fixed width banana plugs

[mike c]

so i got these for free a long time ago.

i tried to use them the other day ... found out that the width of the plugs is narrower than the speaker or receiver binding posts.

1) are there different fixed width banana plugs?
2) if not, what the hell are these for?

 

[slipperybidness]

Those look about like the ones I use to connect from my amp cables to my subs in my car. Dunno if there are different widths, but I would think that there would / should be. Also, I believe these are sometimes used to connect to electronics-lab equipment like the nicer bench-top multimeters etc.

In a pinch, when these were all that I had handy and they wouldn't fit where I needed. I have cut the plastic apart with some large wire-cutters and made singles out of them.

 

[Adam]

I guess that you now know why you got them for free.

 

[mike c]

I guess that you now know why you got them for free.

yeah, that's exactly what went through my mind. i kept this garbage all these years

 

[Adam]

Mike, what is the distance between the two posts? Monoprice lists theirs as 0.75" center to center.

 

[j_garcia]

There is no standard spacing for the posts, so if they fit a speaker or amp you have, then basically you are lucky

 

[mike c]

Mike, what is the distance between the two posts? Monoprice lists theirs as 0.75" center to center.

i'll check when i get home.

There is no standard spacing for the posts, so if they fit a speaker or amp you have, then basically you are lucky

a parts express termincal cup i have is about .75" in distance between binding posts.

i guess, it is a standard that's mostly used in car audio, like slippery said.

 

[mike c]

the plugs are .75" width as well

 

[markw]

I read somewere that some countries (like England) use similar plugs for AC delivery and don't allow that .75" spacing to prevent Darwin's Law from taking effect. I could be wrong, though.

The .75" duals will fit all equipment I own that has banana plugs. which includes Denon, Athena and Sound Dynamics speakers. I don't know if my NAD allows them simply because due to space limitations I have to use spade lugs on it.

 

[slipperybidness]

I read somewere that some countries (like England) use similar plugs for AC delivery and don't allow that .75" spacing to prevent Darwin's Law from taking effect. I could be wrong, though.
.

Absolutely correct. That is also why some speakers (P363 for sure) come with the plastic plugs in the binding posts. To make it less likely that some fool will plug a power supply into the speaker.

I haven't measured the distance, buy when I eyeball it, Japanese electronics have a power plug that appears to be about the same width as those fixed-width bananas.

 

[mike c]

yes, our AC here is about that width. drives me nuts trying to remove the plastic plugs in the binding posts.
i'll try it on my denon.

 

[j_garcia]

The spacing comes from the electronics testing industry AFAIK, like Slippery said, but SOME drivers and amps use that same spacing. What I meant more specifically was, speaker binding posts may or may not have the same spacing.

Sounds like you need to sell them to MarkW

 

[Adam]

Sounds like you need to sell them to MarkW

Whereas I figured that it was a great excuse to get new speakers and electronics. "But, honey, I'd hate to throw away these banana plugs..."

 

[Alex2507]

There is no standard spacing for the posts, so if they fit a speaker or a** you have, then basically you are lucky

 

[j_garcia]

Things should be OFF when connecting/disconnecting Maybe newer stuff does now go by a more standardized spacing, but a lot of my older gear does not. I've had a number of different Marantz models and all of them had different spacing from each other and I am guessing not too many of them used that spacing (as many know too, Marantz uses special binding posts that don't accept spades either).

Regular bananas don't work in the binding posts on my speakers also. That's why I use BFA style ones.