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vintage amp connection strip spade banana connectors...

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Posted on December 13, 2014 at 11:12:49
gkargreen
Audiophile

Posts: 1562
Location: DC
Joined: February 5, 2005
 I did a search on this, basically wanting to use bananas on the old speaker connection strips/barrier strips found on vintage amps, like Scott, Fisher, Eico, etc. There were two recommendations, one is the gold-plated copper adapters found all over ebay, which I bought a pair of, only problem is they are just fitting, the spades are just a little too big (6mm where really 4mm is needed for a tight fit...) The other suggestion is for the Pomona screw terminal adapters Eli mentioned. I like those however they are steel, and Eli has not been fond of steel elements in the signal path. Any suggestions, or Eli, what would say? thanks

 

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RE: vintage amp connection strip spade banana connectors..., posted on December 13, 2014 at 12:02:23
dls123
Dealer

Posts: 1214
Location: Beautiful B.C.
Joined: April 15, 2003
 The pomonas are expensive for what they are, but they work just fine. I use them all the time...and they come in #6 and #8 threads...

 

RE: vintage amp connection strip spade banana connectors..., posted on December 13, 2014 at 12:13:32
gkargreen
Audiophile

Posts: 1562
Location: DC
Joined: February 5, 2005
 thanks, not really all that expensive as they save time relative to rebuilding a new strip, and in place of the gold adapters that really don't fit very well...

 

RE: vintage amp connection strip spade banana connectors..., posted on December 13, 2014 at 12:35:22
briggs
Audiophile

Posts: 1674
Location: Connecticut
Joined: April 16, 2002
 The last time I did this, I attached short pieces of 16 ga solid wire to the amp's screw terminals and connected to the speaker cable with wire nuts.

Fire away!

 

Gold plated copper???, posted on December 13, 2014 at 14:49:12
dee eye why
Audiophile

Posts: 1148
Location: so. ohio
Joined: March 20, 2003
 FYI...
I bet if you file a notch in one of your gold plated copper connectors you will likely find that the base metal is NOT copper. Most of the connectors (of all types) floating around Ebay are from China. I've found that most all of them, no matter what they list the base metal to be, are some kind of silvery/white mystery metal. Looks a lot like pot metal.
Gold plating hides a lot of "sins".
The steel Pamona pieces are probably better!

.
Freak out...Far out...In out....

 

RE: Gold plated copper???, posted on December 14, 2014 at 04:26:29
JonM
Audiophile

Posts: 292
Joined: December 29, 2000
 I'm not sure I understand the issue. Any "sins" in the inner metal would be in the form of resistance or (not even sure about this one - at the microscopic level?) some weird rectification effects, and in either case, the gold plating would short right around that.

Personally, I'd file down the edges of the gold plated connectors to fit and call it a day.

Let me know if I'm missing something, but I don't think electrons care (Ohm's law and all that).

 

AQ, posted on December 14, 2014 at 09:37:51
unclestu
Dealer

Posts: 5851
Joined: April 13, 2010
 Makes a gold over copper 1/4 inch spade perfect for those terminal strips.

 

RE: Gold plated copper???, posted on December 14, 2014 at 09:39:05
Eli Duttman
Audiophile

Posts: 10455
Location: Monroe Township, NJ
Joined: March 31, 2000
 The primary purpose of gold plating is corrosion resistance. Filing the connectors to fit defeats the purpose of plating.


Eli D.

 

RE: vintage amp connection strip spade banana connectors..., posted on December 14, 2014 at 10:02:08
Eli Duttman
Audiophile

Posts: 10455
Location: Monroe Township, NJ
Joined: March 31, 2000
 While steel in the signal path is not a sonic delight, insuring that mechanical connections are tight and reliable takes (IMO) precedence over a bit of so/so metal carrying signal. Also, the fact that speaker hookups are low voltage/high current means the potentially deleterious effects of a small amount of steel are held to a minimum.

BTW, it helps to remember that the OEM RCA females on a Cit. 2 were made of steel. Were the steel jacks good? NO, but they were not an unmitigated disaster.

Clean the connections with DeOxit and tighten well. Don't over tighten! Come back every 6 months and do it again.


Eli D.

 

RE: vintage amp connection strip spade banana connectors..., posted on December 14, 2014 at 10:18:15
gkargreen
Audiophile

Posts: 1562
Location: DC
Joined: February 5, 2005
 Thanks, Eli, as always, delighted to receive your input and experience!

 

RE: vintage amp connection strip spade banana connectors..., posted on December 14, 2014 at 10:47:23
Brian Levy
Audiophile

Posts: 2438
Location: Toronto
Joined: June 5, 2000
 Just file down the adaptors if too wide. Copper is soft and the amount needed to filed is not that much. Loss of gold plating not a big deal as it is only the edge. I have done this with gold plated spades before that were too large for the old terminals strips. When using the adaptors or spades, I do like to use star washers if the terminal screws are not captive so there is added bite and less change for loosening.
Don Brian Levy, J.D.
Toronto ON Canada

 

RE: vintage amp connection strip spade banana connectors..., posted on December 15, 2014 at 08:22:10
Crazy Dave
Audiophile

Posts: 14371
Location: East Coast
Joined: October 4, 2001
 While it is good idea to use the best material that is practical, there is enough steel in vacuum tube, that a little more in the signal path would not keep me up at night.

Dave

 

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