We went from coaching to educational tours and everything was entrusted to five of our friends by Sir. One time the box broke and I was able to fix it by watching your videos and everyone thanked me.
thank you so much brod bruno for this tutorial... actually, i bought 2 speakon connectors some few months back for my karaoke speakers but i stop installing them when i got a headache determining which terminals to use (the plus 1's or 2's or the minus 1's or 2's)... your tutorial answered it all and so i can now install my speakons confidently without worrying about wrong connections... thanx again, brod bruno...
Thank you so very much Sir! Your instruction was 2nd to None. I was in a panic, one of my speaker cables didn't work, so i took the other one apart to see the wiring and it fell apart. Tomorrow is Saturday and i don't have time to drive 40 minutes to a Music store or the money to purchase 2 new cables. But thanks to your outstanding tutorial i fixed both cables myself, and i'm ready for Sunday...God bless you. PASTOR BRUNDIDGE
I will be making these cables for the first time. I am assigned to make them . Your video cleared all doubts and gave enough idea about SpeakOn connector and how to use them. I hope I'll do it right way. I have all the tools needed except Lockon. but thats Ok I guess. I'll post in few days how it went. thanks for the video.
Thank you!!! Edit- Had a 50' cable given to me but I only needed about 3 feet. After watching your instructional and completing the modification; The weight difference after is so significant my own back made me come here and thank you, again.
Thanks for this. I rewired a Speakon, it didn't work, I had no idea there were the +1/-1 and +2/-2 connections (I assumed the two positives were the same. After watching your video, I got out the magnifying glass, and sure enough, I had them in the wrong ports. Much appreciated.
Bruno you safe me with your video. This past friday 3-20-19 i was doing a church event and all my 4 speakers was setup and someone put one of them at little big to the front and broke one of the cable. But thank to you I fixed back.
Thanks a lot for this video. I had just to look up the right terminals but your tutorial was very thorough and informative. Damn good work. And yes, always get the real deal. I can't tell you the pain you have, when someone cheaped out on those connectors. As I worked as a roadie, we aquired a used sound system for a extremly good price. We knew some of the connectors were wonky but were forced to use it, before we could check it rigorously. That gig was a nightmare as speakers went dead, the amps shut down into protection mode and so on. At any time we had only two thirds of it running. The next week we were all busy to test all cables, exhange every connector and jack of every speaker. They really cheaped out on those and had even replicas in use, which let us believe in the first place it's only some wonky jacks and connectors and not the complete system. The wiring in those speakers can only be described as "the spaghetti incident". Which was to some degree our fault, as we ripped in our need those faulty jacks out, snipped the connector and connected the bare wires directly to the cables in the box with luster terminals. It was a 1:1 what you should never with a sound system.
You're welcome Cid, and thanks for the story - do you recall what make/model of system it was? Sounds like one of those older component system with separate low, mid and high speakers.
@@GLBProductions Most of the amps were crowns if I remember correctly which were weighing a ton. The active splitters were something from Omnitronic. All the speaker cabinets were self build, which looked roadworn but sounded really nice. The bass horns were insanely effective but huge and a pain to carry. They used some Eminence speakers. The selfbuild line array worked damn well and was loaded with some Monacor speakers. There were some high fills and kick basses too, but I have no idea what was inside of those. The components for themself were not that bad. On the mixing desk they cheaped out again and used something from Behringer but it still did the job.
Great info. I'm going to add this - never tin a wire that is going to be gripped by a screw. It will tighten nicely at first, but over time the soft solder will creep and the connection will loosen. It probably won't go completely open circuit, but it will go high resistance. This will allow corrosion to start, and the performance of the cable will continue to deteriorate.
hi bruno! G.LB.🖐🙏🖐.. I want to thank you very much, because you posted these videos, which helped me and are still helping me a lot!👏👏 And I'm sure it still helped a lot of people.. very well explained and very professional !👌👏👏
Hi ! First of all I would like to thank you so much for uploading this video. I went to electronics parts market. Got to see some variants of this connectors. Price would also vary drastically. I chose MX brand available here, rather then Nutrik as you have used. I saw that also. But there was price difference of over the times and as this was my first time with this connectors I choose MX. Almost similar but I know Nutrik is much better. Next time I'll use that only. I got lot of information about connectors through video. Now about making connections, your video made it so simple that it was like piece of cake. I could make it very easily. +1 -1 pair was used. I made two 50 meters cables. Wire used was not that you have shown but my purpose was served very well. This has helped me setting up our door audio system, cascading four speakers. I have attached lugs also in parallel to these connectors so that I can connect it to my amplifier also. Once again I thank you from bottom of my heart. May The God be always with you, helping you.
In future I strongly suggest you use only Neutrik brand connectors. The others are much cheaper but their quality is also MUCH worse! Remember that you can be dealing with quite high voltages here - not a place to skimp on quality.
Question please , i have passive speaker and a external power amplifier. They connect with naked wire ,positive (red) Negatice (black) wire. Can i make this wire u did to upgrade my cable or is this just for mic lines
The cable and connectors that you see in the video are for connecting loudspeakers only - there is no shielding on the cable so don't use it for microphone lines! To answer your question, there is probably not much of a difference in sound quality between this cable and the ones you are already using, unless there is a big discrepancy in the wire gauge size.
Great video, I am trying to wire a four pole speak on. My colors are red black white and blue. How should I wire it? Thank you for the informative video
Thanks for watching Alfredo. The wiring on 4-pole speakon connectors is specific to their use case - consult the loudspeaker and/or amplifier manufacturer for specific instructions.
Thanks a lot sir for your very clear instruction I've got new knowledge about the wiring of speakon connector, and I will do my wiring in my new buy sounds to using speakon speaker outlet, thank you.
I just bought some JBL speakers that require the speakon connections and finding the cables can be a challenge or even good information sources explaining which cables to use. Your video has been the best yet at explaining the process. so i need the cable to go from the speaker to the mixer. will this wire set up work the same way?
You can't connect the loudspeaker directly to the mixer, unless it is a powered mixer with speakon outputs; you need to connect the mixer to amplifier first 🙂
Great Tutorial 👌👍 i was working on my speaker connectors too: 1 speaker cuts down in sound sometimes: the reason: i didnot use loctite on the screws in the past (when I was 12 years old or so🙈) My advice: do not solder the cable ends: i did that too in the past and because of high power that is running through the speakon and the terminals soldering can cause burn speakon terminals: the cables can come loose too like this greetings from the Netherlands
Thank you too, for your reply, My tip to everyone: if you have thinner cabling ( I think 1.5mm² or thinner) Step 1: strip the wires, Step 2: twist the cores together and fold the stripped end back (you're doing it right if you fold it onto the insulation of the single wire) Step 3: See if you can insert this into the connection terminal: with the stripped cores away from the screw Step 4: l screw the wire onto the insulation This way you get a strong connection that, together with the loctite on the screws, ensures that it does not (quickly) come loose.
Sorry for the much writing but before I forget: for thicker cabling (from 1.5 mm² or thicker or so I guess): Is it necessary to use those sleeves for around the cable-cores (unfortunately i don't know the exact name,but you know what I mean, i guess?): those can be pinched with special pliers: the best is one that clicks: because it tightens on torque. With thicker cables you're getting the following problem with the "fold-on-insulation" method: the whole "package" (of insulation and stripped cores) becomes too thick to fit into the connection terminal: I used 2x 2.5mm² wire; the double folding method did NOT work, for this reason you will need thinner cabling, you will find out exactly how thin by trying the tips I hope this is useful for everyone, i think it is important and helpful for everyone to share their tips and problems and that we're not laughing at about posts like that, because their always a learn moment for everyone Greetings from the Netherlands
There is a very good reason for that: XLR connectors are not designed for use as speaker connectors and cannot handle the current required for high power applications. Many years ago they were used as speaker connectors by some companies but not today.
Yeah the big issue with banana plugs is that they can be inserted in two directions so polarity reversal issues were very common in older systems. The exposed contacts were also vulnerable to damage if they got stepped on. Otherwise they're good connectors - lots of contact area and relatively difficult to pull out. Much better than guitar jacks!
You're absolutely correct. Now that you mention it they were color-coded (red/black- both dark LOL) and there is nothing to stop someone from flipping them over in a dark club, etc. - disaster. Before the banana plugs we just tinned the ends of all the speaker cables and stuck them in the screw terminals! There's a recipe for phase-reversal problems de-luxe LOL. BTW - I wanted to chime in on "tinning" the ends of conductors. What we've found (over 40+ yrs of dealing with cables - I'm old....) - it does keep the stray strands together - but there's a very bad downside - it also creates a weak point right at the base of the "tin" and the conductor will fail right there - shearing off inside the jack and often just inside the insulation (where you can't see it) and wreaking all manner of havoc. What's worse ... they don't fail all at once - it happens over time (with the speaker vibration itself contributing) and it's intermittent... your cable goes from 12 ga. to 18 ga. to 32 ga... and eventually down to 1-2 strands still intact - enough so you can NOT find the offending cable with a simple continuity check at the show - it'll show up as A-OK with the load from a 9-volt battery ... but nowhere near enough conductor left to carry the signal current from a 1000 watt amp. This can cause amps to overheat...speakers to self-destruct.. etc. This is far worse situation than a bare conductor just pulling out of the jack. So what we do now is strip the wire longer than needed - tin the usual 1/2" or so... then trim it again so there is maybe 1/8" or less of "tinned" end down in the jack. That puts the "tin ball" *ahead of* the set screw inside the jack - it eliminates 'strays' without creating the shear point. Try it! Start doing it this way and (combined with your loc-tite... a VERY good tip BTW) - you'll seldom if ever have to fool with a plug once you build it. It's all about making everything as fail-safe and bulletproof as you humanly can - and the smallest details (like the Loc-Tite or the tinned end) are the difference between a real Pro and an amateur.
Great advice, thanks very much for your contribution! What a lot of people don't realise is that even though there is a stress relief which clamps to the cable jacket it is still possible for the internal strands to move independently as the cable flexes, causing the issues you describe above. And yes I agree that the best possible build quality is the way to go with cables - a little bit of extra time and effort will give you a cable that lasts hundreds of shows rather than a couple dozen ;)
One thing I like to do is paint the copper with Deoxit conditioner and work it into the area where the copper enters the jacket before clamping. This helps seal the jacket from air, inhibiting the formation of oxides between the copper strands. I find it just helps extend the cables service life as even OFC develops oxides over time and that increase impedance so gradually that the drop in sound quality goes unnoticed. In a fixed installation, these connections are often inaccessible and never checked or serviced. Which just leads to auditoriums with really poor clarity and muffled bass. It's quite possibly the most common problem I come across. That and inadequate cable gauge which is really the same impedance issue at the core of it. If I'm dealing with vintage gear that the owner wants to maintain as original, say a 5 way binding post etc, then I platt the cable strands into a spade, pin or other appropriate connector and solder it to keep it's shape. Use heat shrink to colour code and stiffen joint between jacket and wire. This minimises mechanical flex and continuity problems through connectors that you can get with crimps spades, pins, bananas etc. Yes, I work on HiFi as well as PA. Yeah, flashy gold connectors are just useless bling that only serves to increase the number of mechanical connections where problems can develop IMO. However, SpeakONs are so worth it for the convenience and other advantages you mentioned in the video. They are the only connector I'd recommend upgrading too.
Assuming the components are of equal quality it should be cheaper to buy them separately as you are providing your own time and labour to assemble them.
Hi, thanks for making this video! 2 questions... I want to make 10 AWG NL4 cables for a subwoofer, who makes the best cable? I know you mentioned Klotz, is Mogami or Canare ok or any other brands you recommend? Second question, with 4 cables, which color goes to which terminal? I know you said red is hot and goes to +1, blue to -1, what about the other two colors and terminals? Thanks in advance!
Honestly there is no 'best' speaker cable - any of the name brand cables will be fine. Klotz and Canare are the most common in my part of the world for professional applications. With 4-wire setups you need to see if the loudspeaker manufacturer has any specific instructions for wiring - if they do not you can use any color scheme you like as long as you are consistent.
Yes you can - it doesn't have to be 12-gauge either, the connector will accept a very wide range of wire sizes due to the design of the clamping mechanism.
When are you required to use a 4 wire connection cable? Does the type of loudspeaker matters on this subject weather you use 2 wire cable or 4 wire cable?
A 4-wire cable would be used when all four terminals are connected at both ends of the cable - typically this would be when connecting a biamplified loudspeaker to a compatible amplifier output, using +1/-1 for the LF and +2/-2 for the HF. So yes the type of loudspeaker is very important.
Sir, how to connect the output of one 1- mixer to 24-power amplifiers without compromising or degrading the audio signal coming out from Mixer. Any way, thank very much for sharing your knowledge, your the best teacher...!
Is there any specific way to wire them for a subwoofer, I will be using a crown xls 1502 in bridged mode, do I need to wire the cable in a different way rather than shown in the video. Help will be appreciated.
It depends on the subwoofer and will be detailed in the owner's manual and usually printed on the connector plate. Most subs use +1/-1 but definitely check your make and model to be sure. Crown amps typically use +1/+2 on the channel 1 output connector for bridge mode, but once again check your owner's manual to be sure - it will tell you the specific cable configuration that you need.
@@GLBProductions I apologize, i forgot to mention that I am building my own subwoofer. Should I still use +1/-1 for the subwoofer? And what about the wiring for the Neutrix terminal? Thank you for replying.
@ 15:06 you mentioned that it has a racheting system that prevents the end-cap from backing off. But, if you want to disassemble it, how do you unscrew it and take off the end cap?
Thanks, very helpful. I have 2 questions. 1) For outdoor speakers is there a SpeakON connector that is waterproof (eg., filled with silicon) and 2) how to you connect that plug to a speaker? My speakers have standard binding posts. Do I just attach a short run of cable to the binding post and then put the female Neutrik on the other end?
You're welcome Karl! 1) Yes the Neutrik STX series of connectors are weatherproof to IP54 in mated condition. 2) These connectors are only for speakers with the corresponding speakon chassis connectors. If your speaker has binding posts just use those with banana plugs, spade lugs or even bare wire.
I like this very much; it's very informative. I use the updated versions: NL4FX and the NL2FX. Both of them have the metal release tab on them. As I am in the US, I use Southwire Royal 2C 14 AWG (2.08mm2) SJOOW for runs under 40 feet (approx. 12 metres).
Could I use speakon 4 pin connectors between my dac and amp / speakers with 3 pins populated (hot, cold, shield / ground) to have run a balanced setup? (I am building my own dac and amplifier).
I would use XLR connectors instead - speakon is designed for speaker-level connections and relatively heavy gauge wire. It's also an unshielded connector.
Does blue represent yellow? I just bought new SignalCable Speakon for a pair of RELs. I was expecting a red yellow and black wire but I received a red blue and black.
Thanks for the heads up, description has been updated. Link to connector is here: amzn.to/3eY1QPX Speaker cable being used is Klotz, but any name-brand cable of good quality can be used.
Thanks for instructions well presented .will the speakon 2 pole connection be sufficient for 4 speakers in situ fixed on a wall as it is all new to me ,and i wondered if i would have to change to a 4 pin fixing for this venue thanks.
It depends on many things to be honest with you, but a simple installation with four fullrange speakers daisy-chained together will generally only use two pole connections. Consult a qualified installation specialist if you are not sure!
Where can I get the little screws that clamp the wire down inside the connector. I ordered nL4 screw and I recieved a bag of mounting screws. Anyone know?
I've never seen the screws sold separately - you may need to recycle an old set. Or just replace the entire connector - I consider them wear items, just like the cable itself.
![NL2 vs NL4 vs NL8 [Neutrik SpeakON Speaker Cable Connectors]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/oPtJetBt1DI/mqdefault.jpg)
6 years later your video is still helping the sound reinforcement community. And for that I say, Thank You!
You're welcome Mark, thanks for watching :)
yes it just help me now, very nice job.Thank You
Even after 7 years your videos is still making impact. Thank you for sharing....
You're welcome Hastings, thanks for watching!
@@GLBProductions Why no more new videos,Sir?
We went from coaching to educational tours and everything was entrusted to five of our friends by Sir. One time the box broke and I was able to fix it by watching your videos and everyone thanked me.
Glad the videos have been helpful :)
thank you so much brod bruno for this tutorial... actually, i bought 2 speakon connectors some few months back for my karaoke speakers but i stop installing them when i got a headache determining which terminals to use (the plus 1's or 2's or the minus 1's or 2's)... your tutorial answered it all and so i can now install my speakons confidently without worrying about wrong connections... thanx again, brod bruno...
dude, this video looks a bit weird but I like it! you make me understand what your talkin about
Thank you so very much Sir! Your instruction was 2nd to None. I was in a panic, one of my speaker cables didn't work, so i took the other one apart to see the wiring and it fell apart. Tomorrow is Saturday and i don't have time to drive 40 minutes to a Music store or the money to purchase 2 new cables. But thanks to your outstanding tutorial i fixed both cables myself, and i'm ready for Sunday...God bless you. PASTOR BRUNDIDGE
That's great news! Glad to hear that things are all fixed and hope your service tomorrow goes smoothly :)
I will be making these cables for the first time. I am assigned to make them . Your video cleared all doubts and gave enough idea about SpeakOn connector and how to use them. I hope I'll do it right way. I have all the tools needed except Lockon. but thats Ok I guess. I'll post in few days how it went.
thanks for the video.
Thank you. Your calm voice makes it easier to follow.
Thanks Hrvoje!
Thank you!!!
Edit- Had a 50' cable given to me but I only needed about 3 feet. After watching your instructional and completing the modification; The weight difference after is so significant my own back made me come here and thank you, again.
You're welcome :)
You are THE BEST in explaining so pleasant to listen too, for a slow learning for me. Thanks
You're most welcome, I'm a slow learner too :)
Thank you for your clarity. I'd not wired these for years until now and had forgotten the little details!
You're most welcome Regan 😊
Thanks for this. I rewired a Speakon, it didn't work, I had no idea there were the +1/-1 and +2/-2 connections (I assumed the two positives were the same. After watching your video, I got out the magnifying glass, and sure enough, I had them in the wrong ports. Much appreciated.
Yup, if you look on the packaging the different terminals are clearly labelled but this doesn't help if you are repairing an existing connector.
very nice teaching with good English and not in a rush, in fact you are great, Thanks so much
You're most welcome :)
Bruno you safe me with your video. This past friday 3-20-19 i was doing a church event and all my 4 speakers was setup and someone put one of them at little big to the front and broke one of the cable. But thank to you I fixed back.
Great to hear that! Always important to know how to make these quick repairs to our gear...
Seriously one of the best instructional videos ive ever seen. Thank you
You're welcome, thanks for watching :)
@@GLBProductions Where do you source the 4 conductor cable?
Thankyou for your great channel. In the church setup siund is vital and people like you make youtube so essential.
Thanks for watching!
You're the best....
your teaching videos are always a blessing..thank you Sir and God bless you more
Thank you and God Bless you too!
Thanks a lot for this video. I had just to look up the right terminals but your tutorial was very thorough and informative. Damn good work. And yes, always get the real deal. I can't tell you the pain you have, when someone cheaped out on those connectors. As I worked as a roadie, we aquired a used sound system for a extremly good price. We knew some of the connectors were wonky but were forced to use it, before we could check it rigorously. That gig was a nightmare as speakers went dead, the amps shut down into protection mode and so on. At any time we had only two thirds of it running. The next week we were all busy to test all cables, exhange every connector and jack of every speaker. They really cheaped out on those and had even replicas in use, which let us believe in the first place it's only some wonky jacks and connectors and not the complete system. The wiring in those speakers can only be described as "the spaghetti incident". Which was to some degree our fault, as we ripped in our need those faulty jacks out, snipped the connector and connected the bare wires directly to the cables in the box with luster terminals. It was a 1:1 what you should never with a sound system.
You're welcome Cid, and thanks for the story - do you recall what make/model of system it was? Sounds like one of those older component system with separate low, mid and high speakers.
@@GLBProductions Most of the amps were crowns if I remember correctly which were weighing a ton. The active splitters were something from Omnitronic. All the speaker cabinets were self build, which looked roadworn but sounded really nice. The bass horns were insanely effective but huge and a pain to carry. They used some Eminence speakers. The selfbuild line array worked damn well and was loaded with some Monacor speakers. There were some high fills and kick basses too, but I have no idea what was inside of those. The components for themself were not that bad. On the mixing desk they cheaped out again and used something from Behringer but it still did the job.
>
Great info. I'm going to add this - never tin a wire that is going to be gripped by a screw. It will tighten nicely at first, but over time the soft solder will creep and the connection will loosen. It probably won't go completely open circuit, but it will go high resistance. This will allow corrosion to start, and the performance of the cable will continue to deteriorate.
was wondering about that
Bruno can teach me anything and I’ll understand.
Thanks Tyson.
Thanks for such a detailed video. I have learnt so many things about professional audio that i cannot thank you enough.
You're most welcome Sameer!
hi bruno! G.LB.🖐🙏🖐.. I want to thank you very much, because you posted these videos, which helped me and are still helping me a lot!👏👏 And I'm sure it still helped a lot of people.. very well explained and very professional !👌👏👏
You're welcome, thanks for watching :)
Hi ! First of all I would like to thank you so much for uploading this video. I went to electronics parts market. Got to see some variants of this connectors. Price would also vary drastically. I chose MX brand available here, rather then Nutrik as you have used. I saw that also. But there was price difference of over the times and as this was my first time with this connectors I choose MX. Almost similar but I know Nutrik is much better. Next time I'll use that only. I got lot of information about connectors through video.
Now about making connections, your video made it so simple that it was like piece of cake. I could make it very easily. +1 -1 pair was used. I made two 50 meters cables. Wire used was not that you have shown but my purpose was served very well. This has helped me setting up our door audio system, cascading four speakers. I have attached lugs also in parallel to these connectors so that I can connect it to my amplifier also.
Once again I thank you from bottom of my heart. May The God be always with you, helping you.
In future I strongly suggest you use only Neutrik brand connectors. The others are much cheaper but their quality is also MUCH worse! Remember that you can be dealing with quite high voltages here - not a place to skimp on quality.
@@GLBProductions Definately.
Super video with a clear and detailed step-by-step walk through the process. Thank you.
You're welcome!
I really enjoyed your video. Your explanation is clear and pleasant to look at.
Thank you very much for all these important and useful details 🤗
You're welcome Franz, thank you for watching :)
I am new to your posts,I find them most comprehensive and valuable,I follow and look forward to more similar topics
Welcome to the channel!
Helped me convert my PIG HOG 14 AWG speaker cables to SpeakON on one end and 1/4" mono on the other. Subbed!
Awesome to hear that!
Such a great video - every moment of the 17 odd minutes is informative and relevant. Thanks so much!
You're most welcome, thanks for watching :)
Best connectors in the world 👍
Singapore. Another place I want to visit. As soon as I stop buying music equipment I'll be on the plane.
Question please , i have passive speaker and a external power amplifier. They connect with naked wire ,positive (red) Negatice (black) wire. Can i make this wire u did to upgrade my cable or is this just for mic lines
The cable and connectors that you see in the video are for connecting loudspeakers only - there is no shielding on the cable so don't use it for microphone lines!
To answer your question, there is probably not much of a difference in sound quality between this cable and the ones you are already using, unless there is a big discrepancy in the wire gauge size.
Great video, I am trying to wire a four pole speak on. My colors are red black white and blue. How should I wire it? Thank you for the informative video
Thanks for watching Alfredo. The wiring on 4-pole speakon connectors is specific to their use case - consult the loudspeaker and/or amplifier manufacturer for specific instructions.
Thanks a lot sir for your very clear instruction I've got new knowledge about the wiring of speakon connector, and I will do my wiring in my new buy sounds to using speakon speaker outlet, thank you.
Great to hear that, all the best with your music!
The most wonderful explanation, brothers
Fantastic! Thank you very much, Bruno! I have never worked with speakon cables before.
You're welcome Krisztián :)
I just bought some JBL speakers that require the speakon connections and finding the cables can be a challenge or even good information sources explaining which cables to use. Your video has been the best yet at explaining the process. so i need the cable to go from the speaker to the mixer. will this wire set up work the same way?
You can't connect the loudspeaker directly to the mixer, unless it is a powered mixer with speakon outputs; you need to connect the mixer to amplifier first 🙂
Clear and straightforward instructable. Thanks very much :)
You're welcome, thanks for watching.
"Make sure to get genuine Neutrik connectors"
"Hi this is chan from Aliexpress, sorry for your cancelled order" 😂
thank you for your tutorial ! very thorough and precisely what I need when I wire up my NEW (OLD STOCK) ALTEC LANSING 15" duplex speakers !
That's great news! Glad the video was helpful.
Thank you from Detroit
You're welcome Johnson!
Great Tutorial 👌👍 i was working on my speaker connectors too: 1 speaker cuts down in sound sometimes: the reason: i didnot use loctite on the screws in the past (when I was 12 years old or so🙈)
My advice: do not solder the cable ends: i did that too in the past and because of high power that is running through the speakon and the terminals soldering can cause burn speakon terminals: the cables can come loose too like this
greetings from the Netherlands
Thanks FJ - I no longer tin/solder the cable ends anymore, for the reason you state above :)
Thank you too, for your reply,
My tip to everyone: if you have thinner cabling ( I think 1.5mm² or thinner)
Step 1: strip the wires,
Step 2: twist the cores together and fold the stripped end back (you're doing it right if you fold it onto the insulation of the single wire)
Step 3: See if you can insert this into the connection terminal: with the stripped cores away from the screw
Step 4: l screw the wire onto the insulation
This way you get a strong connection that, together with the loctite on the screws, ensures that it does not (quickly) come loose.
Sorry for the much writing but before I forget: for thicker cabling (from 1.5 mm² or thicker or so I guess): Is it necessary to use those sleeves for around the cable-cores (unfortunately i don't know the exact name,but you know what I mean, i guess?): those can be pinched with special pliers: the best is one that clicks: because it tightens on torque.
With thicker cables you're getting the following problem with the "fold-on-insulation" method: the whole "package" (of insulation and stripped cores) becomes too thick to fit into the connection terminal: I used 2x 2.5mm² wire; the double folding method did NOT work, for this reason you will need thinner cabling, you will find out exactly how thin by trying the tips
I hope this is useful for everyone, i think it is important and helpful for everyone to share their tips and problems and that we're not laughing at about posts like that, because their always a learn moment for everyone
Greetings from the Netherlands
You are such a perfectionist Bra!!!
thank you! your instructions were extremely clear, concise and easy to understand fidsta uk
You're welcome :)
GOD BLESS YOU MY SON.YOUR HELP IS A TREASURE.
You're most welcome Andreas!
Any link available to the cable used in this tutorial? Very helpful.. thanks!
No, this cable is not currently available on Amazon. However any quality loudspeaker cable can be used with these connectors. Thanks for watching!
Excellent tutorial. Thank you. All questions answered.
You're welcome Doug 😊
Hi Bruno I want to take off a xlr and convert to speakon can you advise me the procedure or maybe make a video as no one has actually made one 👍
There is a very good reason for that: XLR connectors are not designed for use as speaker connectors and cannot handle the current required for high power applications. Many years ago they were used as speaker connectors by some companies but not today.
Can I use the same wiring method for bridge and stereo and parallel mode on the amp 11:14
That depends on the amplifier - the wiring configuration will be stated on the back panel.
Tops stuff bro, even a child can understand, appreciate it
Thanks for watching Daniel.
Informative,elaborated well thanks so much from Kenya
You're welcome Ken.
Back in the day we used banana plugs and 12 GA. Heavy duty stranded zip cable. Cheap and bulletproof.
Yeah the big issue with banana plugs is that they can be inserted in two directions so polarity reversal issues were very common in older systems. The exposed contacts were also vulnerable to damage if they got stepped on. Otherwise they're good connectors - lots of contact area and relatively difficult to pull out. Much better than guitar jacks!
You're absolutely correct. Now that you mention it they were color-coded (red/black- both dark LOL) and there is nothing to stop someone from flipping them over in a dark club, etc. - disaster. Before the banana plugs we just tinned the ends of all the speaker cables and stuck them in the screw terminals! There's a recipe for phase-reversal problems de-luxe LOL.
BTW - I wanted to chime in on "tinning" the ends of conductors. What we've found (over 40+ yrs of dealing with cables - I'm old....) - it does keep the stray strands together - but there's a very bad downside - it also creates a weak point right at the base of the "tin" and the conductor will fail right there - shearing off inside the jack and often just inside the insulation (where you can't see it) and wreaking all manner of havoc. What's worse ... they don't fail all at once - it happens over time (with the speaker vibration itself contributing) and it's intermittent... your cable goes from 12 ga. to 18 ga. to 32 ga... and eventually down to 1-2 strands still intact - enough so you can NOT find the offending cable with a simple continuity check at the show - it'll show up as A-OK with the load from a 9-volt battery ... but nowhere near enough conductor left to carry the signal current from a 1000 watt amp. This can cause amps to overheat...speakers to self-destruct.. etc. This is far worse situation than a bare conductor just pulling out of the jack.
So what we do now is strip the wire longer than needed - tin the usual 1/2" or so... then trim it again so there is maybe 1/8" or less of "tinned" end down in the jack. That puts the "tin ball" *ahead of* the set screw inside the jack - it eliminates 'strays' without creating the shear point. Try it! Start doing it this way and (combined with your loc-tite... a VERY good tip BTW) - you'll seldom if ever have to fool with a plug once you build it. It's all about making everything as fail-safe and bulletproof as you humanly can - and the smallest details (like the Loc-Tite or the tinned end) are the difference between a real Pro and an amateur.
Great advice, thanks very much for your contribution! What a lot of people don't realise is that even though there is a stress relief which clamps to the cable jacket it is still possible for the internal strands to move independently as the cable flexes, causing the issues you describe above. And yes I agree that the best possible build quality is the way to go with cables - a little bit of extra time and effort will give you a cable that lasts hundreds of shows rather than a couple dozen ;)
Praise the Lord...very helpful brother. God bless!
Glad it was helpful Kelemedi!
Thank you, very informative and professionally done.
You're welcome :)
Excellent concise, factual presentation. Thanks a lot!
You're welcome Gerry, thanks for watching!
Thanks for clearing my confusion.
You're welcome :)
as soon as i saw the danley shirt i knew i could trust this man.
Glad you feel that way 😊
GLB Productions which Danley cabs have you worked with?
Excellent video, thank you
You're welcome John!
Super clear video, nice work, very helpful.
Thanks for watching Pete!
Excellent Video well done, thank you.
You're welcome Howard :)
Thx man, doing these for the first time and succeeding allways gives that warm jeeeej feeling!
That's great news, now you can be confident about wiring your own speaker cables in future.
U r amazing sir.. thankyou for your expectation with great patience
You're welcome, Praveen.
One thing I like to do is paint the copper with Deoxit conditioner and work it into the area where the copper enters the jacket before clamping. This helps seal the jacket from air, inhibiting the formation of oxides between the copper strands. I find it just helps extend the cables service life as even OFC develops oxides over time and that increase impedance so gradually that the drop in sound quality goes unnoticed. In a fixed installation, these connections are often inaccessible and never checked or serviced. Which just leads to auditoriums with really poor clarity and muffled bass. It's quite possibly the most common problem I come across. That and inadequate cable gauge which is really the same impedance issue at the core of it.
If I'm dealing with vintage gear that the owner wants to maintain as original, say a 5 way binding post etc, then I platt the cable strands into a spade, pin or other appropriate connector and solder it to keep it's shape. Use heat shrink to colour code and stiffen joint between jacket and wire. This minimises mechanical flex and continuity problems through connectors that you can get with crimps spades, pins, bananas etc. Yes, I work on HiFi as well as PA. Yeah, flashy gold connectors are just useless bling that only serves to increase the number of mechanical connections where problems can develop IMO. However, SpeakONs are so worth it for the convenience and other advantages you mentioned in the video. They are the only connector I'd recommend upgrading too.
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Thank you sir idol..bunaallzz from lapulapu city Philippines
Is it cheaper to buy the cables and connector separately as appose to buying the cable already for use?
Assuming the components are of equal quality it should be cheaper to buy them separately as you are providing your own time and labour to assemble them.
Thank you for the explanation!! Awesome!
Glad it was helpful Ricardo!
Nice presentation very understandable and i like your screw tools.
Yes good tools are a must when assembling these connectors!
So nicely explained in detail. Superb
Thanks for watching :)
Hi, thanks for making this video! 2 questions... I want to make 10 AWG NL4 cables for a subwoofer, who makes the best cable? I know you mentioned Klotz, is Mogami or Canare ok or any other brands you recommend? Second question, with 4 cables, which color goes to which terminal? I know you said red is hot and goes to +1, blue to -1, what about the other two colors and terminals? Thanks in advance!
Honestly there is no 'best' speaker cable - any of the name brand cables will be fine. Klotz and Canare are the most common in my part of the world for professional applications. With 4-wire setups you need to see if the loudspeaker manufacturer has any specific instructions for wiring - if they do not you can use any color scheme you like as long as you are consistent.
@@GLBProductions Ok, I don't see anything specifically on their website, I'll email them to see if they have any instructions. Thank you!
It's sooo clear to understand. Thanks bro
You're welcome Jude :)
can you plese reccomend a good loudspeaker wire to use with these. I'm looking for a 4 conductor wire. hopefully 12 or 14 gauge.
In practice I have found that any quality loudspeaker cable works fine - I tend to use Klotz, Belden or Canare.
@@GLBProductions is that good for car audio? I'm using it for chuchero boxes.
Yes they will work for that application.
Can you use any 12 Gauge - Positive / Negative speaker wire to connect these?
Yes you can - it doesn't have to be 12-gauge either, the connector will accept a very wide range of wire sizes due to the design of the clamping mechanism.
Thanks for the great explanation. I have the same, but it looks like my connector is stuk in the sleeve. How the heck do I get it out of the sleeve?
On the newest version of this connector there is no more sleeve - only the body of the connector, strain relief and tail cap. Check carefully.
When are you required to use a 4 wire connection cable? Does the type of loudspeaker matters on this subject weather you use 2 wire cable or 4 wire cable?
A 4-wire cable would be used when all four terminals are connected at both ends of the cable - typically this would be when connecting a biamplified loudspeaker to a compatible amplifier output, using +1/-1 for the LF and +2/-2 for the HF. So yes the type of loudspeaker is very important.
this man is the business in pro pa
Thanks for your support, Phil!
Sir, how to connect the output of one 1- mixer to 24-power amplifiers without compromising or degrading the audio signal coming out from Mixer.
Any way, thank very much for sharing your knowledge, your the best teacher...!
Hi Manuelito! You have 24 power amps to connect - is this a large installed system?
Is there any specific way to wire them for a subwoofer, I will be using a crown xls 1502 in bridged mode, do I need to wire the cable in a different way rather than shown in the video. Help will be appreciated.
It depends on the subwoofer and will be detailed in the owner's manual and usually printed on the connector plate. Most subs use +1/-1 but definitely check your make and model to be sure.
Crown amps typically use +1/+2 on the channel 1 output connector for bridge mode, but once again check your owner's manual to be sure - it will tell you the specific cable configuration that you need.
@@GLBProductions I apologize, i forgot to mention that I am building my own subwoofer. Should I still use +1/-1 for the subwoofer? And what about the wiring for the Neutrix terminal? Thank you for replying.
Yes it's a good idea to stick with the industry standard.
is there away of connecting them to a mixer, like a adapter or something any help would be appriciated thank you
These are speaker-level connectors only, so they cannot be connected to a mixer's line level outputs.
I keep a silver sharpie in my tool kits for stuff like this. Works a charm!
Ah yes, silver be très cool ;)
Silver Sharpie. That's a good tip. Thanks.
NelsonGuise v.
@ 15:06 you mentioned that it has a racheting system that prevents the end-cap from backing off. But, if you want to disassemble it, how do you unscrew it and take off the end cap?
You need to use an adjustable spanner to back it off - it will damage the teeth on the ratchet system but the connector can still be re-used.
Great video!! Clear, informative and professional. Thanks for helping someone new to these connections.
You're welcome Jon, glad the video was helpful!
what is the name of the cable you are using again? I need the 4 conductor 14 awg for my bridged setup.
The brand is Klotz but any name brand cable will do fine.
Thanks, very helpful. I have 2 questions. 1) For outdoor speakers is there a SpeakON connector that is waterproof (eg., filled with silicon) and 2) how to you connect that plug to a speaker? My speakers have standard binding posts. Do I just attach a short run of cable to the binding post and then put the female Neutrik on the other end?
You're welcome Karl! 1) Yes the Neutrik STX series of connectors are weatherproof to IP54 in mated condition. 2) These connectors are only for speakers with the corresponding speakon chassis connectors. If your speaker has binding posts just use those with banana plugs, spade lugs or even bare wire.
I like this very much; it's very informative. I use the updated versions: NL4FX and the NL2FX. Both of them have the metal release tab on them. As I am in the US, I use Southwire Royal 2C 14 AWG (2.08mm2) SJOOW for runs under 40 feet (approx. 12 metres).
Yes the FX series are 3-piece construction rather than 4 so are simpler to assemble. Thanks for watching :)
thanks for the information 🙏
You're welcome Ell 😊
Very clear explanation and demo. Thank you very much for knowledge given
You're welcome Jeorge!
👍 Great vid - calm, clear, cool and informative!
Thanks for watching!
Could I use speakon 4 pin connectors between my dac and amp / speakers with 3 pins populated (hot, cold, shield / ground) to have run a balanced setup? (I am building my own dac and amplifier).
I would use XLR connectors instead - speakon is designed for speaker-level connections and relatively heavy gauge wire. It's also an unshielded connector.
Thank you so much sir…. You posted this years ago but today it has educated me.. thanks again sir.. 🫂
You're welcome, connectors in the pro audio industry do not change very often :)
I keep wanting to add a thumbs up, but RUclips limits me to one. Super informative video and a great job as usual, Bruno.
I'll make a mental note of your extra thumbs up :) Thanks for watching!
Thnx 😂 I am totally new to this I think you r my guy right now
Thanks for watching Manu!
Does blue represent yellow? I just bought new SignalCable Speakon for a pair of RELs. I was expecting a red yellow and black wire but I received a red blue and black.
The RELs use a proprietary wiring system which is unique to their brand - be sure to check with them on the correct wiring.
Excellent tutorial! 👏🏾 Thanks.
You're welcome!
I've never tried it, but it will be good to learn these things
See this video on how to daisy chain speakers: ruclips.net/video/NqTqJ4zOJJU/видео.html
Glad you're back Bruno!I was a little worried :)
Thanks for your support Chris, hope you're well!
+GLB Productions Yes thanks!hope it's the same for you :)
Where can I purchase that speaker cable? Your Amazon link doesn’t work😕
Thanks for the heads up, description has been updated.
Link to connector is here: amzn.to/3eY1QPX
Speaker cable being used is Klotz, but any name-brand cable of good quality can be used.
@@GLBProductions where can I find this cable or what name brands do you recommend? I’m new to this
Klotz: www.klotz-ais.com/ Check their website for distributors in your region.
Very informative and straight forward and easy to remember
Great video... clarity 💯👌
Excellent Demonstration thanks :)
You're welcome :)
Thanks for instructions well presented .will the speakon 2 pole connection be sufficient for 4 speakers in situ fixed on a wall as it is all new to me ,and i wondered if i would have to change to a 4 pin fixing for this venue thanks.
It depends on many things to be honest with you, but a simple installation with four fullrange speakers daisy-chained together will generally only use two pole connections. Consult a qualified installation specialist if you are not sure!
Where can I get the little screws that clamp the wire down inside the connector. I ordered nL4 screw and I recieved a bag of mounting screws. Anyone know?
I've never seen the screws sold separately - you may need to recycle an old set. Or just replace the entire connector - I consider them wear items, just like the cable itself.