Neutrik Speakon Rant-on

[Mike Caldwell]

The first PA system I dragged around and set up was all Neutrik SpeakON 30 years ago. I hated 1/4" "rip-cord" speaker wire and even got some mild shocks once in a while from the switchcraft ends. Couldn't imagine going back to 1/4" speaker cables. I still have a bunch of old rotating-sleeve locking NL cables and while the "click" on them is now very soft, they still hold.
All the NL SpeakON speaker cables the guys at Sound Plus (who assembled our "portable" Apogee AE PA rack for us) made for me 30 years ago still work! They also told me to never tin the wires on those connectors if I ever decided to roll my own or had to repair one.

I still have some of the rotating locking ring Speakons on the cables that get used from time to time. All of those used a copper sleeve over the wire and hex set screw to secure the connection. I still have one of those new in the bag I found a while back!

 

[Ggaa]

Was able to use one of my smallest flat precision screwdrivers to tighten the lugs, pretty tight...

 

[agedhorse]

Was able to use one of my smallest flat precision screwdrivers to tighten the lugs, pretty tight...

The screws don’t use the screws so small that they need the smallest precision flat screwdriver. I don’t recall that a flat screw driver will even work?

Either your idea of small precision screwdriver is different than mine, or perhaps you are dealing with a knock-off connector.

All but the newest version use #2 Pozidrive, the first version used Allen Head. I have seen samples of the latest ones that use Torx.

 

[Ggaa]

The screws don’t use the screws so small that they need the smallest precision flat screwdriver. I don’t recall that a flat screw driver will even work?

Either your idea of small precision screwdriver is different than mine, or perhaps you are dealing with a knock-off connector.

All but the newest version use #2 Pozidrive, the first version used Allen Head. I have seen samples of the latest ones that use Torx

Really small screwdrivers. No slot, wedged it in there. Not a knockoff unless Sweetwater is selling knockoffs in Speakon packaging.

 

[agedhorse]

Really small screwdrivers. No slot, wedged it in there. Not a knockoff unless Sweetwater is selling knockoffs in Speakon packaging.

Even a #2 Phillips would have been a better choice, but the flat blade is indeed a better choice than a hammer...

 

[6thplanet]

I'm guessing you shoved the flat tip into the T8 screw?

 

[agedhorse]

I'm guessing you shoved the flat tip into the T8 screw?

if they are the newest version, in which case a hammer might not be much worse

 

[6thplanet]

I'd then use the hammer to make sure the precision flat tip screwdriver was fully seated in the T8 screw.