Can you advise how to home-repair my speakers/audio setup?
August 24, 2020 11:39 AM Subscribe
Is there a simple way for me to reconnect my speaker cable to my (slightly broken) Boston Acoustics floor speaker?
Caveat: I am not a home stereo nerd.
Years ago I purchased a pair of very musical, vintage Boston Acoustics speakers and paired them with my nice budget+ stereo setup. But the weak point has always been where my (fairly heavy) speaker cable meets the speakers themselves: although I bought some banana clips, they were always on the verge of falling out of the speaker pots (or whatever you call them - the female connectors on the speakers). Then, fiddling with the connections one day, I accidentally snapped part of the bottom of one of the speaker pots - the little circle that holds the clips in place.
Some (terrible) images here - if you need better detail I can bring in a flashlight and get it.
https://imgur.com/a/pOreR9s
For a while I was just threading the bare wire into the hole, holding it in place with duct tape, but it keeps coming undone and just doesn't work as a solution. Unfortunately, apart from bringing this speaker into a repair shop I just have no idea how to fix a simple problem like this. Can I replace the back section of an ancient speaker? Is there some kind of adapter I can buy? Is there a better/different adapter I should be using on the end of the cable? Advice please, hi-fi experts!
Caveat: I am not a home stereo nerd.
Years ago I purchased a pair of very musical, vintage Boston Acoustics speakers and paired them with my nice budget+ stereo setup. But the weak point has always been where my (fairly heavy) speaker cable meets the speakers themselves: although I bought some banana clips, they were always on the verge of falling out of the speaker pots (or whatever you call them - the female connectors on the speakers). Then, fiddling with the connections one day, I accidentally snapped part of the bottom of one of the speaker pots - the little circle that holds the clips in place.
Some (terrible) images here - if you need better detail I can bring in a flashlight and get it.
https://imgur.com/a/pOreR9s
For a while I was just threading the bare wire into the hole, holding it in place with duct tape, but it keeps coming undone and just doesn't work as a solution. Unfortunately, apart from bringing this speaker into a repair shop I just have no idea how to fix a simple problem like this. Can I replace the back section of an ancient speaker? Is there some kind of adapter I can buy? Is there a better/different adapter I should be using on the end of the cable? Advice please, hi-fi experts!
Best answer: The part you're looking for is usually called a speaker box terminal cup (or speaker cup plate, or terminal plate, etc.). notsnot's right--soldering may be required, and it's a pretty easy job, comparatively.
There's also a more half-assed version of this repair where you just remove the cup, cut it off the end of the bare wires inside the speaker, then connect the bare wires inside the speaker to the speaker cable. This isn't really advisable, especially if you plan to ever move anything around, but, if you have wire strippers, wire cutters (maybe as part of one of those all-in-one electrical hand tools), and wire nuts or, who am I kidding, electrical tape, it's a job you can complete without having to solder anything or buy anything new.
Hi-fi people have differing opinions about banana plugs vs. spade plugs vs. bare wire vs. etc. Hi-fi people tend to have differing opinions about things.
posted by box at 12:11 PM on August 24, 2020 [2 favorites]
There's also a more half-assed version of this repair where you just remove the cup, cut it off the end of the bare wires inside the speaker, then connect the bare wires inside the speaker to the speaker cable. This isn't really advisable, especially if you plan to ever move anything around, but, if you have wire strippers, wire cutters (maybe as part of one of those all-in-one electrical hand tools), and wire nuts or, who am I kidding, electrical tape, it's a job you can complete without having to solder anything or buy anything new.
Hi-fi people have differing opinions about banana plugs vs. spade plugs vs. bare wire vs. etc. Hi-fi people tend to have differing opinions about things.
posted by box at 12:11 PM on August 24, 2020 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Some of the parts that Box suggests have threaded posts with nuts on the inside. Which allows you to cut off the wires from the broken terminal, strip them, wrap them around the posts on the new terminal and put the nut on tightly, no soldering required.
The only thing left then is finding such a plate with the right diameter, and preferably one that has combined banana socket/screwdown metal posts like this one.
posted by Stoneshop at 12:29 PM on August 24, 2020 [4 favorites]
The only thing left then is finding such a plate with the right diameter, and preferably one that has combined banana socket/screwdown metal posts like this one.
posted by Stoneshop at 12:29 PM on August 24, 2020 [4 favorites]
Nthing what's been said. What's behind those connectors is just two separate wires. Once you gain physical access to them, you can replace the connection with something as simple or fancy as you desire. Theoretically you want to keep the back sealed similar to how it is now, though the impact of leaving the plate off would probably be minimal.
posted by Candleman at 2:13 PM on August 24, 2020
posted by Candleman at 2:13 PM on August 24, 2020
The box is tuned, and putting a big hole in the back affects that tuning, so re-sealing the box is important. Leaving it unsealed will reduce the bass response and has the potential to result in over-excursion of the woofers (causing damage).
posted by doomsey at 2:35 PM on August 24, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by doomsey at 2:35 PM on August 24, 2020 [3 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
Meanwhile, you may be able to open the jaw of the port with an ice pick, and slide the wire in alongside the pick for the time being.
posted by notsnot at 11:55 AM on August 24, 2020 [2 favorites]