Loudspeaker: banana plug - useful or not?

Opinions often differ on banana plugs for loudspeakers. In this practical tip, we will tell you whether the additional plugs really make sense.

Basic advantages and disadvantages of banana plugs

Advantage: You can easily insert and remove banana plugs in your system. You no longer have to twist and unscrew the copper cables by hand.
Disadvantage: The resistance increases due to the additional component. The cables are no longer directly connected to the system and speakers.

Over time, the copper cables start to tarnish at the stripped ends, which also increases the resistance. The main reason is the humidity.
A banana plug also increases the resistance due to its very existence, but prevents the copper cables from tarnishing. The stripped part of the cable disappears completely into the banana plug.
Banana plugs are therefore sensible, but not absolutely necessary. Do not touch the ends of the cables with your bare fingers and shorten the tarnished ends if necessary, you can also do without the comfort of the banana plugs.
Note: Sometimes you cannot plug banana plugs directly into the system. Check the instruction manual before buying. When purchasing, make sure that the banana plug is compatible with the thickness of the speaker cable.
The following banana plugs for 7 euros have the best reviews on Amazon.

In the next practical tip, we will show you the different types of loudspeaker connections and their advantages.