1/4" plug stuck in cabinet...

[Snaxster]

Then again, if you can get your hand in the cab, you can probably figure out what's holding it in place & release it.

I don't know, man... If it's a squirrel, he could get his hand bitten. I mean, that would help him figure it out; but at what cost?

Anyway, when he finally catches the squirrel and it comes time to release it, you know the rule: "One inch, one mile." So if the squirrel is 12 inches long, he'll be looking at a 24-mile round trip. The things we do for music!

 

[David Jayne]

That's..........not a squirrel.

 

[wraub]

Nice marmot.

 

[Foz]

I have had some bad luck with those combos - go Liechtensteinian all the way - my $0.02

 

[squirefan]

That's..........not a squirrel.

Chupacabra!

 

[seamonkey]

Thanks, y'all...I'm sure that's what happened...no clue where I picked up that speaker cable, but I'm sure (positive!) that it was a cheap one! Ironically, this cab HAS a speakon plug, just happened to be using the 1/4" this time! I'll clear the plug out and then just start using the speakon exclusively...just blew my mind that a 1/4" plug could fail!

They just don't make them like they use to

 

[two fingers]

I can't believe we are this far into this nonsense and bot one of you has bothered asking WHAT KIND OF CAB it is. What kind of access there is into the guts of it makes all the difference in the world in this conversation.

 

[beans-on-toast]

Combo Speakons are not a good idea unless you want the cab to whistle a tune while you play.

The combo speakons are sealed in the back so there should be no problems with leakage.

 

[megafiddle]

Looks like Walter Carlos's Moog:

They just don't make them like they use to

 

[wcriley]

The combo speakons are sealed in the back so there should be no problems with leakage.

Thanks. Good to know.
Were they always sealed? I seem to remember from some years ago that they weren't. (Knock-offs maybe?)

 

[beans-on-toast]

Thanks. Good to know.
Were they always sealed? I seem to remember from some years ago that they weren't. (Knock-offs maybe?)

Not sure about the past. I was concerned about that. I recently bought some Neutrik combo connectors with vertical tabs and I specifically tested them for leakage and found no issues.

 

[Snaxster]

That's..........not a squirrel.

I think it's a marten. That was the best I could do on short notice.

 

[Jeff Scott]

Nice marmot.

That's not a marmot.

 

[Jeff Scott]

That's..........not a squirrel.

These are.

 

[Bassamatic]

Yeah - surely the plug is bent and got in but can't come out. Good luck with that. I hope it is an easy repair for you.

I also hope you can replace it with a Speakon - they MUCH better plug in every way. 1/4" plugs have a miniscule contact area for the tip (a round touching a flat surface - they should never have been used for speakers. Manufacturers were just too lazy and cheap to find something else.

 

[wraub]

That's not a marmot.

Yes, I know that. Just couldn't pass up an opportunity for a Lebowski quote.

 

[agedhorse]

I also hope you can replace it with a Speakon - they MUCH better plug in every way. 1/4" plugs have a miniscule contact area for the tip (a round touching a flat surface - they should never have been used for speakers. Manufacturers were just too lazy and cheap to find something else.

Let's put this in better historical perspective...

The 1/4" plug was pretty much the only reasonable option back in the early days of MI audio (had nothing to do with being lazy or cheap) and in fact was plenty good for tube amps and small solid state amps for MANY years. There was no such thing as bridging, voltage swing was quite low, current was very low by today's standards, and most low powered amps were at least somewhat tolerant of monetary short circuits (especially tube amps). It took a while, but the motivation for the Speakon connector really came from European regulation rather than just being a better connector. The pro audio industry really started out migrating to the Cannon EP/AP series (which came in 2, 4, 6 & 8 pole) and while this is a superior connector in just about every way (including male and female ends, so you can't plug an amp channel into an amp channel and need no male couplers to extend), it was roughly 6 times as costly and it was larger which caused it to be abandoned when the NL-4 and NL-8 series Speakons were finally perfected. The original SpeakOns had some significant problems when introduced, (conveniently forgotten in the shallow history's mind) and in fact the NL-8's still suck to assemble. The NL series always require one end to crossover wiring of pairs whereas the EP/AP do not, and wire straight through matching the wiring color code on both ends without crossing over of conductors.

How many of you have wired an NL-8 versus an EP-8?

 

[BassmanPaul]

They just don't make them like they use to

In my time I have installed and commissioned such desks.

I feel old!

 

[beans-on-toast]

Speakons are years ahead of ¼" jacks and plugs. But even still they pale in comparison to the Amphenol and other connectors that are used in some pro audio and communications equipment for cables. It comes down to cost. In the 70's I started using military Ampehenol 2-pin and up connectors similar to the one below. They are solid and reliable.

​

When Ampeg changed over from a simple octal connector with a hood to four-pin in the early 60's they used Amphenol interlocking connectors on their B-15 speaker cabinets.

​

 

[beans-on-toast]

If anyone wanting to use a combo speakon, they are PCB mount only. Here are some circuit boards that allow you to use them: Speakon Combo NLJ2MD-V PCB's