What type loudspeaker connector is the best? 

Keep it clean. Keep it tight. After that, don't worry too much. Enjoy the music.

I would say that crimped soft copper spades with direct gold plating may provide the best connection of all mentioned connectors. I also use CAIG DeoxIT Gold to soak the wire end before crimping.

Plus, the spring design of the Z-banana plug is exerting a continuous pressure on the inside of the binding post, thus, no loose connections.

I bought my first Hi-Fi system in 1975 when I was in the Navy. The options were bare wire or bare wire. A few years ago I started using banana plugs and I love them. I am always switching speakers between my 6 stereo systems and it is so quick and convenient. Plus no more frayed wire sticking out.

Sir., Your Technical Explanations Is " Vital Tips " For The Audio Lovers To Connect Their Amplifiers & Speakers In The Appropriate Standard. Thank You.

Z-Banana plugs, as shown in your diagram, actually have a larger surface area than spade connectors, since the entire barrel is in contact with the inside of the binding post. Whereas, with a spade connector, only the area under the binding post, minus the cutout, is actually making contact. What you're left with a contact area that's shaped like a crescent moon, as opposed to a complete barrel with the banana plugs.

Thanks for the advices !

Thank you! I am going with spades.

Gracias, excelente informacion.

Hans I totally agree with you. When it comes to cable we can only believe in brand names. There is absolutely no way to tell a cable from it's appearance.

I think it depends on the binding posts. My Transparent speaker cables are thick, heavy, springy and awkward and have very shiny spades fitted. As much as I tighten them they still easily slip out of the speaker binding post. At the amp end, the situation is even worse. I am scared that one day I will get a short. I don't know why spades are not ring shaped and could then fit over a threaded post. This would prevent them slipping out. I now much prefer banana plugs as they are safer, can be removed and replaced quickly without a spanner and sound no different if kept clean.

Electrical connection, not sonic connection. And those pesky little electrons are quite resilient and are not particular about the type of connection provided there's enough surface area so as not to become a point of resistance of any magnitude. Given the amount of load and thus corresponding current in the circuit, not much is required. Compared to the impedance of any speaker, the resistance in the wire and connections is almost nothing and will never have any impact on the sound. Remember that the electrons that carry the sound information travel down a wire at near the speed of light minus the velocity factor of the cable which is meaningless in the audio world, and don't worry, every electron that leaves the amplifier will end up at the speaker. They don't get lost or fall off the wire somewhere.

Thank you for such a informative video. I have some left over Anderson Style Plug, can I use the as my DIY speaker terminal? Thanks

The people attacking expensive cables never mention Copper Oxide.when I used cheaper cables I screwed together myself I was always getting copper oxide on the cable.

The English translated this to: "All that glitters is not gold" Thanks Hans!

There are solid copper connectors used in arc welders that can work on some posts.

***What a great video, thank you! You have some very interesting videos! I am glad to have found your channel. New subscriber here. :)

Hello, Can you recommend a pair reasonable priced speaker cables with Banana plugs that is neutral in sound. Thanks.

How to know as to what should be the right speaker size for an amp, as in small, medium or large or is it all based on sensitivity? Is there a video that you made i can refer to or quick couple of lines for me to understand? or vice versa .. I have lets say big speakers with 88db sensitivity and 100w rms - does it mean that most of the amps in the market are safe to plug? Also what happens in an multichannel system and dynamic range audio such as classical - how does the amplifier power gets affected

Have you ever test the Tube Connector by GR-Research? There claim about better contact make any sens for you? I'm curious about your toughs? Thanks!

What should the materiel of the plugs or be made of? Brass? copper? nickel? Should they be gold plated no matter what?

In english the saying goes: "all that glitters is not gold" :)

Hello Sir and also your opinion about - Oppo UDP-203 Region Free Ultra HD?

would it be ok to smear some silicon grease on the terminals, this would reduce oxidising ,, just saying ..

Hans, question, knowing that the electrical conductivity of pure copper is 100% IACS, what is the influence of direct electroplated rhodium with rhodium 'only' having a conductivity of 38% IACS? Does this mean the overall conductivity of the connector also becomes 38% IACS? If so, why are the major brands use rhodium for their most premium products if this material degrades conductivity?

My Arcam amp won't take banana plugs but instead uses these hard to find BFA connector's.

What about tinned wire ends?

Ask 100 experts their opinion on a given topic, you’ll likely get 110 opposing views. I wonder, if in a blind A-B test between banana plugs, spades, pins and naked wire, whether anyone could differentiate correctly with an above 75% success rate. I use banana plugs to connect my amplification to my speakers, naked wires to connect my subs and spades to dig for gold to plate my cables!

Should I solder the wire to the plugs instead of using screws?

Interesting... Audioholics suggests that the bare wire is the second choice for quality termination.

So many Dutch audio youtube channels. How come it's so popular in the Netherlands?

What about Speakon?

Why about 1/4 inch plugs?

Balanced? Unbalanced?

Spades, case closed.

about the purest silver there is would be 5 nines. (99.999%) 9 nines doesn't exist to my knowledge. With copper: yes, there you can find that kind of purity figures.

Please take into account that silveroxidate is still better than copper.

Bare wire ,.. one less obstacle to sound quality