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Speakon vs. 1/4" Speaker Wire: Pros/Cons

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degroove

Jun 5, 2002
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Wilmington, DE
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#1
I have head that will be arriving tomorrow (Ashdown EVO 500 Rackmount) and an Ampeg SVT 410-HLF cab. Both have Speakon connectors. I already have a 1/4" of good quality that I was using with my SVT III PRO head with the same cabinet...

Searching the forum, I gather that Speakons can carry voltage when your amp is at high levels better, but my question is does this apply to all wattage amps, or just power amps in the 1,000s of watts?

What are the pro's and cons of the speakon connection vs. the 1/4 inch, and would you recommend me to use one with my 500+ watt amp?

Thanks, Matt
 
#2
I've had an Eden WT-550 and an SWR500x, both offered a choice of Speakons or 1/4" receptacles. My current (and all-time favorite) amp is the Mesa M-Pulse 600. It only has 1/4" receptacles-no Speakons available. I know a lot of people prefer the Speakons, but Mesa must believe that the 1/4" can handle 600W @ 4 ohms with little or no perceptible degradation. JMHO. :D

Nice amp choice, by the way. Enjoy!
 
#6
Well.
A jack plug has a contact area the size of a needle tip. That isn't good when you are driving bass speakers -because bass speakers needs much current, and much current needs fat wires. 1/4" jack connectors can work fine (for a time), but if there should come a bit of corrosion or dirt on the contact area, then conductivity goes down and as it does, heat may build up (which further degrades the connection causing even more heat - it's an evil circle), and you may have the insulation on the plug or cable melt, causing short circuit, and goodness knows what can happen then.
1/4" Jack connectors were never designed for high power use. They were designed for telephone switchboards (which is why they are, or were, called phone jacks).

Speakons, on the other hand, are designed for loudspeakers. Big contact area, lots of room for fat cables, locking when inserted, non-exposed contact elements. Personally I use only Neutrik speakons (I don't know if anyone else makes them?) - they are great.

For loudspeakers - especially bass and high power:
Speakon = good choice.
1/4" phone jack = bad choice.
XLR = better than phone jacks, but still not good IMO.

Meaning no disrespect, of course. :)
 
#8
degroove said:
I am sorry, but I did not comprehend what you said. Are you saying anything over 100 Watts should get a Speakon and below a 1/4" jack?

Sorry for my confusion...Matt
Click to expand...

No, I was up at 5:00 am this morning to contact the UK, I am a bit out of it :(

If you want a simple rule "Always use a speakon". There are more good reasons to use a speakon other than just power. They do not short the connection, more reliable connection, etc. Eric Moesle said it best: The pro's are many, the con's are non-existent.

However, for 100W and below you are ok with a 1/4" jack. In fact with an 150W amp you are probably ok since you are probably not using 150W continuous but 150W peak. For a 500W amp running half way (gain and volume at 12:00) I would use a speakon.

Since you have a good 1/4", I would try using it. You will only lose power and headroom and security :D
 
#9
elros said:
Well.
A jack plug has a contact area the size of a needle tip. That isn't good when you are driving bass speakers -because bass speakers needs much current, and much current needs fat wires. 1/4" jack connectors can work fine (for a time), but if there should come a bit of corrosion or dirt on the contact area, then conductivity goes down and as it does, heat may build up (which further degrades the connection causing even more heat - it's an evil circle), and you may have the insulation on the plug or cable melt, causing short circuit, and goodness knows what can happen then.
1/4" Jack connectors were never designed for high power use. They were designed for telephone switchboards (which is why they are, or were, called phone jacks).

Speakons, on the other hand, are designed for loudspeakers. Big contact area, lots of room for fat cables, locking when inserted, non-exposed contact elements. Personally I use only Neutrik speakons (I don't know if anyone else makes them?) - they are great.

For loudspeakers - especially bass and high power:
Speakon = good choice.
1/4" phone jack = bad choice.
XLR = better than phone jacks, but still not good IMO.

Meaning no disrespect, of course. :)
Click to expand...

El Ros...that was the best explanation I have heard on the topic. I will definately use one, now. I was wrong with my assumption of it needing to be a very high power (1k+) wattage application to require this.

Thanks..
 
#12
vbass said:
Ok then, I have a question...

I currently have 12 gauge speakon to 1/4" because that was the only option to connect my cabs. I'm running a good 300w a side, at least. Do you think I will run into any issues with this?
Click to expand...

You might or might not. Over time, you'll be less likely to incur problems with Speakon connectors than with 1/4".
 
#15
vbass said:
Ok then, I have a question...

I currently have 12 gauge speakon to 1/4" because that was the only option to connect my cabs. I'm running a good 300w a side, at least. Do you think I will run into any issues with this?
Click to expand...

Bob Lee and Wil Davis bring up good points and I won't repeat them. From a purely power perspective, if you are running 300W per side continuous with the 1/4" jacks, you might get away with 200-250W per side with a speakon because of less loss (I made up these numbers, so don't hold me to them). The more power you try to pump out (over 100W), the more you are going to lose.

Speakons have 16 times the power capacity of 1/4" jacks. So you don't have to start worrying about power loss until about 1600W continuous :hyper:
 
#16
seanm said:
Bob Lee and Wil Davis bring up good points and I won't repeat them. From a purely power perspective, if you are running 300W per side continuous with the 1/4" jacks, you might get away with 200-250W per side with a speakon because of less loss (I made up these numbers, so don't hold me to them). The more power you try to pump out (over 100W), the more you are going to lose.

Speakons have 16 times the power capacity of 1/4" jacks. So you don't have to start worrying about power loss until about 1600W continuous :hyper:
Click to expand...

The current ratings are less about power loss and more about having the contacts overheat and melt or arc--causing a 100% power loss.
 
#17
Well, I definitely understand what you guys are saying, but I guess my question was a little more like, what effect do you suppose the conversion has? Because one side of the cable is 1/4" is it practically like having 1/4-1/4? Loss is loss right? Does it even matter that one side is connected by speakon?
 
#20
vbass said:
Well, I definitely understand what you guys are saying, but I guess my question was a little more like, what effect do you suppose the conversion has? Because one side of the cable is 1/4" is it practically like having 1/4-1/4? Loss is loss right? Does it even matter that one side is connected by speakon?
Click to expand...

This is a great question cause they offer all kinds of Speakon variations like what Vbass is saying. When I was calling around to local stores, they asked me what I wanted and I assumed it would be Speakon to Speakon. They did not have any less than 25 feet long, and the adapters are $20!! :rolleyes: a piece...meaning it would cost me $40 to change over lest there are cheaper alternatives.

I did see cheaper alternatives when I did a "speakon" search, so I will be going through all that again...
 

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