I’m in the process of demoing a pair of speaker cables from my dealer into my BHK 300 monoblocks. The cables have banana plugs on them, and will NOT push into the binding posts on the amplifiers.
Has anyone had this issue before?
I don’t want to overforce anything and break the binding posts.
thanks in advance…
I used them. Very very tight. did you try loosing up the binding post..sometimes that opens up the banana opening a bit. Aim very straight not at an angle and sometimes a little twist to wiggle it in..but yes very very hard to get in.
Those are called BFA style and I use those exclusivly when I have bare wire. They should work.
the Nordost cables have them attached from the factory onto the wires. That was just an internet image of how the banana connector looks.
it does not work, don’t want to force and break my amplifier binding post. something seems weird
Have you used banana connectors into these posts before?
no, i’ve used spades since i bought the amps new
Some binding posts can have removable plastic inserts. I believe they are for some European regulation. If they’re there, they should just pull out.
If your dealer is having you try Nordost cables on a speaker you already think is bright then he really doesn’t have a clue.
I thought the same thing. I brought that up to him, and they insist that they find the Nordost to be neutral sounding.
I’m not sure where I can try speaker cables in my home
The Cable Company offers in home trials. I believe there’s a fee but if the cables are purchased the fee is applied towards the price. You might want to contact them. Just as an aside, Nordost might not be the best match with a speaker that leans to the bright side.
thanks Joe… that’s what I thought. I think my dealer just likes bright sounding equipment.
I’m using auditquest water interconnects.
Wasn’t sure if i should look into Cardas speaker cables or Audioquest speaker cables.
the descriptions of design philosophy are very confusing
Both AudioQuest and Cardas (just like Kimber) have been around forever and each have their fans. Cardas have the reputation of leaning towards the warmer side of neutral or at least used to. I know their upper tier models are highly regarded. AudioQuest I’ve heard their entry-level stuff and thought for the price were not bad at all. I’m no professional and their are a bunch of guys on this forum with way more experience who I’m sure will chime in.
yea, cables are very difficult to choose. i have very old cables currently
audioquest indigo - makes my system sound dull
cardas quadlink 5c - makes my system sound open and airy. I’m just not sure from what I read if i’m leaving some resolution and bass control behind since the cables are that old.
but i do agree with you all that i’m not finding anything that says norcost is going to be a good match for my system.
Same experience here with BHK amp. Even with plenty of room to work with, I just could not get those type of bananas to work. Like you, I felt like I would break something. Iconoclast locking bananas did work fine. I have since replaced the BHK with Orchard Audio monoblocks, and all type of bananas work just fine.
i did notice that the owners manual for the BHK 300 shows a different style binding post. has a hex head on the top, as if you could put a wrench and torque down a connector. Mine the head of the binding post is round with many elongated groves for your thumb and forefinger to tighten
Sorry to hear about your troubles getting the banana posts to fit into your BHK 300 speaker output binding posts. Did they fit into any of the amps’ 8 speaker output binding posts?
In the past, had trialed a BHK 250 amp with the same speaker output binding posts. My banana clips would only slide in halfway (if that) on some of my black binding posts - and I could not get them to tighten. Even tried using an awl. It would go straight in all the way but my attempts to clear the path for my banana clips were in vain. Also tried different banana connectors - same story.
The way I was able to trial this BHK 250 amp was to open the binding posts all the way. This will expose a hole in the binding posts were you would normally insert a bare wire. This hole will be large enough to slide your banana posts into. Do so and tighten. Careful not to overtighten. I did not notice any degradation of sound doing this compared to my other channel where the banana posts fit perfectly.
This is a photo of my biwiring into my BHK 300’s speaker output binding posts I was just using. Should look like your binding posts. Just for a frame of reference.
At least you’ll be able to hear what these Nordost cables will sound like. The alternative of buying expensive spade to banana connectors seems foolish to me - when they may not even make an improvement in your system. The shipping weight of each BHK 300 amp is 95 lbs so you definitely do not want to ship them to get this fixed.
Good luck and please let us know your impression of these cables.
Walt
The banana plugs did not fit into any of the 8 binding posts.
It’s not even a matter of them inserting 1/2 way. They are just not inserting at all even with the binding post fully opened.
Your binding posts are the exact same as mine on the BHK 300. The binding post in my owner’s manual shows a photo of a post with a hex head on the top. In fact, Paul mentions in one of his videos that you can put a wrench on it and torque it down against a spade lug.
My dealer is looking around to see what cables he could lend me with a spade lug termination. But they mostly use banana plugs for demos, ease of switching, and even safety, as spades tend to loosen themselves easily.
This is what I meant about an alternate way to connect those banana binding posts. Found this diagram on the internet. This diagram is of different binding posts but they work on the same principal.
Look at the diagram. When you open up the binding posts all the way, you will find a hole open up so a straight wire can be inserted. The banana binding posts will also fit in this hole. Gently tighten. It works. Sorry for the confusion - and hope this helps.
Walt
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Those banana plugs are designed to be very tight. I suggest you put one hand on the front of the amp and with the other hand PUSH HARD on the banana plug. PUSH HARD being the key. The initial force needed quickly subsides. I think it is likely you were too timid in your early attempts.
