subwoofer spring terminal......name of part?

[04Elantra]

Now this is gonna sound really stupid, but I need to find the (male)connectors that you would put on the end of the wires that would go to a sub box when the sub box has (female) terminals like the ones in the link below....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=32823&item=5742025526&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW#picture

What are theterminals called...I cant find them cause I dont know what to call em!! :confused:

[evan938]

rca jacks?

[ilanpro]

I think they are banana connectors

http://www.smarthome.com/8532.html

by the way Read the description

This auction is for High-Performance Speaker terminal plate used for car audio application. Super Quality round recessed panel. Features high quality gold plated posts and knurled knobs. Color coded. Accepts up to 8 gauge wire. Terminal spacing accepts dual banana plugs. Outside Diameter: 75mm

[jpjr]

Yep, bananna connectors

[evan938]

lol...dont feel too bad...i didnt read it either

[Ruffsaidthecat]

the speaker terminals or bananna plugs are not worth using if you are building your own box, they allow air to vent through them, your best bet is to drill the smallest hole possible the seal the wires in there with silicon calk or hot glue, even, so the enclosure would be sealed. Tweeter and other high end stereo stores will do this when making custom boxes.

[southpawboston]

i agree with ruff that the banana plugs will let some air escape, BUT that depends on how well they are designed. the plugs themselves will leak air, but if they are mounted properly to the plate that you screw into the box, the plate should be designed not to allow any air to escape. i have very high end home speakers (a/d/s) that have banana connectors and they dno't leak because the mounting plate was designed properly.

[Ruffsaidthecat]

i have very high end home speakers (a/d/s) that have banana connectors and they dno't leak because the mounting plate was designed properly.
That's cool but most of them, especially cheap ones, do leak air so it is cheaper and more effective not to use them. I am sure if someone is making a box they will have a drill, silicone calk, or hot glue around. :D

[jpjr]

I have never had a problem with any of the speaker terminal plates leaking either. Some box manufacture only press them into the box without using any screws or glue and that will give you leaks. The metal part of the terminals usually bolt on to the plate, so as long as they are tight and the plate is properly installed, you should not have air leaks unless it is just a piece of crap to begin with. But when building my own boxes, I prefer to use these
speaker terminals (http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=091-1245) No plastic mounting plate and looks allot more professional then just a hole in the box with wires glued into it. Also, be carefull using silicone on sub boxes. The fumes it gives off when drying can damage the sub parts, expecially foam surrounds.

[Ruffsaidthecat]

Very true about the fumes from the silicon chalk, it eats away at the surround of you woofer( the JL W7 actually says it doesn't) that is why you let it cure for 48 hours. I hope that when designing a box that someone would not leave the wires visible but on the other hand I do not think the terminals are any more appealing I would hide those too :D My biggest concern is the sound quality, then practicality and comfort, then looks. I find the best design, then I map out my area and utilize the space, then I worry about looks. Also without the banana plugs there is less connections allowing less chances of interference. :owned1:

[jpjr]

How can a connection cause interference? A bad connection, extra resistance maybe, but interference? Are you sure you know what interference is? Also, Car audio mag did a test between a cheap imported box and a quality box. Even though the cheap box had a terminal plate that was only pressed in and leaked air, there was less then 1 db difference in sound. Not enough for the human ear to even notice the difference, especially in a car.
By the way, I have never even seen silicone chalk. Silicone caulk yes. I always thought chalk was used to write on blackboards.
Without terminals, you also stand the chance of pulling the wires and damaging your speaker. Glue and silicone may seal the hole, but are not strong enough to prevent the wire from being pulled out and damaging the sub terminals. How many top of the line subwoofer manufactures(JL included) due you know that make boxes with wire sticking out of a hole sealed with glue or silicone? None. I wonder why?
You might want to get your **** together before throwing the owned image out.

[southpawboston]

i agree with jpjr. in fact, if the banana plugs are gold plated solid brass, then there will be less resistance across the length of the plug then there will be over the same length of 4-gauge copper strand wire, lol...

and it's generally bad practice to not add terminals to a part of the car audio setup that is not a permanent fixture. i.e., if you've got a custom fiberglass box that is mounted permanently into the corner of your trunk, then you can forego terminals, but a box that is designed to be lifted out of the car occasionally (as most sub boxes are), terminals are pretty essential.

as you said yourself ruff, it's the cheaper plugs that leak, not the higher quality plugs such as the ones on my a/d/s home speakers. so maybe you should stay away from cheap hardware if quality is important to you, or at least comment on the difference between cheap and good hardware so that the people who are asking the questions can make an informed decision, instead of just being told to stay away from something. in fact, high quality banana plugs are among the best connectors for ensuring a tight connection. the better plugs have thumb screw tighteners that expand the pin inside the connector and lock it tight. frankly i think not having connectors on a box is just ghetto.

oh, and i am very familiar with Tweeter, as they are a boston company and started out here over 15 years ago. i used to know people who worked for them years ago. they do sell nice gear but iwould NOT consider their installations "high end".

[cclngthr]

You can get a bad connection with the spring terminals because they don't secure the wire that well, which can cause resistance. What I prefer to do is put a banana or eye terminal on the wire (depending on what kind of terminal on the amp) and wire it in that way. It looks cleaner and is less apt to come loose.

[Ruffsaidthecat]

I am against just putting a box in a car without bracing or securing it so the wires should never be pulled out, and yes my spelling is horrible and I too have never seen silicon chalk...LOL Anyway I stick by what I said before about interference because if you have more point of connection you increase your chances of having a bad one somewhere. I just didn't like the way jpjr wrote his reply, it sounded like he implied I do not know what I am talking about when in fact I know the difference is small but then why not avoid any loss in sound quality no matter how small. jpjr what type of tweeters do you have in your car? I think southpaw has a titanium(not sure) tweeter, most people do not even hear the highest frequencies so why not get silicon tweeters they are cheaper and last long?

[southpawboston]

my tweeters have a soft film dome made by kodak.

[jpjr]

I am against puttin a sub box in a car without securing it, but what if the wire gets damaged or you move your amp and the wire does not reach? Most sub boxes are mounted in a trunk or hatch, were people store things and things tend to move around. Which means even though the box is secure, the wire can get damaged or pulled.
Do you even know what interference is? It is usually caused by other electrical components or magnetic fields. Bad connections may increase resistance or cause shorts, but not interference. But if you want to stick to your story, be my guest.
I have never heards of silicone tweeters. Do they sell them next to the chalk? Seriously, who makes them?
I have a set of Infinity silk dome tweeters. But I am kind of surprised to hear southpaw only has one titanium tweeter. I thought he knew he needed at least two tweeters to get decent stereo sound. I like the sound of both silk and titanium tweeters. I used silk though because my tweeters are close to the ears and facing the listener. Titanium tweeters can get a little to bright/harsh for me in this location.
And almost nothing will ruin your sound quality more then a set of cheap tweeters. Tweeters are also usually the first speakers to blow or distort when pushed hard. So why have a $500 subwoofer and skimp on the tweeters?
And how the hell did we get on tweeters? :confused:

[Ruffsaidthecat]

Lol... I know what I meant to say but I type like ****, I meant silk but my mind was thinking something else. Anyway my point was not to skimp on anything if it is for the quality and I gave my opinion that's all. The tweeter comment was just to show that people buy and use products that go above and beyond what you will hear but the expense is secondary to knowing that sound reproduction is as accurate as possible.

[cclngthr]

I am against puttin a sub box in a car without securing it, but what if the wire gets damaged or you move your amp and the wire does not reach? Most sub boxes are mounted in a trunk or hatch, were people store things and things tend to move around. Which means even though the box is secure, the wire can get damaged or pulled.
Do you even know what interference is? It is usually caused by other electrical components or magnetic fields. Bad connections may increase resistance or cause shorts, but not interference. But if you want to stick to your story, be my guest.
I have never heards of silicone tweeters. Do they sell them next to the chalk? Seriously, who makes them?
I have a set of Infinity silk dome tweeters. But I am kind of surprised to hear southpaw only has one titanium tweeter. I thought he knew he needed at least two tweeters to get decent stereo sound. I like the sound of both silk and titanium tweeters. I used silk though because my tweeters are close to the ears and facing the listener. Titanium tweeters can get a little to bright/harsh for me in this location.
And almost nothing will ruin your sound quality more then a set of cheap tweeters. Tweeters are also usually the first speakers to blow or distort when pushed hard. So why have a $500 subwoofer and skimp on the tweeters?
And how the hell did we get on tweeters? :confused:


What I usually do is mount the wire terminals behind the box, or in a position where they face the seatback. that keeps the wiring somewhat hidden and out of the way. It also makes it much easier to get to the wiring from inside of the car.

Of course, this means custom making a sub box to do this.

[jpjr]

Hey Collin, nice to hear from you again. I agree that putting the terminals were they face the back of the seat is a great idea and way to keep the wire out of harms way. Thanks for the tip.

[cclngthr]

Placing them there also makes it possible to use a short speaker lead, which is better on high power systems. I don't like to run no more than 24 inches of wire between the speaker terminal and the amp.

On a deck amp, the leads can be longer because the wattage is not high, and typically aftermarket deck units power output is similar to a factory deck; which the wiring is already configured for that.