Banana jacks on amps?

[Zooberwerx]

In Guatemala, they use real bananas.

Riis

 

[agedhorse]

I don't know when they were used on amps as of to say but they've been around for a hundred years.

They were used primarily for lab instrumentation, test and R&D, speaker applications came post WW2

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Early SWR, Eden, Carvin come to mind.

I still own some legacy Eden gear that have banana jacks, but sense enough not to use them. I did buy some plugs when I got my first amp, , but have not used them.

 

[agedhorse]

I still own some legacy Eden gear that have banana jacks, but sense enough not to use them. I did buy some plugs when I got my first amp, , but have not used them.

They are plenty safe if you aren't an idiot, but safety regulations are designed as an attempt to protect everyone.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

They were used primarily for lab instrumentation, test and R&D, speaker applications came post WW2

I have several power supplies sitting on my desk next to me with banana plugs hanging out of them and going to various boards.

The last bass rig I had with banana jacks for the speakers was an Ampeg SVTIII that I sold in 1999 and probably an Eden 210XLT that I sold in 2007. I have an old set of Event 20/20 studio monitors that uses bananas to connect the passive speaker to the powered speaker, but that's it for audio equipment.

 

[EastDakota]

I've got an SVTIII-Pro with a serial that dates to 1996 and it has banana plugs. If I ever have to think about using them something has gone horribly wrong.

 

[Not yet]

Forgot about those. Had on 90s SWR SM900, jeez I hated em

 

[Al Kraft]

I can't recall ever seeing a bass amp with banana plugs. Got an example?
That said, my Acme B2 Series II cabinet has them.
I've never liked them, even on my hifi equipment. They never felt really secure.

My SWR SM-400S has them (for bridged use) and it is a 1993/94 production year.

 

[Rip Van Dan]

SWR SM400S

Eden WT500/800 from 1999. This was the actual amp that David Nordschow used to design all the Eden cabs between 1999 and 2009 when he left Eden. So the XST cabs and everything after were designed using this amp on his test bench. I bought it from David in 2010, but it was made in 1999. It was originally 500-watts bridged into 8Ω and he upgraded it to 800-watts bridged into 8Ω.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

They are plenty safe if you aren't an idiot, but safety regulations are designed as an attempt to protect everyone.

My point was there were better safer alternatives to chose from on the same equipment. I'm not real big on tempting fate. And being candid, I've done some incredibly dumb things in my life as you may have surmised at this point..LOL!!!

 

[ebozzz]

I can't recall ever seeing a bass amp with banana plugs. Got an example?
That said, my Acme B2 Series II cabinet has them.
I've never liked them, even on my hifi equipment. They never felt really secure.

The Peavey Kilobass had that setup for running in bridged mode.

 

[fdeck]

In addition to safety concerns, banana plugs aren't all that robust. I've seen plenty of them in the lab, that were bent, or whose springs were bent / broken.

 

[Al Kraft]

In addition to safety concerns, banana plugs aren't all that robust. I've seen plenty of them in the lab, that were bent, or whose springs were bent / broken.

I agree with fdeck's assessment and have observed that even the highest quality banana plugs are still somewhat fragile. The basic design of the connector is just not as robust IMO compared to a speakON connector or even a 1/4 " phone plug. This can be especially problematic if they are simply tossed into a cable box or gig bag with other things.

For a stationary equipment connection that stays plugged in most of the time (i..e., rarely plugged in and unplugged) they offer a good contact area that is to some degree self cleaning. However, the safety aspect and inherently more fragile less secure nature of the connector design make it a weak second place choice to genuine Neutrik speakONs IME.

 

[SonicGirth]

Late to the party as usual.
Eden runs high power through the bananas over the 1/4 because there isn't a speakon option for the older cab.
Everything else is speakon.