg) seeing your video on how these plugs seem to fail I will definitely be doing something to provide strain revief on the plug ends as it look like they would vulnerable to an axial loading.
I don’t unplug my speaker wire at all but I do use banana plugs regardless. My reasoning is quite simple. For most AV Receivers, they are so crammed these days that it’s next to impossible to easily reach the binding section and slip in the bare wire. And even after getting it barely in, it just looks messy to me and will be hard to verify if I got the polarity correct since there is usually no color coding on the wire.
So yeah…. I’ll sacrifice possibly a little performance for convenience & neatness but it’s worth it.
It's easy enough to use the bare wire as long as you don't have Ham Hands or Sausage Fingers.
I solely understand that, but that's laziness. I have a yamahal A2A receiver. That's over a $1000 receiver, and it has everything. And I have no problems getting my wire in without banana plugs, because I take the time to do it right. And I'm smart enough to leave my receiver out in the open, not stick it in a little cubby hole to overheat it. It's easy to get to things when you don't do that, God. The laziness in the world today that excuse in the military would get you scrubbing pots and pans and stairs real quick
@ I’m sorry… are you referring to my comment or something else? I can’t quite tell.
@MetalHead123345- Condescending much? I use banana plugs on the receiver end for the simple reason that there's no possibility of a stray strand of wire crossing terminals because yes, those binding posts are very close together. I also have my receiver in a "little cubby hole" so connections are much simpler to make. And that "little cubby hole" is ventilated with an exhaust fan like a lot of people add in those "little cubby hole" installations. 🙄
@@ashemoski I agree with everything you said especially the issue of shorting. I probably should have mentioned how ridiculous it is when I see someone try to insert a thick gauge cable into a binding post and increasing the risk of those tiny strands to make contact with the chassis.
Also, I think it’s “pure laziness” not considering something like a banana plug. One is actually spending the time to ensure one is stripping the cable neatly, crimping or screwing them to the connector, and making sure the color codes are correct.
Spade connectors are a happy medium where they are tightened on like a wire through the hole but easier to attach. I like tinning wires so they wont fray. This will make them far more convenient if you use the wire through the terminal hole method.
I have a 5.1.2 home theater and I have 16 speakers for a whole home music system for my house and I used Fos plugs, they are not perfect but they are way better than the ones you suggested. I ran 12 gauge wire for all my speakers and the fos ones were the only ones that will work for the size of wire I used.
i have fospower and have never had any problems, but thanks for the heads-up regarding your issues.
Dang. Have some of the Fospowers I bought as backups but have never used.
HOWEVER, I have some Sewels that look like the Fospowers you do not recommend. I have used them on all my stereos since the mid 90’s with no problems. I will continue using them, unless/ until two fail like your Fospowers did. Otherwise I will assume their manufacturer uses poor methodology.
Of course these days they may change manufacturers occasionally chasing lower costs. So YMMV and folks may want to avoid to be sure. But I don’t like the mating style of the connectors you recommend, since they may break wire strands off when mated/ unmated, or when installed/ uninstalled onto a wire.
Thanks for the heads up, it may save me some future headaches!
I've only been running the Nakamichi banana plugs the last 4-5 years and only one broken because I yanked the plug out by the wire, but appreciate the warning
I like the locking banana plugs from BJC…
Looks like I’ll be purchasing SEVERAL packs of those Sewell bananas, here shortly. I recently relocated six months ago and have yet to set my system up…. thank you for this very informative post.🌹
Best of luck setting the system up brother!
Post this video on video reviews for them. I watch them before buying. Just bought the same style but different brand and waiting for them to get delivered. Wish I saw this first.
Hmm I have these on all three of my systems and other then one having a bad thread on one of the 2 set screws have been great. I have bought probably 60 and only one had an ignorable issue. I still recommend these
I use banana plugs into my amps but bare wire into my speakers. Might seem an odd way round, but I have an open rear rack for my amps and I'm driving 16+ speakers and do like to tweak ! I also use the Amazon Basics Banana Plugs, really grip onto the wire well.
I just discovered your channel today and subbed. I only use the two screw type banana plugs because the other types seem to pull apart easily. I had a Sewell fail recently sadly. I have some Fospower audio cables that fit really loose. I had to give them a little "squeeze" with a vice grips to get them to stay on. Aaargh! I'm moving to a new house at the age of 67, (STUPID) and I'm getting a listening room that's over twice as big as my current room of 27 years. I'm going to carefully eliminate any crappy cables because I'm getting too old to keep climbing around behind my surround and stereo shared cabinet. LOL
Interesting. I have used the Fospower for a few years without any issues. I'm only using them at the AVR for connections and all of my speakers are using the wire direct into the terminal. I'm curious if they've changed how they are made? Either way, if you were having issues, I'm happy that you found a resolution to your issues
I hope you don't have the issues I've had. I don't think they aren't designed to be handled too much. I also think intense bass doesn't help the situation. Either way, I wish they'd redesign them to NOT have those issues.
@@SpecOfTech do you like the Amazon ones? I feel like they will damage the delicate copper by having to bend it all over
I use Sewell Silverback speaker wire which comes with its own banana plugs. The only issue with those is the metal caps are possibly conductive, so I wrapped all the end caps with black electrical tape just to be safe so that they don't short out my amp.
Good call brother!
Oof. I had those years ago. They weren't very tight inside the speaker binding posts. And the barrel covers love to rattle loose from bass. Do yourself a favor and replace those bananas. Stay away from Sewell and the springy style bananas. Find some z-wave style or spades.
Great video Barrett. Thank you for the recommendation, I've not tried the basics yet but the Sewell get a lot of kudos. I personally have been buying the Nakamichi
I'll have to check those out also.
Me too, more expensive but definitely better quality
I’m an end user that set it and forgot it Until I upgrade. I like it raw! I always figured Why would i introduce anything that would degrade the signal or worse fail. 12 gauge screwed down tight!
Just raw dogging those speaker terminals lol.
Get kimber 8TC speaker cable and call it a day. Fantastic cables and banana plugs. Highly recommend them
I use the Sewel banana plugs, have not had any issue with those.
I have watched your content, I am 5 years in audio ,never have had an issue with banana plugs. I am a bit wondering ,how it is you have had issues with those plugs , maybe I was lucky, I have 3 music systems . All are in use with banana plugs
Looks familiar!😂😂. First i could not get apart and then not to be whole again 😢
Had issues using bare wire 14 guage would not fit into screw terminal holes. Maybe need higher quality speaker terminals all around?
oh thank you so much for this. I was going to get them myself because they're cheaper and they were on my Amazon wish list, but i won't be getting them now.
What a coincidence, I too started with Fospower and then moved to the ones you linked at Amazon... about a year ago :)
Haha, great minds think alike.
I've had a love hate relationship with my Nakamichi plugs for a few years. The have the same issues as the Fospower. I've learnt how to deal with them so they don't annoy me as much. I'll be looking for other brands on chinabay soon.
you're not wrong, same with the generic "nakamichi" plugs that are exactly the same.
what I do is solder the wire and one end the banana "spring".
Thanks for this. I use the W&G Electric plugs (they use a simiar type of connection as the Amazon Basics version) on my gear, great quality, 0 issues.
Sorry you had all these failures with yours. I know the frustration with these things😢
Thanks for demonstrating how to instal banana plugs. I was lost.
Agreed! I also don't like Banana Plugs with metal sheaths. If you accidentally touch them together you can shut-off your amp into protection mode or worse, short out a channel.
The sheaths are annodised so they are non conductive, so this isn't a problem.
@chrisdrew9767 I've got three different brands that are conductive and will continue to avoid all metal sheath plugs, even anodized. There's no need for them.
@@DonnieMulligan Thank you for that additional advice.🔈🎵
I got some gold plated versions of the classic Deltron banana plugs. Plain, unpretentious red and black plastic and they use solder, not tiny grub screws. In my opinion this must make a far better connection that's more secure and with lower resistance.
gday mate--- i have fospower and have never had an issue-- but good to know
I'm glad you never had an issue!
I'm going to banana plugs on my 2 home theater setups because I have 4 cats in the house and I want it to be easy to move things around to vacuum up cat hair behind the equipment. I've been avoiding deep cleaning back there for years because I didn't feel like disconnecting and reconnecting everything
Nice one,you just saved me from buying them on Amazon, 💯
I'm using premade speaker cables from GearIT that has banana plugs built-in. No chance of the tips of banana plugs falling off when I unplug and plug my speaker cables in for traveling. Can't tell you how many tips of the banana plugs I've lost during previous years. Well, better late than never when it comes to buying premade speaker cables.
Dood 💯exactly. Bare wire and 2 years later I check it and the wires are still corrosion free. Best is a mechanical connection with tightening bolt or binding post screw to eliminate as much contact transitions.
Interesting take on reasoning to not “need” bananas .. I use them to reduce the oxidation within the copper wire.
The sewell plugs use the same 4 leaf tip style though. I find such style is prone to deformation if you plug into something tighter and then have a looser fit on another terminal etc
I have the connectors in question but i heat wrapped mine and have not any problems.
I have the Sewell Banana Plugs going strong for 5+years. PRO TIP put a dash of blue loctite and they'll never backout/unfasten.
If you’re disabled or in a wheelchair banana plugs are a must. There’s not much hazle to changing connections, speaker cables etc. is less likely you have to move the speakers to change cables or have to bend down or even go on all fours. Just speaking from experience
And the sewell are more compact which is great too
The expanding WBT are my fav but monoprice makes ok bananas and the tips unscrew and can swap with pin connectors if need be
Why don't you use pre terminated speaker cable? A well terminated speaker cable avoids oxidation which can affect sound quality, especially in copper.
I use Klotz cable with Nakamichi banana plug. Very good no problem.
The Amazon Basics also is a 2-part connector body (excluding the outside) and does also have the tip come loose every now and then. They're actually pretty bad also. A real banana plug that DOES work that is milled in ONE piece is the Norstone BLS-500 which are phenomenal. They also have dual opposing screw's that clamp onto the wire in a MUCH more secure manner.
Lol, €49 for 4 of them with no quantity discounts. Pass.
@@talosian okay?
I have been using these and watched this video when it came out and thought "hmm, guess he got a bad batch or something". Then it happened to me tonight. The end popped right off and was left behind in my speaker when I tried to pull it out. Luckily it wasn't hard to get out and then I was able to just seat it right back in the banana plug but it doesn't inspire much confidence...
The tip on the Sewell can still come off. I am going to a locking banana plug that doesn't have that joint to break. I get them from Blue Jeans Cable.
I stayed away from banana plugs for a long time. It was because i was too lazy to screw them together. I use Speaker Snap banana plugs. Very easy to use use and sound great. Just lift the lever, insert, close and done
Those look like a great option also.
@obi1cannoli777, thank you for that option, and advice on a more secure, and easier connection.🔈🎵🎶
Oh wow, it’s the ones I have for my wire lol. Never had a problem with in the 4 years I’ve had them. I actually recently checked them and they look the same. Before these I always bought the monoprice ones from Amazon and those things would always turn black 🤨 so I decided to go with a new brand.
If u bye 'Some Chinesium ' plugs the metal is coated with something nice looking like gold or silvery shinny stuff. Ultimately it's all about contact resistance and perhaps more importantly how many wire strands you wire has
Perfect video for a drinking game. Take a shot every time he says “bananaplug”
lol only if you enjoy alcohol poisoning 😜
WGGE WG-009 Banana Plugs were too large to fit into some of my binding posts!
Media bridge ones have worked for me.
Just remember that banana, spade plugs etc is another layer to the signal path. In some cases can reduce your sound quality. Sometimes it's just better to stick with bare wire.
@randomtube8226, thank you very much for this logical, and trouble-free option. An option of bare wire that I already have within my hi fi audio system.🔈🎵🎶
I think those are the ones that I bought in those ends came off too. Pretty frustrating.
The outside of the plugs are NOT insulated. If your amp and speakers have properly spaced connectors get the paired banana plugs for each channel. Safer.
I am not looking for anything new. I just simply was curious which ones you were going to say to stay away from. Thank you
I just wanted plugs because it looks good, and it's more convenient. Especially when plugging into the AV receiver, with a whole forest of binding posts back there. My plugs are cheap, but not "Fospower".
I have only used sewel and Amazon basics ✅✅, but I will not watch another video unless you say "tonewinner" 😂😂😂 you did say summit Hi-fi which almost was satisfactory, but still 🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️👁️👁️😂😂🔥🔥🎼🎼🎙️🎙️🔊🔊 good vid.
Tonewinner ;).
@@SpecOfTech 😂💯✅✅✅💥🔥
I've NEVER had problems with my Fospower banana plugs. I've had them for literally YEARS and none of them have ever failed. Plus, they're non-magnetic too. Come to think of it, it may be time for me to cut and strip my copper speaker cables to cut away the oxidation from the bare copper wires. Of course mine aren't used for a subwoofer, but bookshelf speakers instead.....
Well now, I bought a set of these. They do not fit in the banana plug on the the speakers nor the amps, I have Polk Audio and Monitor Audio speakers also a Denon and Onlyo AVR’s and the plugs dont fit anything. Sent them back straight away😢