What kind of Cables are you using for your 4345s, or any type of Horn speakers ?

[BMWCCA]

My bag of Neutrik dual-bananas arrived today. I ordered them from markertek.com. They weren't the cheapest but cheap enough at about $1.70 each (more for red, for some reason), and shipping wasn't inexpensive, but they did show up in just two-days. Next time I'm visiting my daughter at college I'll stop by their place in Saugerties, NY, and see what they're all about.

The Neutrik dual-banana plugs are impressive. I've lived with "cheap" RatShack versions at about $4/each, Chinese junk from Parts Express, and even Peavy stuff from my local guitar shop for not-small change for years. Some of the Chinese stuff even had the indicator tab on both sides of the plug—a big help when working blind behind the amp (yeah, I filed them off). I guess they figured if one was good, two would be better.

But the Neutriks are superb. The wire ends are completely enclosed, the contact surfaces are well made, and the standard toothed cable-clamp works well with the "Moonshine" cable. The plated contact elements are even keyed (square) so you can assemble them rotated in 90º increments and they stay put. The fit and material quality is superb for such an inexpensive part. I was so impressed, as I have been with every Neutrik product, that I felt compelled to stage a photo to show just how well thought-out and constructed they are.

The Neutrik part numbers are NYS508-B (for black) and NYS508-R (for red) and I've seen them offered in Europe in an even broader assortment of odd-ball colors. They're available for as little as $1.50 in quantities of ten elsewhere but markertek was a pleasure to deal with even when I called them to tell them they left out several of the toothed cable clamps (notice the black insert in the open red plug in the photo below). I recommend these if you're using dual-bananas on either your amps or your speakers, especially with big cables.

[speakerdave]

PE is selling an AR set of 10 gauge 25' cables with banana tips on both ends, plus an option for another tip that will fit in the stock 4345 terminals for $38 a pair. China. Hope they're not radioactive. This beats buying wire and Monster banana jacks. The metal quality on the AR ends, though, is not as good.

[brutal]

Thanks for the tip, needed a few things so I gave them a shot. One freakin line item back-ordered though... Much better prices than the last (never again) place I used.

Let's see if they can get the XLR order right, the last outfit (OnlineComponents.com) sent me just the plug ends with no backhandle/liner (one piece in this SC model) and customer service has been horid to resolve. I'm gonna call SC back and ask them to step in or send me replacements.

36 [L-4E6S BK] Canare L-4E6S Star-Quad Microphone Cable Black @$0.51/ea = $18.36
6 [AAA3MBZ] Switchcraft AAA3MBZ 3 Pin XLR Male Black cable end @$2.29/ea = $13.74
6 [SW3502ABAU] Switchcraft 3502ABAU Longbody RCA Male Black/Gold @$2.29/ea = $13.74
6 [NYS508-B] Neutrik NYS508-B Dual Banana Plug - Black @$1.70/ea = $10.20
6 [NYS508-R] Neutrik NYS508-R Dual Banana Plug - Red @$1.78/ea = $10.68
6 [DELUXE-SPADE-R] Deluxe Gold Spade Connector -RED @$1.79/ea = $10.74
6 [DELUXE-SPADE-B] Deluxe Gold Spade Connector -BLACK @$1.79/ea = $10.74 (Qty Backordered = 6)
1 [2000-1] Markertek Catalog - Latest Edition @$0.00/ea = $0.00

[BMWCCA]

Thanks for the tip, needed a few things so I gave them a shot.

Check to make sure you get one toothed cable-clamp for each Neutrik dual banana.

I just got the missing ones via UPS today after telling them on Friday that there were 11 missing from my order. No muss, no fuss, and of course no charge. But then putting them in from the start would have been my preference. I do understand how keeping up with every small part must be an incredible task, especially if they're buying these from Neutrik in quantities of 100 and dumping them in a bin with a separate bag of the clamps and relying on the order-picker to know they're supposed to go together.

Basically I ended up with four 10' bi-amp speaker cables with quality dual-bananas on both ends for about $23.

[BMWCCA]

The metal quality on the AR ends, though, is not as good.

You think? From the PE website reviews of the AR cables:

Handle Bananas Gently
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Bookburn from Montana

I ve saved and waited months to purchase an Onkyo TX-SR507 to power the stereo speakers I built this summer. This cable was to be the finishing touch to my first speaker building project. It looks great (heavier than most of my outdoor extension cords), has positive reviews, and with crimped on banana plugs seemed to be of a good value. But as I plugged my left speaker in, the gold platted banana plug crumbled into five little pieces. Bummer, I muttered. A bit of tape allowed me at least to enjoy the product of my summer toil and careful money management. But I m really disappointed in the ends on these cables. Do not bend. Handle carefully. Best of luck.

[Wagner]

I have skimmed through this entire thread, hoping to find something relevant to my modest assortment of JBLs.

Where is the Lansing products connection to all this, except that it does appear to be about do it your self speaker wire?

I guess there's a connection there? (no pun intended)

Thomas

[BMWCCA]

I have skimmed through this entire thread, hoping to find something relevant to my modest assortment of JBLs.

Where is the Lansing products connection to all this, except that it does appear to be about do it your self speaker wire?

JBL relevance seems to have departed after the original post in the thread. Though when I resurrected it (because of the previous 6Moons reference in the thread) it was because I'm using the 6Moons Whitelightning Moonshine cables on my JBL 4345s, which is in keeping with the thread topic. I agree as it is now the thread might work better in the Miscellaneous Gear forum.

[Wagner]

JBL relevance seems to have departed after the original post in the thread. Though when I resurrected it (because of the previous 6Moons reference in the thread) it was because I'm using the 6Moons Whitelightning Moonshine cables on my JBL 4345s, which is in keeping with the thread topic. I agree as it is now the thread might work better in the Miscellaneous Gear forum.

Lansing Product General Information (8 Viewing)
General discussion on Lansing products (Altec Lansing, Lansing Manufacturing, JBL)

[Wagner]

Dear all,

What kind of speaker cables are you using for your 4345s, or any type of Horn speakers, to tone down the harshness and "In your face" kind of results ?
Is Nordost in your menu ?

Thanks for your reply...

..........trying to stay in the (guide) lines:


General Audio Discussion (1 Viewing)
Audio technology, theory, measurements, and general information.

[brutal]

It's a crying shame we wasted someone's valuable time discussing CABLES in a thread about CABLES.

[JBLAddict]

PE is selling an AR set of 10 gauge 25' cables with banana tips on both ends, plus an option for another tip that will fit in the stock 4345 terminals for $38 a pair. China. Hope they're not radioactive. This beats buying wire and Monster banana jacks. The metal quality on the AR ends, though, is not as good.

what's wrong with the wire + Monster banana jacks (that I spent I don't want to say how much on at RadioShaqONeil for my L7 bi-amp because I was desperate to have something right then and there and the RS version were garbage)?

[speakerdave]

what's wrong with the wire + Monster banana jacks (that I spent I don't want to say how much on at RadioShaqONeil for my L7 bi-amp because I was desperate to have something right then and there and the RS version were garbage)?

Nothing wrong with the monster wire and banana connectors. They're good. I just always thought they were a little pricier than they needed to be. But it turns out they may be worth the difference.

I was not very clear in that post. I meant it beats the price.

[BMWCCA]

what's wrong with the wire + Monster banana jacks (that I spent I don't want to say how much on at RadioShaqONeil for my L7 bi-amp because I was desperate to have something right then and there and the RS version were garbage?

Nothing that I'm aware of. Still on the "cheaper" end of the audiophile pile of cables out there, which I appreciate. I've used Monster dual-banana plugs sourced from Best Buy because they're actually pretty cheap. They don't work that well on normal 16-14-gauge bulk speaker wire because they're designed for the fatter specialty wire and the bulk stuff I normally use gets loose in the bananas far too often and can act as a pretty good wire cutter, too. I've relegated the Monster bananas to the Monster-type wire.

The Neutrik dual bananas work well with smaller wire yet can accommodate larger sizes as well. They just happen to be work perfectly when the cable sheathing is properly trimmed on the 6Moons White Lghtning Moonshine DIY project.

I've never been one to make a big deal about wires and cables, other than I do believe in quality interconnects at least a step above what comes packaged with consumer equipment and have heard that difference. But the Moonshine project produced a good-looking cable that works well and cost less than anything I've used in the recent past, including bulk-off-the-spool-at-Lowe's, plus the Neutrik dual-bananas seem perfectly suited to the Moonshine type of cable. And they sound fine. Better? Who the heck knows, but I do know my car runs better just after I wash and wax it, so...

[hjames]

Hey, you sold me on them!
Grabbed 2 Walmart 40' power cords a few weeks back and the connectors came last week! I just finished making up one pair of the so-called White Lightning Moonshine cables with them (I did tinned leads on one end, dual banana on the other) and if all goes well I'll make up the other pair soon enough. 2 pairs of these will do my biamp 4341s!

Thanks for the great photo - I didn't get what that extra black "track" piece was until I checked your photo and realized it was a strain relief!

Way cool connectors,
hopefully these will give me true 20-50kc response !

My bag of Neutrik dual-bananas arrived today. I ordered them from markertek.com. They weren't the cheapest but cheap enough at about $1.70 each (more for red, for some reason), and shipping wasn't inexpensive, but they did show up in just two-days.

the Neutriks are superb. The wire ends are completely enclosed, the contact surfaces are well made, and the standard toothed cable-clamp works well with the "Moonshine" cable. The plated contact elements are even keyed (square) so you can assemble them rotated in 90º increments and they stay put. The fit and material quality is superb for such an inexpensive part. I was so impressed, as I have been with every Neutrik product, that I felt compelled to stage a photo to show just how well thought-out and constructed they are.

The Neutrik part numbers are NYS508-B (for black) and NYS508-R (for red) and I've seen them offered in Europe in an even broader assortment of odd-ball colors.

[BMWCCA]

I didn't get what that extra black "track" piece was until I checked your photo and realized it was a strain relief!

I didn't realize what the black "teeth" were for either, especially since my 16 Neutriks came with only five of the "teeth" tossed in the bag.

But I knew Neutrik described them as having an "integrated strain relief" so I hunted the web for a photo that showed how it was supposed to fit and then it was quite obvious...and Markertek made good on the missing eleven pieces.

Trading kudos, I followed your lead and had some glass tops made for the 4345s today. Bronze tint seemed to be the right choice. The glass shop assured me the plastic-disc "pads" would not harm the wood. One less thing to worry about with these beasts that simply have to be used as furniture in my tiny room!

I managed to get by with my bi-amp wiring with one Wood's patio extension cord. How far apart are your 4341s??

With the custom CC crossovers now safely inside the 4345 cabinet, I'm using this input plate on the backs and run the dual-bananas on both ends of the Moonshine cables.