# How come speaker wires don't have good connectors? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 28, 2000, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-speaker-wires-dont-have-good-connectors/47526 "2000-12-28T16:47:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2000, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-speaker-wires-dont-have-good-connectors/47526/1 "2000-12-28T16:47:52Z")
I got a DVD player for Christmas, and once again I’m in Stereo Component Hell as I take everything apart to install it. I have the whole surround sound thing, so I have to hook it up to that. In the process of doing it, I have to pull the amp/receiver thingy out of the stereo cabinet, and then all the speaker wires get loose, and as I’m in the middle of watching “The Cell” half the speakers go out and I’m left stripping wire and trying to get a good connection again. I know I can buy nifty neato connectors to put on the ends of the speaker wires that go into the speakers, but what’s up with those stupid switch things on the back of the amp where you have to jam the wire in and hope to God that they stay? Is there any way around this? Why can I get nice connectors for virtually any other piece of wire in my house, but I’m up the creek on speaker wire? Please, somebody, get on here and tell me I’m wrong, and I just need to go to Speaker Wire R Us and buy nifty connectors. ---
**Author:** ![dustMagnate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/fbc32d/32.png) [@dustMagnate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dustMagnate)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2000, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-speaker-wires-dont-have-good-connectors/47526/2 "2000-12-28T17:02:43Z")
Those red and black spring thingys you describe work beautifully with freshly stripped 1/4"–1/2" wire ends. Patience and good lighting is what I recommend. Shine a penlight right into the face of the red thingy and marvel at the springy toothy grin. Press, insert, release. Ahhh. My brother soldered RCA ends onto his speaker wire and boy do they look stupid poking into a jack that is designed for bare wire. Good luck, I am confident that you will soon exit from AV hell. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2000, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-speaker-wires-dont-have-good-connectors/47526/3 "2000-12-28T17:28:48Z")
Well, you could solder the ends of the speaker wire. That would give you a nice metallic tip that wouldn’t fray in the future. Personally I don’t really mind having bare wire for a simple reason: cost! With a standard 5 speaker surround setup, you have 20 speaker wire ends that need connectors (2 wires/speaker, 2 ends/wire). Now Radio Shack does sell a “nice connector” for speaker wires, called a banana plug. It’ll run you from $0.50 per plug for the low-end to about $2.00 a plug for a gold plated nice one. Multiply that by 20, and you’ve got $10-$40 just for plugs! And you still have to do all the stripping and such that you are complaining about having to do for bare wires. You can buy wires with the plugs on them already, but that tends to be rather more expensive than plain wire, and is not as flexible. So I think most people solve this dilemma by swearing their way through it once, then never touching it again. It’s worked for me so far… ---
**Author:** ![Perderabo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Perderabo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perderabo)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2000, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-speaker-wires-dont-have-good-connectors/47526/4 "2000-12-28T17:50:37Z")
Speakers may be located at various distances from the rest of the sound system. So you typically need custom cable lengths for speakers. The bare wire connectors allow a person who can’t use a soldering iron to more easily build custom cables. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2000, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-speaker-wires-dont-have-good-connectors/47526/5 "2000-12-28T22:56:04Z")
Some high-end power amplifiers utilize high-quality speaker connectors, but for the most part, your run-of-the-mill receiver/power-amp uses push terminals. The reason is rooted in the following fact: the manufacturer of the receiver / power amp has no idea where you’ll put your speakers. They could be 5 feet away or 500 feet away. Therefore, speaker wire is normally purchased in **bulk spools** , and you cut the wire to the length you need. But now you need a way to connect the right and left speaker cables to the receiver / power amp _and_ speakers. That’s a total of 8 individual connections, _just_ for stereo. Who has the tools, time, patience, and know-how to solder or crimp connectors? Not many. Plus it adds more expense. So that’s why we have the push terminals.