Amphenol SP-4-F speakon connector

T

Tom Manchester

Senior
Jan 11, 2011
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Delaware
www.electrosoundsystems.com
I bought a few of these Amphenol speakon connectors on a whim to fill out a parts express order and get free shipping. Years ago, I had tried some of the Chinese knockoff speakon connectors and they were crap, so I've always gone with neutrik, but I'm always up for trying something new in the hopes that it may be better. Amphenol is a pretty respected brand, so I thought it was worth a shot.

I needed to make a handful of jumpers for my Q1 boxes so I have these a try.

The assembly of the connectors is sort of a hybrid of the neutrik NL4FC and FX series. The connector slides into an outer shell once you make the wire connections. I have discovered a few flaws:

1) it only happened on one so far, but the small set screw for the wire bound up and sheared off before it was fully tightened, rendering it trashed and useless.

2) the whole core assembly tends to bind up and is difficult to insert into the outer shell

3) the locking tabs vary from connector to connector, some tend to get stuck and not positively lock into place.

Overall the quality is better than the Chinese options, but considering they're about the same price as neutrik, they're really not any better. I would give them a 7/10 for their noted flaws. I trust them to hold up ok and have good contact quality, but an lukewarm to the build quality of the housing and set screw assemblies.
 
Re: Amphenol SP-4-F speakon connector

Edit: I did discover after fooling with these some more that the cord grip insert needs to be inserted the proper way, or it interferes with the latch. There is a notch in the insert that allows the latch to retract fully. It is possible to insert the piece 180° the wrong way, which binds it up. Not a great design because it's not intuitive to assemble. It should be "keyed" to only insert one way.
 
Re: Amphenol SP-4-F speakon connector

Tom Manchester said:
I bought a few of these Amphenol speakon connectors on a whim to fill out a parts express order and get free shipping. Years ago, I had tried some of the Chinese knockoff speakon connectors and they were crap, so I've always gone with neutrik, but I'm always up for trying something new in the hopes that it may be better. Amphenol is a pretty respected brand, so I thought it was worth a shot.

I needed to make a handful of jumpers for my Q1 boxes so I have these a try.

The assembly of the connectors is sort of a hybrid of the neutrik NL4FC and FX series. The connector slides into an outer shell once you make the wire connections. I have discovered a few flaws:

1) it only happened on one so far, but the small set screw for the wire bound up and sheared off before it was fully tightened, rendering it trashed and useless.

2) the whole core assembly tends to bind up and is difficult to insert into the outer shell

3) the locking tabs vary from connector to connector, some tend to get stuck and not positively lock into place.

Overall the quality is better than the Chinese options, but considering they're about the same price as neutrik, they're really not any better. I would give them a 7/10 for their noted flaws. I trust them to hold up ok and have good contact quality, but an lukewarm to the build quality of the housing and set screw assemblies.
Click to expand...

Are Neutrik's so expensive? Why waste your time even trying something else? You know a Neutrik is going to fit in the Neutrik connectors mounted in speakers and amplifiers. Speakon is a Neutrik product. Everything else is a compromise.
 
Re: Amphenol SP-4-F speakon connector

Why not try something a little different if you have time? Breaks up the monotony of things, and as someone who knows their stuff and has built thousands of cables, Tom has done a lot of us a favor in letting us know how these hold up so that we don't have to experiment ourselves. Thanks, Tom.
 
Re: Amphenol SP-4-F speakon connector

Brent Handy said:
Are Neutrik's so expensive? Why waste your time even trying something else? You know a Neutrik is going to fit in the Neutrik connectors mounted in speakers and amplifiers. Speakon is a Neutrik product. Everything else is a compromise.
Click to expand...

Actually Brent, I've had a handful tabs break off on the neutrik NL4FX series, so I was seeing if anyone had something better. The price is about the same for the Amphenol, Amphenol is a long established and respected Australian connector manufacturer. So no, I'm not being cheap, and I'm not wasting my time. I spend money on R&D to make my company the best it can be. I'm just trying to do you all a favor and let you know what I think of a product.
 
Re: Amphenol SP-4-F speakon connector

I dissected one of the amphenol connectors and have found that the metal tab is actually a little sturdier on the amphenol model. The neutrik nl4fx series narrows down to a maybe 1/8"x1/8" section below the tab that tends to break. You can see where my screwdriver is pointing, the amphenol has a much larger portion of metal connecting the tab to the thumb release. They both appear to be made of the same metal. I'll post back on how these survive in the real world.
 

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Re: Amphenol SP-4-F speakon connector

Sorry guys, my mind is not where your minds are. If there were some huge epidemic of breaking Speakons, I might get concerned. I just understand that it's plastic, it will be mishandled by humans, it could break, and if it does, we have 50 in stock on any given day. In one minute, it will be replaced and I will be on to my next appointment. It's only $4 +/-.
 
Re: Amphenol SP-4-F speakon connector

Brent Handy said:
Sorry guys, my mind is not where your minds are. If there were some huge epidemic of breaking Speakons, I might get concerned. I just understand that it's plastic, it will be mishandled by humans, it could break, and if it does, we have 50 in stock on any given day. In one minute, it will be replaced and I will be on to my next appointment. It's only $4 +/-.
Click to expand...

It's not the plastic breaking, it's the metal locking tab, and I've had at least 3 break.

Yes, I too keep dozens in stock, but I'd rather they not break in the first place. Every minute spent fixing something is a minute that could be spent doing something else, or a minute that the show is not getting loaded into the truck and onto the next show.

I was simply seeing if a reputable manufacturer had found a better way to invent the wheel, they didn't, I told everyone, we move on.
 
Re: Amphenol SP-4-F speakon connector

Hello from Finland

TOM - THANK YOU for doing this - although I ,too have oodles of spare quality connectors in stock, I´m still curious - like you - to see if any new product brings some "stir in the soup" - this time obviously not.

BRENT - agreed that the price of original Neutrik is NOT a question - especially if you buy them in bulk packs of 50-100 - but we all have customers who ask us if these new cheaper ( 5-20% ) are worth the money - now I am glad I can say that I read someone testing them and telling us to stick with Speakons - naturally I always tell them, that about 95% of system failures have to do with faulty cables/connections.

Finally - I started with Speakon as soon they were first introduced - loooong time ago - and NEVER had problem with one .
 
Re: Amphenol SP-4-F speakon connector

I am all for trying out new options in an attempt to make my overall product and service the very best that it can be. I support this approach. Having said that, I think that Neutrik may be my absolute favorite pro audio manufacturer. They are innovative. They are always looking for a better solution. Once they have designed and built that better solution, they look for a way to make it...better. They do not rest on their laurels. Every generation of xlr, speakon and powercon connector they have ever made incorporates practical improvements over their previous design. I love what these guys and gals do and I try to support their efforts by spending my all of my paltry connector budget with them.
 
Re: Amphenol SP-4-F speakon connector

Thank you for checking out the Amphenol speakon connectors - it's alway good to see what the other choices are like.

I've been noticing that the Neutrik NL4 with the bigger thumb thing made for larger wire tends to get stuck more that the regular kind. Does anyone have any advice on this? The thumb thingy won't budge after a show and it takes many tries with much wiggling to get them to move.

Also - raise your hand if you still have a few of the original ring twist NL4's that get used for something!
 
Re: Amphenol SP-4-F speakon connector

Gene Hardage said:


Also - raise your hand if you still have a few of the original ring twist NL4's that get used for something!
Click to expand...

Hello

I still use some in my workshop - they were a bit problematic with some rental customers

- telephone rings
- "Amps have signal, but speakers are dead..."
- "Have you turned the CONNECTOR?"
- "Yes"
- "Not just the ring but the body"
- "It will not turn"
- "Loosen the ring first"
- "AHA-now we have it"

- And all this after having them to try it out while picking gear.....
 
Re: Amphenol SP-4-F speakon connector

Tom,

Do you have any experience with the metal Neutrik STX (NLT4FX) or Switchcraft HPCC4F? I'm curious how they'd hold up next to the Amphenol versions.

I think I'm in the minority but I still like NL4FC better than NL4FX. I think the thumb release is easier to grip when using it and the set screws inside a FX are fairly easy to get a false positive connection on when you're making them.

thomas
 
Re: Amphenol SP-4-F speakon connector

Local venue I work in has the first gen speakons randomly scattered about. Several of the cables have one end with the most recent generation, and the other with the first generation. The only problems they've ever had are people not turning the ring properly (something that still gets me on occasion), and when monitors got dropped on them.
 
Re: Amphenol SP-4-F speakon connector

Max Warasila said:
Local venue I work in has the first gen speakons randomly scattered about. Several of the cables have one end with the most recent generation, and the other with the first generation. The only problems they've ever had are people not turning the ring properly (something that still gets me on occasion), and when monitors got dropped on them.
Click to expand...

How often would you say a monitor is dropped on to a speakon connector?
 
Re: Amphenol SP-4-F speakon connector

Gene Hardage said:
Thank you for checking out the Amphenol speakon connectors - it's alway good to see what the other choices are like.



Also - raise your hand if you still have a few of the original ring twist NL4's that get used for something!
Click to expand...

A few years ago I bought a bunch of the new NL4FCs and swapped the outer shells on all my existing cables with the twist ring. Fortunately, this can be done without removing any wires, so it is a fairly painless improvement. I kept all the old shells (and brand new internals) for "charity cases", but still have most of them somewhere. There may also be a few of the twist-ring FCs inside amp racks or on shop cables where they don't get used much. I also find the FC style easier to release than the FX, but the cost is slightly higher.

I have had a few PowerCons lose the spring on the latch, but once again, they can be repaired by swapping shells with a new one, and no tools other than a crescent wrench are required.

I do appreciate Tom's experiment, just in case they turned out to be an improvement on the Neutriks.

Doesn't Switchcraft make an NL4 compatible connector? Has anybody ever tried them?

GTD
 
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