Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Banana plugs - probably a dumb question :)

BJC banana plugs only insert about halfway into the binding posts. Does it matter as long as the connection is tight (they have the locking mechanism that expands the "pin")? Is the "pin" the only carrier of the current with the rest of the connector being just "housing" that does not need to butt up against the binding post? Hope you can get what I'm asking.

The whole banana is electrically active (except the plastic parts, obviously). Sure the more surface which is in contact that better the conduction will be, but being flush with the biding post won't help much, because it's plastic on top too.

You should be fine as is.

But if this is a permanent installation you could go with bare wire. That's one less connection to be made.

Hi bluray,

Not a dumb question at all and I have the solution.

The BJC banana plugs should fit all the way in the binding posts. The problem you are having is that you did not strip the wire properly and "jammed" it into the banana plug when you were assembling them and the loose wire strands is causing pressure and the tip of the plug to expand. This is the job of the collar.

Take the small screw out, take out the wire, re-strip it and make sure the wire is perfect with no loose strands sticking out. Re-assemble, insert without jamming the wire in, secure with the small screw and then tighten with the locking collar. The collar does not need much tightening. What gauge wire are you using?

"being flush with the biding post won't help much, because it's plastic on top"

Good point!

Doc, it's the 10 gauge "Ten White" pre-terminated with locking bananas (not my handiwork). I did go ahead and ask BJC the question. They said they don't think I'm losing any connectivity, but they seemed surprised -- is the hole in Axiom posts perhaps shallower than average?

10 gauge with the BJC banana plugs will fit into the Axiom binding posts (unless they have changed them recently) and all other AV electronics.

I have personally assembled BJC locking banana plugs with 10 awg BJC speaker wire and since the BJC 10 awg is so thick you need a perfect strip on the wire because there is not much room in the gap where you are inserting the wire into the plug. If it is not a "clean strip" the strands will "jam" when you are inserting the wire into the plug and will cause it to slightly expand the tip. I had this same problem with a few I did an incompetent job on and they only fit part way into the binding post . I re-stripped the wire, re-assembled and then they fit fine.

The problem is that 10 awg is a boderline gauge wire to be used with the locking plugs. If you decided on the 12 awg, you wouldn't have run into this problem. Its totally fixable though.

Interesting. I recently ordered speaker cable (Canara 4S11) terminated with banana plugs from BJC. The cables are secured to the banana plugs using sonic welding so there are no set screws. I had a hard time pushing the plugs in to the back of the amp and speakers (Mcintosh LS360). After using some Deoxit, plugs went all the way in at the back of the amp and one of the speakers but only about 1/2 way in for the other speaker. I don't think it would make a difference, but I suspect that their plugs may be just a little thicker than usual. In my HT room, I have the Axiom cables terminated with Atlona banana plugs and they slide right in (in fact, one can just "drop them in").

That's interesting. It seems they have a new option of getting the terminations welded on.

You should inquire to them if they have made any slight changes to the design of the locking banana plugs over time and that you had trouble trying to get them into the binding posts and so have others that ordered recently. I am using them with Axiom speakers a few different receivers and a variety of other speakers without any issues than what I noted above. I purchased mine a few years ago so maybe they are different now?

PS: The spade lugs are useless.

Not so; I use them on the M80s and Rotel amp. I like them in this application.

Are they the BJC spade lugs? I purchased a few pairs when I purchased the bananas and they do not fit on a single speaker I have tried. Not wide enough.