[Wayner]

I saw a new design of a banana plug I liked over the traditional turbine type banana plugs, which I always thought were just plain bad designs. Mine is a variant of that design of this new design.

Mine starts with 5/32 K&S (I think #128) brass tubing. The only tool I have to make these is a Dremel so if you have one of these, you can make them. I put the tube in a vice and cut a beveled lead-in to the plug, like 15° or so. Then I put a linear cut from the short side of the bevel, about .50" long. Then I put in a cross cut "T" and went less then half way thru the tube. The final cut was a straight cut, at about a .875" length. Take a straight bladed screwdriver and put a little spread between the length wise cut. You have now made a pin spring. Solder the wires of your choice (in my case, and not the ones in the photo is a Coleman, 14awg #94642 in white) and solder the wires to the plane end, but do not go past the cross-cut. Total cost for the connectors is about .14 cents each. They fit into the banana hole very snug and sound great.

You will need a big ass soldering iron to keep from having cold soldering joints.





Wayner

[srb]

Although I prefer the BFA style banana plugs as well, the problem I have with those is (a) they are 100% brass with no plating and (b) they are not a spring type material that compress and expands to fit all banana jacks really well.

The Swiss-made Multi-Contact LS4 is incredibly similar to the Nordost Z-plug and is made of a high copper content beryllium copper alloy and gold plated.  The US source however, Audio-Magus, seems to now be out of business.  A recent search has so far only found them at Take Five Audio in Ontario, CA.  They sell for $2.50 each.

So yes, $20 is a lot more than $1.12, but in the scheme of things, I think it is well worth the extra cost.



Steve

[Wayner]

Well, brass has a very high copper content to begin with and it's natural oils prevents it from corroding as rapidly as bare copper. Tube, by nature and by manufacturing methods is harder then sheet and the fact is, my plugs have a very secure fit.

Also the problem with the other plugs is that they have to be bought in huge quantities, so the $2.50 each thing is really $250 for 100 pieces.

Wayner

[srb]

Also the problem with the other plugs is that they have to be bought in huge quantities, so the $2.50 each thing is really $250 for 100 pieces.

The $2.50 price is buying in quantities of 2 ($4.49/pair) from Take Five Audio.  I previously bought mine for $2.50 each from Audio-Magus in the US, but because I haven't ordered any from Take Five Audio, I don't know how much shipping from Canada is.

If you prefer to use brass with natural oils versus gold plated beryllium copper, that's fine, but I was just pointing out a reasonable (albeit more expensive) alternative that doesn't require fabrication for those who don't.

Steve

[timind]

I recently bought 12 of these from this seller. Very reasonable and although he is listed as a UK seller, they arrived quickly.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/16-BFA-4mm-BANANA-PLUGS-Z-type-Speaker-Cable-Connectors-/290698435341?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Audio_Cable_Terminations&hash=item43aefa1b0d
The only issue with these is they can break if treated rough. Actually, the plug that broke was purchased through Audio Magus.

[srb]

The only issue with these is they can break if treated rough. Actually, the plug that broke was purchased through Audio Magus.

Good find, that's half the price.  I've never broken one, but they are too hard to be crimped, and that will surely break them.  Which is why I didn't understand their note "Installation of these speaker plugs requires soldering or crimping to give optimum sonic performance".

Steve

[zeke]

Wayner --- i like your design. Can these tubes be bought at hardware stores(Menards etc) ?
I see them on the net, but you have to buy a dozen 12"ers at $15 to $20 plus shipping.

I like nordost z plugs which are very stiff compared to the copies.

[Wayner]

First to Steve, I read in a previous post that your connectors could only be bought in lots of 100, so if you have found a different source, then good.

Next to zeke, I got the tubing at Ace hardware, but I'm sure you can also get K & S at Menards as well as many other hardware stores.

I have no problem with raw brass. It's used in our houses everywhere there are electrical switches and outlets. It will not corrode like other metals, but it will slightly tarnish. occasionally you can clean brass by simply wiping it a few times with steel wool. I have also sprayed mine with De-oxit 5 which is a cleaner and preservative for base metals.

Brass is the bass metal for almost all electrical plugs and jacks. They are plated with nickle and the "fancier" ones plated with nickle, then industrial gold. While it can be argued that the plating adds some electrical value to the connection, IMO, it is simply there for cosmetics.

Wayner

[Ericus Rex]

Next to zeke, I got the tubing at Ace hardware, but I'm sure you can also get K & S at Menards as well as many other hardware stores.

You can get the tubes at hobby shops too.

Cool tip Wayner!  I like how the wall thickness of yours is much thicker than the premade ones.  Seems like they'd be stronger.

[Wayner]

I don't have a pin gauge set, but I have attempted to correctly measure the Inside Diameter of the hole on a 5 way binding post and it seems to measure about .155 to .156 diameter. 5/32 is .156 diameter. Trying the tube with various brands of banana jacks, I have found some that are interference fit, while the tube will just fit in others and still in others, seems to have a slight amount of slop.

So perhaps this is half of the trouble with banana jacks and plugs from the very beginning. Is there not a standard for hole sizes and plug diameters?

Design standards keeps products from various manufacturers compatible with other brands, but if we don't follow them, trouble is down the road. Case in point: IEC power cords. Some fit very snug, others OK, while others simply fall out when something gets moved or bumped.

Oh well.

Wayner

[tomytoons]

I have just seen this. Wayner, those are great!!
I'm lazy so I wouldn't go through that much trouble. Besides my soldering iron is only a 25 watter.

I purchased a bunch of the Swiss made spring steel type BFA's from Take Five Audio. I have been using these for a couple years now and they fit nicely in any post I have used them. You would have to abuse the crap out of them to break them. Very good contact but you cannot crimp these.
On speaker cables I just care about an easy good connection. They work very well.

[srb]

I purchased a bunch of the Swiss made spring steel type BFA's from Take Five Audio. I have been using these for a couple years now and they fit nicely in any post I have used them. You would have to abuse the crap out of them to break them. Very good contact but you cannot crimp these.  On speaker cables I just care about an easy good connection. They work very well.

Most of the BFA-style plugs have a tiny bit of a taper, the Multi-Contact LS4 measuring from ~.165 at the tip to ~.175 at the base, which along with the spring nature of the heat-treated alloy gives them a nice snug fit.  That being said, I do have one set of speakers where the fit is not as snug as other binding posts.  Still not wobbly, but it does illustrate either the non-standard binding post hole size or very loose tolerances.

Steve