I went round and round on this, as have many other people. Some will argue (and I agree, but others may not) that bare wire should be your best connection. Every connector/adaptor, or whatever, is another point for signal loss and for noise to be introduced. Will any normal human being notcie a difference, I doubt it. So far BugBitten has it right on the mark. If you are going to swap around speakers or amps or receivers, etc, then banana plugs make it quick and easy. Banana plugs also offer a "clean" install, but a nicely trimmed and installed bare wire looks good in my book. Besides, how many people are going to see the back of your speakers anyway.
My vote: Save the $$$, and skip the banana plugs.
