Terminate or not?

[SuaSponteMn]

Hello everyone, I registered for this site a while back but I've really only been a lurker, soaking up as much information as I can, until today

I've been involved in the fairly lengthy process of purchasing my first really "legitimate" home audio/theater system for the last six months. I've gotten to the point where I'm getting ready to purchase the speaker wire. I went with Monster Cable Z1 reference series for the center channel and front speakers, since they came with master locks; I used banannas on the receiver end and spades on the speaker side. I've decided to go with Monster Cable OMC 12 Gauge, for the surround L/R and rear surrounds because I need to run lengths in excess of 40 ft. My question is, how important is it to use terminators on these connections? I'm planning on using the angled pin, crimp connectors that Monster makes unless someone tells me otherwise. Any advice you guys could provide would be GREAT!
Thanks!!
-Mike

 

[zipper]

Using the connectors is not that important,as long as you have a solid connection w/o them. They tend to look neater & make disconnection & reconnection simpler. If I may make a suggestion, there is a connector(either pin or banana) that uses a screw-down action to terminate the end of the wire. These are great because they can be reused if you need to change the length of your wires. They are a bit more money but worth it in the long run.

 

[mustang_steve]

May I make a suggestion?

You might want to look around, as monster cable is a bit expensive for what you get out of it.

Partsexpress.com has some sound king brand wire that is very affordable, and in 12ga and possibly even 10ga if you feel the need for gauges that large. They also stock a whole range of connectors.

A few other online shops that have good price cables and connectors:

mcmelectronics.com

meniscusaudio.com (althought their prices are not as nice as the other two, but it is a small shop, but you do get great service.

EDIT: heh, didn't catch the part that you already have the fronts as monster...yeah I would go for flex pins if anything...I have a set of them and they are decent. I wouldn't ever pay that much again, but I feel they are better than solid pins. I think they are $20 for 4 connectors (2 red, 2 blue).