Do you Solder your SpeakOn Connectors?

Steve Milner

Steve Milner

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Jan 10, 2011
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www.dcsoundop.com
I'm after some simple survey data and opinions for an upcoming instructional video. I've searched and read through the posts from years past, and am hoping the community here would take a moment and help with some current opinions.

Thanks!
 
I can see the advantage of soldering them on for cables in heavy use. In my use I have found the ability to pull an end to use bare wire has come up. Its nice to be able to just screw the connector back on.
 
I've been getting loads of great responses to the survey ;) Thanks for the help!
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Rick Powell said:
Neutrik makes Speakon ends that will take 10 ga wire and have solder cups rather than the screw terminals. These are what you should use if you want to solder. They are pricey at about $10 each. http://www.neutrik.com/en/speakon/stx-series/nlt4fx
http://www.neutrik.com/en/speakon/stx-series/nlt4fx-bag
Click to expand...

Thank you! The story of my life - I find the good stuff after the fact. If I ever make any new cables I'm sure my OCD will kick in and these will be used. I bet they have a NL8 version of this too don't they?!
 
The survey respondent that said they just tin the ends of the wire before using the screw connection should be advised that it is a BAD idea to tin wires that are going to be used in a mechanical connection. While it can make it easier to assemble the cable, a tinned wire will eventually loosen over time and fail. When you fully tin a multistrand wire fully, the solder wicks between the strands of copper and forms a solid block, part of whose volume is metallic solder. When you clamp the solder and copper bundle you tighten the screw or clamp against the solder block, and in time the solder metal "creeps" under the compressive forces and the join loses tension. The wire can then either pull out or cause a high resistance connection with heating.
 
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One thing you forgot to mention (and most people are unaware) is that the little "v" shaped piece of bent metal that's in each terminal acts like a 1-way valve in that when you push the wire in, it hooks it and won't let it back out, but only if you have stripped away enough wire for it to go past the end of the metal. Most people just think about the set screw holding the wire in, but it's the metal clamp that is the saftey. Strip the wire way longer than you need and start pushing it into the terminal to see how far it needs to go. With the screw lightly tightened, pull back and you can feel how the metal locks the wire in. Most failures I see out in the field of wires coming loose are because they didn't strip the wire enough and push it into the terminal far enough to get it "locked" past the metal clamp.

For example, this person looks like they're unaware of the function of the metal clamp and has not stripped the wire far enough or pushed it past the end of the "v".
 
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Andrew Broughton said:
For example, this person looks like they're unaware of the function of the metal clamp and has not stripped the wire far enough or pushed it past the end of the "v".
Click to expand...

Hey Andrew, thanks so much for the help!

I'll be the first to admit that I've never heard of this before. With the NL4FC connectors that I used in my video, the little pressure plate that clamps down on the wire doesn't look to be shaped in such a way that it can grab the wire (I pulled one completely out to have a closer look). I've gone back and tried to duplicate what you suggested and I'm scratching my head here honestly.

I also measured how far I was stripping the wire back, just to see, and I was right between 7 & 8mm on all of mine (the factory guide suggests 8mm)... but still, I cannot get it to 'hook' into anything like you suggest it should. Perhaps it's due to the vast majority of my speakon assembly experience being with 12AWG wire, that it just doesn't bend when inserted?

Anyway, I'm planning a future follow up video to include the use of ferrules that has been suggested now by multiple folks in EU countries. I'd love to understand more about the method you are suggesting, and I'll gladly include it as an amendment in the next speak-on video.

I'm by no means making videos to suggest I know everything, I am here to learn too and I really appreciate you offering your experience.

I'd be really interested to know what gauge wire you're using typically, and how far you are suggesting to strip them beyond the factory suggested 8mm... and which speakon connector model are you using?
 
Andrew Broughton said:
One thing you forgot to mention (and most people are unaware) is that the little "v" shaped piece of bent metal that's in each terminal acts like a 1-way valve in that when you push the wire in, it hooks it and won't let it back out, but only if you have stripped away enough wire for it to go past the end of the metal. Most people just think about the set screw holding the wire in, but it's the metal clamp that is the saftey. Strip the wire way longer than you need and start pushing it into the terminal to see how far it needs to go. With the screw lightly tightened, pull back and you can feel how the metal locks the wire in. Most failures I see out in the field of wires coming loose are because they didn't strip the wire enough and push it into the terminal far enough to get it "locked" past the metal clamp.

For example, this person looks like they're unaware of the function of the metal clamp and has not stripped the wire far enough or pushed it past the end of the "v".
Click to expand...

While there are connectors that use a spring to grab the inserted wire, these aren't them.

If there's a screw terminal, that extra piece of metal is simply to distribute the force of the screw over a larger area (decreasing the contact resistance). At least that's what it's for on every other connector I've used with that style terminal. If the screw backs off enough for the wire to pull out, you've got a bad (and potentially dangerous) connection, no matter if the wire pulls out or not. Me, I'd strip the cable and wire per the manufacturer (Neutrik) specifications, and then torque the screw per the specifications. Overstripping the cable jacket leads to insufficient strain relief, and undertorqued terminals vibrate loose over time.
 
Well, it's been a while since I was building cables, and maybe they did away with the "V" shaped metal clamps that were in the NL4FC. In the FC they definitely would "catch" the wire and lock it in place, but ONLY if you stripped back enough and pushed them in far enough. If they did away with this in the FX, then that's too bad. It was a great feature, which nobody seemed to know about. It was obvious as can be once you showed somebody and they felt the "click" of the wire getting locked in by the "v" shaped metal clamp.
 
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