Talk:Speakon connector

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From the article: "The speakon connector is recommended over 1/4" or two-pole twist lock connectors for loudspeakers." My question: by whom?

Every, and I mean every pro audio system I have ever seen has used 1/4". I call bias.

1 Depends on User
2 Neutrality
3 Agreed - Opinion not fact
4 Advantages of Speakon vs. 1/4"

[edit] Depends on User

It just depends really, I said recommended because that's what I have been taught. People 'prefer' them over 1/4" specifically because of their ability to 'lock' into place preventing accidential removal. Now I have also seen 1/4" cables that also lock into place on the jack end (female end). So perhaps another good reason to use these cables is that in the chance that you had a tri-amp speaker, you'd only need one 8 conductor speakon cable as opposed to 4 1/4" cables. --Tm1000 00:50, 25 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Neutrality

I work in an auditorium and we always pick Speakon over 1/4".

[edit] Agreed - Opinion not fact

I also worked in many houses and other live audio situations, and I came across 1/4 as well as XLR but never Speakon. I think arguments could be given by proponents of each standard. I'm following up with an edit that I believe should resolve the disagreement.

A couple of friends of mine work in sound and lighting in the UK, both live and recording, indoor and outdoor. I spend a bit of time in their shop, have worked with them on a couple of occasions and hear far more than I'd like about the job in the pub. The vast majority of their speakers use speakon (the exception are a couple of sets of old-fashioned long-horn PA speakers for fetes etc that have had their bare-wire terminals replaced with yellow C-Form connectors for safety), as do all the speakers in my Students' Union (and there's probably over 100 individual cabinets in the various venues and for portable use). So they may not be universal, but they're certainly commonly used. I've seen XLR on speakers before, but never 1/4" jack - that would strike me as wierd. PeteVerdon

Afaict 1/4 inch jack is fairly popular for speakers on low end rigs. Presumablly because its relatively cheap and the connectors are very easy to get hold of and if you aren't running at too high a power then in a pinch you can use an instrument cable as a substiture speaker cable. Plugwash 09:17, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

The formating on this page is a bit weird so I'm just going to shove my comments down here. Any professional system using 1/4 connectors for speakers is quite simply not a professional system. They are completely inappropriate for the power requirements of pretty much everything but high impedance tweeters, theres is also the dangerous temptation to use instrument leads which is a fire hazard at best. Additionally there is the issue of the lack of locking mechanism, should a jack connector come loose you basically have a P.D. 100V or more (1000w into 8 ohm = 89v) between connectors a few mm apart, on the end of a long flexible lead, possibly in a room full of drunken people. Even binding posts are safer than 1/4 connectors.

Not only does speakon address the issues of power handling and locking mechanism but can also provide additional connections for bi- and tri- amped systems in the same connector. --Pypex 23:53, 2 April 2006 (UTC)

Yeah afaict they are mostly seen on very small rigs (the kind a small band might use in a pub etc thats only a few hundred watts max( etc. Plugwash 09:54, 3 April 2006 (UTC)