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

[seanm]

The current ratings are less about power loss and more about having the contacts overheat and melt or arc--causing a 100% power loss.

But before they melt or arc they will start heating up, and heat is energy. That energy has to come from somewhere and would show up as a power loss. To the amp, it will look like the resistive load has gone up. Or am I completely off base here?

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

That's something Mesa would be able to tell you. But it probably wouldn't be an easy conversion.

 

[Mickey Shane]

Speakons are an improved connector. They are better than 1/4" jacks. 1/4" jacks, will however, handle anything that you can through at them, if they are properly sleeved. How do you think stuff was hooked-up in the sixties, when bands were actually extremely loud?

Where's my hearing aids? ...grumble... grumb... gr

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

But before they melt or arc they will start heating up, and heat is energy. That energy has to come from somewhere and would show up as a power loss. To the amp, it will look like the resistive load has gone up. Or am I completely off base here?

True, but if we were talking about a fuse instead of a 1/4" connection, the heat dissipated in it as it blows would be very small compared to the heat dissipated in the voice coil and the passive crossover components (if there are any). But that's what we're trying to avoid here--the connection becoming an unintended fuse.

 

[vbass]

One is more likely to have a problem, and the other is doubly so.

I hate to be a pain, but could you clarify what you meant by this? I don't quite understand.

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

I hate to be a pain, but could you clarify what you meant by this? I don't quite understand.

It's math. One 1/4" connection represents a certain likelihood of an eventual problem in the signal path. Two 1/4" connections--twice as many as one--therefore represents double, or twice (2x), the likelihood.

 

[vbass]

Gotcha! Thanks again.

 

[degroove]

Thank to this thread, I bought a speakon from Music123...should be here in a few days. For those that took the time to provide so much useful information on this topic, thanks

Matt