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Warning! Do Not Buy Cheap Speakon Cables

#121
Jim C said:
For the record, this is the one I was talking about.
View attachment 3989442
Click to expand...
Yep, that's the one @Passinwind and I were talking about as being nearly impossible to disassemble once it's been initially assembled. It's not the original NL with the rotating locking ring. I'll rustle up one here in a bit to photograph...all I ever had have been upgraded, but there may be an adaptor or something laying around the home corral.

BTW, that nice photo brings up a whole different issue: if you want to get the REALLY good Speak-Ons, you absolutely MUST hold out for the ones made in Lichtenstein. Those are the only really good ones.... I mean, the others will work, but there not as good as the original Lichtenstein ones. If you really want to hear the subtleties of your tone, you really should seek out the Lichtensteiner ones... it will be worth it. Trust me. ;)
 
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#122
Here we go -- original NL4-FC, with knurled locking ring.
IMG_1423.jpg
 
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#123
I actually have this for the final assembly of SpeakONs
HTFAC
It helps to get them good and tight but also not over torque them. (it's plastic)

BTW - First step in the installation instructions say to place the bushing and chuck over the cable.
Too many people strip the cable first. Then struggle with the bushing and chuck trying to get them on over stripped wires.
Also, crimped ferules aren't needed and have no advantage. And for gawd's sake, don't tin the wires.
 
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#126
An update on making my 3 cables..

Bought everything from Sweetwater; free shipping.

Decided on making two 3ft speakon cables, and one 4ft speakon to 1/4 phono plug (for older amps/cabs).
They have a jumbo phono plug that will accept the 12ga. wire.

The 12 ga.wire fit the speakons fine. A tight fit into the screw-in connector but very doable.

Yes 12gauge is overkill, you can always use 14 gauge, but These will last a couple of lifetimes.
I like the Pro-co brand; priced about $1 a foot and it's got that rubbery flexible feel.

Because 'Aged Horse' and 'Killed by Death' always browbeats me, :D:D:D, I purchased a #1 Pozidriv screwdriver a "PZ-1".
It does have a better grip, but I have used phillips head screwdrivers on about a dozen cable assemblies with no problems. Just take your time.

Final thoughts:

-download the Neutrik PDF assembly file.
-Soldering is not needed for Speakon connectors

-My final cost was $33.43 free shipping. So about $11 a cable.
Other quality pre-made cables can cost 2-4 times more. Do it YOURSELF!




Neutrik NL2FX 2-pole Female speakON Cable-mount Connector
Pro Co MF2P 1/4" TS Male Jumbo Cable-mount Connector

Pro Co 12-2 Bulk Stage Speaker Wire - 10 Foot
Pro Co 12-2 Bulk Stage Speaker Wire - 25 Foot
====================================

NL2FX
NL4FX

IMG_2189.JPG
IMG_2190.JPG
IMG_2191.JPG
 

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#129
IME joints that are meant to be purely a mechanical connection are frequently compromised by well-meaning overachievers with a soldering iron. In some cases the underlying integrity of the plastics/composites are compromised by the heat and in every case the mechanical connection integrity is compromised by the solder compressing and flowing/creeping when things are tightened. This latter type of failure will often not be obvious right away, but almost always happens at the worst possible time downstream.

YMMV, but it will inevitably be bad mileage in the end. :)
 
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#131
Hello all! Forgive me if this is out-of-line. If it is, I'll try to delete it. But for those of us who are not technically inclined may I ask for a bit more specificity? I don't know a pozidrive from a warp drive.

Here is a Live Wire NA4LJX male SpeakOn-to-TS 1/4" female adapter I got at Guitar Center. Should I NOT use this for my Ampeg PF-500 with a Pig Hog 14 gauge speaker cable? But, as it has "Neutrik" stamped on the metal thing, is it okay?

Live Wire NA4LJX Male SpeakOn to TS One-Quarter Inch Female adapter copy.jpg


Or, is Sweetwater safe? Or better? Like this for example... Pro Co S12NQ-6 TS-Speakon Speaker Cable - 6'

I'll look for the Neutrik stamp from now on, ProCo, and also at Redco.com. What about Pig Hog speaker cables? Are they okay?

Thanks all!
 
#133
As a follow-up, here's an example of another SpeakOn plug defect. The top of the contact bars should be fully exposed, this example has plastic flash from poor molding and possibly poor installation of the contact bar assemble into the housing. The plastic flash on one side of the bar sits at almost the level of the top of the contact bar, resulting in potentially intermittent operation:

defective:
IMG_1915[1].JPG


(correct)
IMG_1916[1].JPG
 
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#134
Haunted House said:
Hello all! Forgive me if this is out-of-line. If it is, I'll try to delete it. But for those of us who are not technically inclined may I ask for a bit more specificity? I don't know a pozidrive from a warp drive.

Here is a Live Wire NA4LJX male SpeakOn-to-TS 1/4" female adapter I got at Guitar Center. Should I NOT use this for my Ampeg PF-500 with a Pig Hog 14 gauge speaker cable? But, as it has "Neutrik" stamped on the metal thing, is it okay?

View attachment 3993958

Or, is Sweetwater safe? Or better? Like this for example... Pro Co S12NQ-6 TS-Speakon Speaker Cable - 6'

I'll look for the Neutrik stamp from now on, ProCo, and also at Redco.com. What about Pig Hog speaker cables? Are they okay?

Thanks all!
Click to expand...
That adaptor's fine for what it is. I don't know for sure, but it's likely your Class-D amp uses a bridged-output topology; if that's the case, there is some risk in using 1/4" phone plugs at all. I presume you're using that adaptor on the back of your amp, and a 1/4"-to-1/4" speaker cable to get to your cab? If that's the case, there's no real advantage to using the SpeakOn out versus using the amp's 1/4"-phone output; you may as well just plug your 1/4" speaker cable into the mating output connector and forget about the SpeakOn adaptor. Or a much better option would be to change out the connector on your speaker cab to a SpeakOn, then use a regular ol' SpeakOn-to-Speakon speaker cable.

If you're going to be using 1/4"-phone plugs on either end of your speaker cable, it would be advisable to NOT patch or un-patch the speaker cable while the amp is turned on. That would prevent you from accidentally shorting out the amp's output by accidentally grounding either the sleeve or the tip of the 1/4-phone to a grounded point, or just shorting the two components of the connector together with an inadvertent touch to a piece of conductive material. The two components of a 1/4-phone can short together briefly just by inserting it into a mating jack -- this should be avoided. Just keep it turned off when you're plugging or unplugging your speaker and it will be fine. But changing to a SpeakOn connector on a cab is usually a pretty easy DIY project.
 
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#135
Redbrangus said:
That adaptor's fine for what it is. I don't know for sure, but it's likely your Class-D amp uses a bridged-output topology; if that's the case, there is some risk in using 1/4" phone plugs at all. I presume you're using that adaptor on the back of your amp, and a 1/4"-to-1/4" speaker cable to get to your cab? If that's the case, there's no real advantage to using the SpeakOn out versus using the amp's 1/4"-phone output; you may as well just plug your 1/4" speaker cable into the mating output connector and forget about the SpeakOn adaptor. Or a much better option would be to change out the connector on your speaker cab to a SpeakOn, then use a regular ol' SpeakOn-to-Speakon speaker cable.

If you're going to be using 1/4"-phone plugs on either end of your speaker cable, it would be advisable to NOT patch or un-patch the speaker cable while the amp is turned on. That would prevent you from accidentally shorting out the amp's output by accidentally grounding either the sleeve or the tip of the 1/4-phone to a grounded point, or just shorting the two components of the connector together with an inadvertent touch to a piece of conductive material. The two components of a 1/4-phone can short together briefly just by inserting it into a mating jack -- this should be avoided. Just keep it turned off when you're plugging or unplugging your speaker and it will be fine. But changing to a SpeakOn connector on a cab is usually a pretty easy DIY project.
Click to expand...

My PF-500 has one SpeakOn jack and one TS 1/4" jack for speaker outputs. I use two matching cabinets and they have only TS 1/4" inputs, each. So one cable is just 1/4" male to 1/4" male, and on the other cable I use the SpeakOn adapter, with the exact same type of speaker cable; Pig Hog 14 gauge. Are Pig Hog cables generally okay?
 
#137
Haunted House said:
Here is a Live Wire NA4LJX male SpeakOn-to-TS 1/4" female adapter I got at Guitar Center. Should I NOT use this for my Ampeg PF-500 with a Pig Hog 14 gauge speaker cable? But, as it has "Neutrik" stamped on the metal thing, is it okay?
Click to expand...
Broadly speaking, if you bought it new at Guitar Center or Sweetwater, if the plug is stamped Neutrik, it's probably legit Neutrik. Since retailers can be found complicit in the sale of counterfeit goods (plus endanger their authorized retailer status with relevant companies), most of them are pretty risk-averse regarding potential brand counterfeits.

Of course "probably" does not mean "guaranteed to be".
 
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