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Mini-Rant: Human Fingers

I don't have a huge range of experience in this matter but in my limited experience the experience is universal:

My fingers are too large to comfortably use most speaker binding posts easily. It is always tight and tedious. Yes, my hands are big but not unusually so. No, I'm not a clumsy oaf. Quite experienced doing small delicate work in fact. This experience has bridged hi-fi to mid-fi to low-fi.

I can understand this with small or bookshelf sized speakers. But my experience is with tower speakers. I just wonder if there is a reason for this? 

My experience is similar with components. Even my amp which is a huge 100 pound deal with virtually nothing on the back but two balanced inputs and 4 binding posts. The binding positive and negative posts are very close together and hard to tighten for that reason.

Anyway, rant over. Just wondering if there is a reason for not putting enough space between binding posts to get human fingers all the way around them? 
n80
amg56's avatar
amg56
666 posts
 
Engineering to a space/cost criterion. I have my wife do the connections, I just tighten.
rodman99999
3,557 posts
 
 "Even with the ratchet the spades tend to twist under the binding post hex nuts when you tighten them."   Spade connectors do that, under what's being tightened(regardless of the application/not just Five Ways), unless one prevents it, by holding them(or the connected wire), with a fingertip, pointy pliers, etc.   Unless I'm mistaken, most mainline cable constructors offer termination replacement services, for their own products.  I've always had mine(Audioquest/Kimber/Analysis Plus) built with bananas on the output end, with excellent result.  
jetter
1,035 posts
 
I don’t mean to be dense here, but I don’t see anything close to 1/2" or 7/16" on any of my speakers or amps that the binding post wrench will fit over to tighten. I am only bringing it up because I love the idea and agree with n80.
n80 OP
1,227 posts
 
@rodman99999 said:

"Spade connectors do that, under what's being tightened(regardless of the application/not just Five Ways), unless one prevents it, by holding them(or the connected wire), with a fingertip, pointy pliers, etc. "

Exactly. And there is very little room in there to get your fingers or needle nose pliers to get enough purchase to prevent twisting. The cable often ends up kinked no matter what I do.

Currently my main speakers are all hooked up and not going anywhere. But, I have some decent banana plugs and I looked up the specs and they will receive all the way up to 10 AWG. So I think next time I unhook them I am going to cut the spade connectors off and put the bananas on. These use set screws but I can put some solder in there too if it seems necessary. I can't see why this would compromise SQ. I can see how it might lower the value of the cables but I have no plans to sell them anyway.
sfar's avatar
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sfar
1,352 posts
 
If you're switching to bananas, I'd echo reubent's recommendation of BFA-style bananas. They're much easier to connect than spades, provide a greater contact area than conventional banana plugs and the tension can be easily adjusted with a pair of needlenose pliers.
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