Speakon vs 1/4", need advice as well

[domokunrox]

Hey guys, I'm throwing this out there because I need the advice for this one.

Speakon cables are foreign to me. I know nothing about how to make them or what the differences are between them. My only experience with Speakon connectors are from powered floor wedges. Edison Plug to Speakon. Cliped them on, they turned on. Anyway...

My basic impression is that they are supposed to be "safer" to use and they can take far more juice then your typical 1/4'. I can see why they are safer. I just don't know why they take more juice then a 1/4". Anyone care to expand that out to me?

Anyway, I'm looking back on this PA install I did for my church. I did what I knew I could wire, and well like I stated I don't know jack about Speakon connectors. Heres how I did it. The Driverack PA outputs High Left & Right and Low Left & Right. They go to their respective amps (in my case, the Crown XTi 2000 for mains and the Mackie FR800 for the subs). I skipped the banana plugs from the output of the amp because its perm install, I screwed them on. At the other end of my 18ga speaker cable, they go to my floor boxes on panel mounted 1/4", shrinked up. From those boxes, I used Switchcraft 280 connectors with Canare L-2T2S. Used the Pair for the Tip, used the shield on the Sleeve. Connected those to the back of the some JBL125's and JBL118's.

My question is, whats the best way to convert those 1/4 plugs to Speakons for my situation?

Anyone know how to make Speakon cables for this purpose? Got a video to share on the youtube? Anyone had good experiances with Speakon snakes and can make recommandations? I appreciate kindly. Thanks in advance!

[Cookie]

Greetings,

The big advantage to speakons is that they lock in, can handle larger guage cable easier that 1/4". Plus, if you're running a biamp system, they have 4 conductors, etc.

If I understand you right, you have 1/4" floor pocket jacks and speakon connectors on the speakers?

Speakon connectors are pretty darn easy to assemble. The don't require solder. Just a small philips or flathead screwdriver. If you have speaker cable already with one 1/4" on one end, just hack the other end off and throw a speakon on it. I don't have any youtube videos but they're pretty self explanatory.

PM me if you need more help. I'll be glad to talk you through it over the phone or whatever.

[mixedupsteve]

They sell 1/4 to speakon cables if you just want to buy some. They are pretty easy to put on yourself though.
Neutrik - Audio - Cable Connectors - NL4FC

I recommend the NL4 since they will work on NL2 or 4 connectors.

BTW, 18 ga speaker wire is really small.

[domokunrox]

Originally Posted by Cookie

Greetings,

The big advantage to speakons is that they lock in, can handle larger guage cable easier that 1/4". Plus, if you're running a biamp system, they have 4 conductors, etc.

If I understand you right, you have 1/4" floor pocket jacks and speakon connectors on the speakers?

Speakon connectors are pretty darn easy to assemble. The don't require solder. Just a small philips or flathead screwdriver. If you have speaker cable already with one 1/4" on one end, just hack the other end off and throw a speakon on it. I don't have any youtube videos but they're pretty self explanatory.

PM me if you need more help. I'll be glad to talk you through it over the phone or whatever.

The speakers have 1/4" and Speakon connectors, correct.

Sounds easy. Maybe I'll tackle it next time.

Also, I don't get why I would want 4 conductors to go to one speaker. My Crossover feeds the amps, not the other way around.

Originally Posted by mixedupsteve

They sell 1/4 to speakon cables if you just want to buy some. They are pretty easy to put on yourself though.
Neutrik - Audio - Cable Connectors - NL4FC

I recommend the NL4 since they will work on NL2 or 4 connectors.

BTW, 18 ga speaker wire is really small.

The assembly instructions and the wiring suggestion makes it look like a nightmare to do.

18ga speaker wire is what I had to work with unfortunately. Its barely acceptable. Just barely.

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by domokunrox

I don't get why I would want 4 conductors to go to one speaker. My Crossover feeds the amps, not the other way around.

This is when yo *do* need the 4-wire speakon.

You feed sound to the crossover - the crossover outputs treble to one amplifier and bass to the other.

If your bass and treble loudspeakers are in a single cabinet you use the 4-wire speakon to feed the output of the two amplifiers to the two loudspeakers keeping the signals totally separate.

If - on the other hand - you have a passive crossover in the loudspeaker cabinet - then you only need two wires.

[Enginearing]

yep the NL4 is perfect for your bi-amped boxes... (using 4 core cable of course) both signals, one cable. specs of the current handling capacity of these connectors will be on the neutrik website.

also... the connectors you refer to for your powered boxes, are not speakon, but powercon. (speak vs power)

the keyway slots are made different so that you dont put your 110v Edison directly into your speaker connection by mistake.

[domokunrox]

I see what you guys are saying, but here is what my panel looks like. Help me make sense of this.

+ - 1 is a pair and + - 2 is another pair? Or is this just 2 conductors? Also, what does N/C stand for?

[domokunrox]

Decided to show the PDF of the speaker specs

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by domokunrox

I see what you guys are saying, but here is what my panel looks like. Help me make sense of this.

+ - 1 is a pair and + - 2 is another pair? Or is this just 2 conductors? Also, what does N/C stand for?

It's a 4-way speakon - the connections are on +1 and -1.

N/C means no connection - so that +2 and -2 are not connected to anything.

This means that it is either a single speaker box, or it has an internal crossover feeding more than one loudspeaker.

[bishopthomas]

Speakons come in several flavors. The most common are NL4 (4 conductor) but there are also NL2 and NL8 connectors (with the corresponding number of conductors). If you're using a passive box you only need two conductors, the 1+ and 1-. However, since NL4's are the standard Speakon many manufacturers go with these connectors. That's the 2+ and 2- which can be used to pass signal on to another box if you need to do that. If you run subs with your tops you can use one 4 conductor cable for each side. Change either the tops or the subs to use pins 2 on the NL4 conductor then you can jump from the subs up to the tops without running a new speaker cable for each component. Many power amps default to running the second channel down pins two of the Speakon output. So use channel one for the highs and channel two for the lows by connecting your NL4 connector to the Channel 1 Output.

NL8's are used mainly for triamped boxes where you have low mid, high mid, and high frequency components. On the amp end you wire each component's respective amp to the appropriate pins on the NL8 that is usually mounted on a panel in the rack.

[iluvatar]

Originally Posted by Cookie

Greetings,

The big advantage to speakons is that they lock in, can handle larger guage cable easier that 1/4". Plus, if you're running a biamp system, they have 4 conductors, etc.

There are a couple other problems with 1/4" connectors that are solved by Speakons. With 1/4", it's possible to short out the tip & sleeve when your plugging/unplugging the cable or if the cable jiggles loose. That could kill your amp. Also, if you're running bridged mono, then the shell of the TS connector is hot and potentially dangerous to touch.

The assembly instructions and the wiring suggestion makes it look like a nightmare to do.

It's not. They're easier than most other audio cables.

-Dan.

[aussie_techie]

Originally Posted by Cookie

Speakon connectors are pretty darn easy to assemble. The don't require solder. Just a small philips or flathead screwdriver.

NL4-FX plugs actually use a pozi drive screw. if you use the right driver you never strip pozi-drive heads. Then again philips head drivers get used on location all the time without a problem.

Originally Posted by domokunrox

The assembly instructions and the wiring suggestion makes it look like a nightmare to do.

They are actually easier than making jacks because there is no soldering. which means its also much easier to fix them on location when you need to.

Dont buy cheap copies though, make sure you get real Neutrik NL4-FX or better.

[valleysound]

Originally Posted by domokunrox

Hey guys, I'm throwing this out there because I need the advice for this one.

Speakon cables are foreign to me. I know nothing about how to make them or what the differences are between them. My only experience with Speakon connectors are from powered floor wedges. Edison Plug to Speakon. Cliped them on, they turned on.

Those are actually Powercon connectors which look similar to Speakon. I see this has been answered already.
When assembling the Speakon, don't strip too much of the outer jacket of the cable. If done right, it will be a very tight fit and when you screw together the connector it should grab the outer jacket as a strain relief.