antoine Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 So I have good cables with banana plugs at the ends. I need new speakers but all I can seem to find are RCA connectors? My speakers are really really really old, so maybe it doesn't look anymore like what I have? For example, I can't plug banana connector in something like these, right? http://www.amazon.ca/Audioengine-Premium-Powered-Bookshelf-Speakers/dp/B005SE6QBU/ref=sr_1_12?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1448392549&sr=1-12&keywords=speakers Anybody can recommend speakers I could connect with my cables? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freki Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 If the banana plugs don't work, take off the banana plugs. Also, your cables driving your speaker choice is really messed up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Banana plugs will work for those, but you will only need one out and into the other. Those are powered speakers, so your table/preamp will hook directly into them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 If you've got speakers that need banana plugs now they are passive speakers (they have no amplifier in them which is normal) what you are looking at and finding with RCA connectors on are active speakers (that have the amplifier inside). these are two totally different things and you can't plug the amplifier that you used to drive your old passive speakers into active speakers, unless you want to make smoke that is. You are probably not putting in enough information in your search or looking in completely the wrong place for new speakers, try searching for hifi speakers instead of just speakers and that will filter out some of the active ones. Also have a read of the beginners thread it might help with this antoine 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoine Posted November 24, 2015 Author Share Posted November 24, 2015 If the banana plugs don't work, take off the banana plugs. Also, your cables driving your speaker choice is really messed up. Yeah, I understand that, but I had cables with only the cooper "filament" that I twisted and roll around the connection on the speaker, and my father saw that and took the cable to the shop to put the banana plugs at the end of the cables. It's way more efficient to plug them in that way (I have BIG cables and they were hard to connect by twisting them around the connector). Now, with the plugs, even when the volume is at max, I'm not annoying the neighbours anymore. It's not very loud, so I thought the problem might be the female banana connectors on the Speakers (they are quite old). That's why I was looking for speakers with banana connectors, so I can easily plug the cables in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoine Posted November 24, 2015 Author Share Posted November 24, 2015 If you've got speakers that need banana plugs now they are passive speakers (they have no amplifier in them which is normal) what you are looking at and finding with RCA connectors on are active speakers (that have the amplifier inside). these are two totally different things and you can't plug the amplifier that you used to drive your old passive speakers into active speakers, unless you want to make smoke that is. You are probably not putting in enough information in your search or looking in completely the wrong place for new speakers, try searching for hifi speakers instead of just speakers and that will filter out some of the active ones. Also have a read of the beginners thread it might help with this Thanks a lot Allenh! I didn't know that! I did read the first few post of the beginner's thread before posting, but didn't find anything about cable, so I post my thread. I read fast though, I'll admit it. I'll take a closer look tonight for sure! Thanks for the help everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Now, with the plugs, even when the volume is at max, I'm not annoying the neighbours anymore. It's not very loud, so I thought the problem might be the female banana connectors on the Speakers (they are quite old). So did it just get quieter after you had the connectors fitted or is this something that happened over time or quickly but not just when you had the connectors fitted. What are your speakers and amplifier? that might help to try and identify the problem but hifi doesn't normally just get quieter without sounding bad in some other way as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoine Posted November 25, 2015 Author Share Posted November 25, 2015 It was SUPER loud with just the wires... Then I had the plugs in and it got quieter all of a sudden. Quieter the first time I put the Banana plugs in. I can still hear at a decent volume level, but not loud enough for Black Flag. It's perfect when my wife wants to listen to Sam Cooke or Otis Redding.. Amplifier is a Mrantz PM7001 (bought 6-7 years ago), speakers are Tannoy Mercury M20, used to belong to my father when he was younger... Could it be the job on the cable (putting the banana plug on) the problem? I thought about that, but couldn't really believe it, and didn't find other speakers to try... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardcore Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 I think some pictures of the back of your amp might be required at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoine Posted November 25, 2015 Author Share Posted November 25, 2015 Will do this tonight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 It was SUPER loud with just the wires... Then I had the plugs in and it got quieter all of a sudden. Quieter the first time I put the Banana plugs in. I can still hear at a decent volume level, but not loud enough for Black Flag. It's perfect when my wife wants to listen to Sam Cooke or Otis Redding.. Amplifier is a Mrantz PM7001 (bought 6-7 years ago), speakers are Tannoy Mercury M20, used to belong to my father when he was younger... Could it be the job on the cable (putting the banana plug on) the problem? I thought about that, but couldn't really believe it, and didn't find other speakers to try... Well something has obviously changed and if it only happened once the plugs were fitted then it would seem a bit of a coincidence but I'm struggling to see what would cause the volume drop. You could try some contact cleaner inside the sockets or even some cleaning fluid on a q-tip to try and clean the inside of the socket but basically when you wrap your wire round you are wrapping around the same bit of metal that the banana plug pushes into. By the way the M20 if in good condition is a perfectly good speaker but if you've been running them at very high volumes a lot they're possibly not in good condition now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoine Posted November 26, 2015 Author Share Posted November 26, 2015 Great news everyone! Cleaning the female banana input with q-tips and Rubbing alcohol did the job! The sound is now as good as it was before putting the plugs in. Thank you very much everyone for your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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