Monoprice Gold Plated Speaker Banana Plugs – 5 Pairs – Closed Screw Type, For Speaker Wire, Home Theater, Wall Plates And More

Easily the best plugs I've found at a reasonable price. Solid feeling with good quality and they look good with easy to see red/black labeling. The tips tend to unscrew too easily, but this is a non-issue when they are in use, just something you have to be careful not to lose when assembling. It's a bit tricky to spread the wire out evenly at the exact right length. If screwing the plug together is hard at all, go back and shorten how much wire you bend over the lip.

They are cheap and work great. They plug right into my Pioneer vsx521 receiver and my Paradigm Atom monitor speakers.I wish they came with instructions, because it took me about 10 minutes to realize the bottom part unscrews in addition to the top part.Here are my instructions for installation:1) Unscrew the bottom part of this connector (the thin metal underneath the red/black ring).2) Make sure the Banana Plug (which may be loosely screwed into the top part of the connector) is fully tightened down3) Strip your wire tips to 3/8 of an inch (or just slightly under)4) Run the first newly stripped wire end through the bottom part you removed in step 1, such that the stripped end of the wire is entering through the flat end and exiting through the smaller threaded end.5) Leave about 1/8 to 3/16 of an inch of stripped wire hanging past the exit hole.6) As evenly spaced as possible, bend the over-hanging wire strands over the exit hole (all around it, like a hat). If done properly, the wire should not fall out if you give it a VERY GENTLE tug.7) Screw the top metal part (with the actual banana plug) back onto the bottom part. It may be difficult if your stripped wire is hanging too low. I've used a pair of pliers to grip the bottom part of the connector while I twist the banana plug side with my hand.If done correctly, you should be able to put a lot of tension between the wire and connector without removing/damaging it.UPDATE:I just recently helped my dad install his 5.1 system without these... it sucked... This item (5 pairs of them in this case) and a good wire stripper can save you alot of pain (both physical and mental). The connectors on the back of his receiver are the kind where bare wire comes in from the side and then the connectors screw down (with a banana plug hole in the center which is where this product would come into play). I felt like a surgeon trying to get a bare wire end into the little slot, and then holding it there while I tighten the connector which is almost impossible since they are so close together...GET THESE!

They look good but I haven’t had to use them yet because my original twisted wires did the trick.

This is a product that gets the job done effectively, and at a good price. Banana plugs are used to clean up speaker wire - you can generally screw in speaker wire, but banana plugs provide a nice interface that allows you to plug in and remove speaker wire as needed.These closed plugs do a good job terminating / hiding the wire. They fit very well into various components and amps that I own.INSTRUCTIONS to install / use them:* Remove around 1" - 2" of the white casing to expose the red and white individual speaker wires* Strip each wire so ~1/2" metal is showing* Make sure the plug end is screwed in tightly (this does not need to come out)* Unscrew the base of the plug from the other end* WithOUT twisting the metal wiring, insert the wire (match wire color with plug color; start with either one) from the bottom of the plug until the metal sticks out the top* Have ~1/4" metal hanging past the plug* take the wiring and drape it down the sides of the plug (just the smooth side, do NOT cover any of the screw threading or it will be very hard to close it)* Spread the draped wiring around the plug as evenly as possible (makes it easier to screw in later)* Screw the two ends of the plug back together (the side with the draped wiring will go inside the plug)* If you get stuck while screwing it back in, unscrew and adjust the wiring* Repeat for the other side, and you're done!

These things work and save a lot of time. I bought a Lepai amplifier and Micca MB42 bookshelf speakers. The Lepai requires bare speaker wire be used in its clips. The speakers will take either the twisted copper wire around a pole or a plug like the banana plug.After they plugs arrived, I could not figure out how the wire should be inserted in and attached to them. I did a Google search for videos about banana plugs and found several short videos. When you see a video, you get it immediately in seconds. Pages of instructions would be required otherwise. So, if you are new to banana plugs, a few minutes looking at videos will save you time.The wire is inserted in the back of the barrell. Once attached, the wire/plug assembly is solid. The plugs are marked with a red or black band.As I found out, the advantages of the banana plus are (a) you can have any length of wire you want, (b) the bare wire can stay attached to the Lepai amplifier as you reposition your speaker, and (c) you can disconnect the plugs from the speakers quickly. With bare wire, you have to unwrap the wire from a speaker pole, move the speaker and re-wrap the pole. The wire gets frayed and you have to cut off a segment, strip the wire, and wrap again. With the banana plugs, you remove the plug, move the speaker and insert the plug.If you constantly attach and detach speakers, my guess is you will have to re-wire the banana plug. However, if you are like me and set the speakers up, you probably aren't going to move them anytime soon.Well worth the money. Easy. Timesaving.