Spades or Bananas? Which speaker connector is right for you? 

One thing I would like to point out regarding the contact area on the WBT spades shown here, is that their main conducting part is the gold plated side on the back and not the silver colored part at the front shown in the video. In between those two pieces of metal, their is insulation. And the gold main conducting part at the back has 4 small bumps that will make the only contact with the mating terminal, so regarding the contact surface area we might have a second thought, at least for the WBT spades? That being said, I’m also using WBT spades on my cables 😊.

I am amazed how cheaply made these connectors are today compared with the spade and banana jacks that were available from Monster Cable in the 1980s. I have a stash of these old connectors that far exceed the quality of the modern connectors. By quality I mean the amount of metal in the connector. My old connectors weight at least twice what the newer connectors I have seen. More metal lowers the resistance of the connections. The WBT connector you were showing is to small to attach my Monster double 8 gauge speaker cables to. If I were to need a new connector I would go to a large electrical supply store and get the biggest connector that will fit the speaker/amp and then gold plate it. Good video and advice.

The know-it-alls are hilarious. You could make a video describing the back of your own hand and some yahoo would claim that they knew more about it than you do. It was a straightforward, helpful video that described the differences well. Thank you for posting it.

Great video. I use spade connectors due to the reason you pointed out regarding the spade connector.

I believe another reason for that plastic peg is so that the connector is IEC certified, meaning you can't plug it into a wall socket.

THANKS Mr .. kRISPY- AUDIO ... I am very satisfied and been your video is particularly interesting and clear in its explanation; it freed me from the uncertainties of wiring that assailed me. Thanks to you I will be able to make the most appropriate choice.

First video i've seen in the differences between the two. Very informative thx!

I never knew that. I always thought it was just a matter of personal preference plus I was led to believe most people use banana plugs. If this is the case, then from now on I will switch to spades everytime. Thanks very much for your video, this has been an education!

great and really useful video, thanks a lot

Banana plugs are the way to go, spades are a PIA if you like to switch gear every so often. And though there is the contact area benefit for spades, there won’t be discernible audible benefit.

I think soft copper spades with direct gold plating make the best contact. Over time those spades form some sort of airtight bond with amp/speaker terminals.

Really appreciated you showing us the advantages and disadvantages of each connector, but is one actually better than the other when it comes to the reproduction of the sound ?

If you use a screw solution, why dont you use the bare cable to attach to the binding post?

Nice teview! In my occasion i don't know what to use because every summer i move the tv rack, so i must disconnect my yamaha a-s501 or the speakers.Any suggestions?Now i have bare wire.Which is best for every year disconnect?

Nice try, but perhaps you should emphasize that fundamentally it's all about minimising impedance at the connection - and that is achieved by having a large surface area and a strong clamping force. So for reliability the spade connectors win every time, whereas banana plugs allow an ok connection but really quick relocation of equipment, if that's important.

What you say about the spades is not true. The spades do not make contact with the entire surface of the fork. The spades have four stamped contact points on the contact surface which make contact. My excuse, but do you need glases? And... about the banana plugs you say that it is not ideal to have more contact points...if that is true, than why would WBT make 4 contact points on the contact surface for the spades? You can find the pictures of these 4 contact points on the WRT spades on the internet.

Just hard wire direct to the binding post. Less joints, less resistance more music. Simple.

Spades are cool but they have a tendency to come loose at the speaker end.

No. That second plastic pin has absolutely nothing to do with any stress. It just prevents pluging of that banana into a EU type 220-230VAC wall outlet with 4mm round holes.