Question About Binding Posts

[1958Bassman]

Black = Positive +
White = Negative -

...in a 2 conductor cable. 4 conductor:

Red = Positive +
Blue or Green = Positive +
Black = Negative -
White = Negative -

Just make sure your connections are the same on both end...works well for the color blind.

BTW, if you decide to go with banana plugs, google / search "Neutrik Rean Banana Plug". They have strain relief unlike the cheapos.

Edited the color designation above...I was looking at the reference upside. 2 conductor is a bit of a crapshoot...I use household wiring as a reference where black is hot, white is neutral, green is ground.

Typically, the color code is Red+/Black- and White+/Green- in commercial/industrial/residential installations. Sometimes, blue is used instead of green, as you showed.

Best practice is to check continuity from the terminals on the plugs to the wires to verify any cable's color code if it's unknown.

 

[ggunn]

You mean like this? Built for PA. Take a look at the wiring and guess what-does-what. BTW, you can see I've used black for +...but at least I'm consistent.

Are you an electrician? In their world white is the grounded conductor.

 

[ggunn]

no!

the tab sticking out the side of a banana plug means ground.

Not really. It's just so you can tell which is which in the dark. You can use it for either polarity as long as you are consistent.

Most folks use the tab for negative, it's true, but there's no particular reason for it.

 

[Zooberwerx]

Are you an electrician? In their world white is the grounded conductor.

I don't understand the above. No, not an electrician. In the photo, I have black to +, white to -....I didn't think either was grounded. I always thought green was ground, black - hot, white - neutral....but that's household wiring.

Riis

 

[ggunn]

I don't understand the above. No, not an electrician. In the photo, I have black to +, white to -....I didn't think either was grounded. I always thought green was ground, black - hot, white - neutral....but that's household wiring.

Riis

In electricianspeak neutral is the grounded conductor. Green is the grounding conductor. Oddly enough, there is a difference.

In 120VAC circuits, the grounded conductor (or neutral) is white (or gray), the grounding conductor (or ground) is green (or green with a yellow stripe), and the ungrounded conductor (or hot) can be any other color, but is usually black.

In speaker circuits, the negative is sometimes connected to chassis ground.

 

[Zooberwerx]

In electricianspeak neutral is the grounded conductor. Green is the grounding conductor. Oddly enough, there is a difference.

Gotcha! I found the following blurb which (IMO) best explains the color config:


"Four conductor speaker wire usually has a black, green, red, and white (or yellow) wire.


Although there is no standard that we know of, we have found that most contractors use the following logic:

Since two conductor speaker wire usually has a black and red conductor, and the black is designated "negative" with the red being "positive", we use those two conductors for the first speaker. Which speaker? The left, because we do many things from left to right. This leaves the green and white (or yellow) conductors for the right speaker. Which should be negative? In AC wiring, green is the color of an earth ground, so we use that as negative. Which leaves white for
positive."

...which means mine are inverted but the cable(s) are true to themselves. IIRC, the first cables I fabricated were non-working cast-offs donated to me. I disassembled the T/S phono plugs for reference and they were soldered-up black +, white - and have used it as a guide ever since.

Riis

 

[walterw]

Not really. It's just so you can tell which is which in the dark. You can use it for either polarity as long as you are consistent.

Most folks use the tab for negative, it's true, but there's no particular reason for it.

again, no. that tab is itself typically marked "GND" for ground; i don't know who would make a habit of wiring their banana plugs the opposite way, but they would be the odd man out in any sound company i've ever heard of.

 

[Major Softie]

Twisting is not necessary in speaker cables. Side by side works just fine.

While I understand your point - "twisted pair" normally refers to pairs in which the twisting is part of the noise suppression scheme - sheathed two-conductor speaker cable is indeed a "twisted pair" of conductors, as the conductors do have a rate of twist inside the sheath (even though it is a very gentle twist that isn't nearly as much as in twisted pair data lines).

Non-sheathed zip-cord style cords are, of course, simple side-by-side.

 

[nojj]

WW is correct.
Not all banana plug tabs are marked, but the ones that are say gnd.

 

[kanonfodr]

Can you link me a reference on the low voltage applications?

Thanks

Riis

Depends on the application? Do you want Data (EIA/TIA 568A/B)? 2 or 4 Conductor Telephone? 25 Pair telephone on a 66 block? Or on a 110 Block? Or maybe a vehicle's main wiring harness? Lots of standards, most are application-dependent. You can google all of those, be wildered.

All I meant was that I cut 1/4" neutriks off a pair of speaker cables. So I have 2 spare plugs.

Shorten a long instrument cable a bit and I now have an extra shortie for my pedalboard.

Gotcha, just don't want anyone doing something that's dangerous.

You mean like this? Built for PA. Take a look at the wiring and guess what-does-what. BTW, you can see I've used black for +...but at least I'm consistent.

Riis

I think something that most non-electrical folks get confused is that cable colors don't imbue a conductor with some special qualities - they are all just copper, and copper is copper. But utilities, trades, and governing bodies (public and commercial) define standards so that major applications can be as uniform as possible to increase serviceability and safety. For your own use, you can use whatever you damn well wish.

While I understand your point - "twisted pair" normally refers to pairs in which the twisting is part of the noise suppression scheme - sheathed two-conductor speaker cable is indeed a "twisted pair" of conductors, as the conductors do have a rate of twist inside the sheath (even though it is a very gentle twist that isn't nearly as much as in twisted pair data lines).

Non-sheathed zip-cord style cords are, of course, simple side-by-side.

Ya, that's the stuff I was referring to. I just pulled about 16k feet of Outside Plant 18/2 (twisted pair inside of a rubber jacket) for a Bogen paging system a few months ago - school refit job. Even worse than that, the genius leading the crew decided to terminate half the school to a 110 block in a data closet off a 25-pair telephone cable, with a 66-block on the other side. Only time in my life I've seen a service tech come out on a job and say "Wow...I've never seen that before."

Peace,
Greg

 

[ggunn]

again, no. that tab is itself typically marked "GND" for ground; i don't know who would make a habit of wiring their banana plugs the opposite way, but they would be the odd man out in any sound company i've ever heard of.

Whatever floats your boat. It's just a convention; there is no electrical distinction, unlike shielded cables where it makes a difference which is which. FWIW, I wire my bananas with the tabs as negative.

 

[walterw]

Do you want Data (EIA/TIA 568A/B)? 2 or 4 Conductor Telephone? 25 Pair telephone on a 66 block? Or on a 110 Block?...

...the genius leading the crew decided to terminate half the school to a 110 block in a data closet off a 25-pair telephone cable, with a 66-block on the other side.

uh, "220, 221, whatever it takes"

 

[walterw]

Whatever floats your boat. It's just a convention; there is no electrical distinction, unlike shielded cables where it makes a difference which is which. FWIW, I wire my bananas with the tabs as negative.

OK, we're splitting hairs here; it is the convention, not just "a" convention, but yeah, electrically there's no difference in the wire or the connector.

 

[Keithwah]

The professional audio industry years ago accepted the standard practice that a black conductor in a mic or balanced line level termination is always the minus or pin 3/ring and the red is always the positive or pin 2/tip. In a speaker install, certainly multi conductor speaker snakes are more than the usual white (positive) and black (negative). Both whirlwind and Rapco have information online about snake color configurations. But either way the bottom line is this, shield on a mic line is always shield, but as long as the color of the wire attached to tip on one end is attached to tip on the other end and so on and so on, it will work fine.

But as good practice as a professional in the audio/visual installation and consulting world, I'm also a professional on stage and treat my stage rig with the same professionalism I would a $250,000 install. Do it right, or play Mustang Sally.

 

[TimmyP]

Always use a panel on the back of the rack.

The best bananas I've found are The Mouser 174-5791 (black) and 174-5795 (red). They have a huge solder bucket, and the insulated body goes on AFTER you solder! They are fairly robust, and are dirt cheap.

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[Major Softie]

The professional audio industry years ago accepted the standard practice that a black conductor in a mic or balanced line level termination is always the minus or pin 3/ring and the red is always the positive or pin 2/tip.

Careful.

Not that such an assumption has EVER happened before in the U.S., but the world does not revolve around the States. Your statement is absolutely correct as far as the U.S. is concerned, and perhaps Canada as well, but those goofy Europeans do things differently. They seem to think they also have a "professional audio industry."