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Speakon Vs 1/4 inch
- Thread starter JeremyJJackson
- Start date
- Aug 30, 2003
- 1,479
- 457
- Disclosures
- Engineer & Owner, Sonic Nuance Electronics
The higher the power the more likely the speakon will provide better power transfer.
The speakon is a better design IMHO, but it aint cheap. It is locking (I think this is better), doesn't momentarily short contacts together and can handle much more current.
For less that ~300W, I don't think anyone would notice a tonal or power difference.
Also, speakons are field servicable without a soldering iron which is nice.
The speakon is a better design IMHO, but it aint cheap. It is locking (I think this is better), doesn't momentarily short contacts together and can handle much more current.
For less that ~300W, I don't think anyone would notice a tonal or power difference.
Also, speakons are field servicable without a soldering iron which is nice.
hmm good points and i am running over 300 watts so i think ill stick with speakons. I got them for free with my head. Had to bargin a bit but hey thats the fun of buying something expensive.
The Speakon is going to soon be the standard on all amps and, in my opinion, is a superior connector over the 1/4" jack.
bongomania
Commercial User
There is no audio difference, but the Speakon locks in place, it can handle higher current, and you won't accidentally plug an instrument cable between your amp and cab on a dark stage.
toss this in here. How efficient are banana plugs/hookups? I think I read here or somewhere recently that someone stated banana plugs are the best way to make contact. They did not elaborate. Maybe this was before speakons came out, just curious.
they are meant for home stereo stuff and are fairly light duty.....if you needed to borrow one in a pinch you would be unlikely to find them in any musicians kit
What about the good old banana plug, I do live sound have alot of amps some of which only have banana plug some only have speakon and others only have 1/4. I know this really dates some of my gear but its a pain in the assss putting rigs together with three different plugs. The only down side to speakon is sometimes they melt into jacks which is a real pain although for live sound they are great because they are locking. In my eyes it really comes down to gauge, I see tons of guys running high power cabs with patch cables and instrument cables which is just flat out stupid. Also if a wire pops out of a speakon or banana you can just put it back in and tighten it with a screw driver.
Jim campbell you are wrong, in live sound you see them all the time. Well less these days but for years thats all pro sound used.
Totally wrong.
Will handle more current than you will ever use in a bass rig, do not require being taken apart and rewired to bridge a power amp, can be used to hook up multiple cabinets in series or in parallel without modification, can be serviced without a soldering iron.
Outside of the dubious benefit of locking in they are better than Speakon in any way which matters to me, and are all I use. Speakon took over the spot formerly occupied by banana plugs not because they were better, but because they were better marketed.
?
Only ways I can think of are a GROSS overcurrent situation or a "room-to-grow" soldering technique.
One other thing to consider is that you can't inadvertently grab both conductors on a speakon and get a massive bolt of current - I know it is not easily done with even a 1/4 inch, but the potential is there to get 6 amps or more, and that will put you flat on the floor.
HasBeen (Roger) from Genz Benz has said that 1/4" is illegal on new amps in the EU, so they don't use them on their amps at all any more. I'm making the switch. I have no compelling technical reason, but my Shuttle 6.0 forces me to at least somewhat embrace Speakon and I'd rather be using all of one type to avoid mistakes and lessen the amount of things I carry with me.
KO
KO
bongomania
Commercial User
I've never heard of that happening! They are designed for very high current, so the only way I can imagine one melting is if the gear was actually on fire.
- Aug 30, 2003
- 1,479
- 457
- Disclosures
- Engineer & Owner, Sonic Nuance Electronics
Kinda hard to describe
Assume you have two parallel 1/4" speaker outputs on an amplifier and one is already tied to a speaker. The other you are about to tie to a speaker with the power on. Well since the tip of the 1/4" goes in first, it contacts the other connector first. This will momentarily short the + and - outputs of the amplifier. Whether this is a problem or not depends on the amplifier.
Rick Auricchio
Registered Bass Offender
JustDavid, when you plug a 1/4" plug into the jack, the tip and ring are momentarily shorted together by the body of the jack.
In most cases, one won't have a live signal on the plug, but if you do, the quick short can cause trouble for whatever's driving the line.
In most cases, one won't have a live signal on the plug, but if you do, the quick short can cause trouble for whatever's driving the line.
When you plug a jack plug in, the tip momentarily touches the earth lug of the socket. Sometimes it can also short the earth and live lugs together, which is never good.
