Industry standard use of Speakon connectors

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Some questions about the industry standard use of Speakon connectors.

I gather the cables have male connectors at both ends and amplifiers
have females and speakers have females. OK, that works except when
you need a longer cable and you want to connect two cables together, I
guess you need to use a female to female adapter. Is this correct?

And the industry standard Speakons have four pins. (I realize there
are 2 and 8 pin versions but 4 seems to be the standard) What is the
standard wiriing usage here? Looking at the Crown web site it appears
that each speaker cab is wired across +1 and -1. A stereo amp has two
separate Speakon outputs with the left side across +1 and -1 and the
right also across +1 and -1 of the other connector. So you just use a
standard cable for each speaker to hook the amp up in stereo. Is this
correct?

If you want to run the amp as bridged mono then you use a specially
wired cable so that the speaker is connected to +1 and +2 of one of the
outputs?

How do you guys work this out in practice? It would seem easy to screw
this up using the wrong cable etc. Do you put a big red tag on cables
wired for bridging?

Reason for the questions, is I have an older stereo amp with binding
post outputs and I will need to connect it as a stereo system to two
speakers that are equipped with speakons. So I need to know the
correct wiring for an adapter. It appears to simply be +1 and -1 of
each speaker cable go to each output. Correct?

And I will need female to female adapters available in case I need to
extend the cables?

thanks
Mark

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Mark <makolber@yahoo.com> wrote:
>Some questions about the industry standard use of Speakon connectors.
>
>I gather the cables have male connectors at both ends and amplifiers
>have females and speakers have females. OK, that works except when
>you need a longer cable and you want to connect two cables together, I
>guess you need to use a female to female adapter. Is this correct?

Traditionally this is how it has been done. And the adaptors have been
available since the beginning. Doing this means you can unroll the cable
in either direction, which is a plus in my book.

In the last year, Neutrik has started making female cable connectors
and male panel connectors, because apparently a lot of people don't
like the usual arrangement.

>And the industry standard Speakons have four pins. (I realize there
>are 2 and 8 pin versions but 4 seems to be the standard) What is the
>standard wiriing usage here? Looking at the Crown web site it appears
>that each speaker cab is wired across +1 and -1. A stereo amp has two
>separate Speakon outputs with the left side across +1 and -1 and the
>right also across +1 and -1 of the other connector. So you just use a
>standard cable for each speaker to hook the amp up in stereo. Is this
>correct?

Right. You use the +1 and -1 pins for a speaker that is not biamped.
If you biamp, you use all four pins.

The four pin jacks can take the two pin plugs, but not vice-versa.

>If you want to run the amp as bridged mono then you use a specially
>wired cable so that the speaker is connected to +1 and +2 of one of the
>outputs?

Right, although in most cases it's a panel on the amp rack rather than
a cable. The idea being you roll the amp rack up, plug the inputs into
it, plug the speakers into it, plug the power cable in and go.

>How do you guys work this out in practice? It would seem easy to screw
>this up using the wrong cable etc. Do you put a big red tag on cables
>wired for bridging?

You don't use a cable for bridging or for biamping. You put the wiring
on a panel in the amp rack and you leave it there and don't touch it.

>Reason for the questions, is I have an older stereo amp with binding
>post outputs and I will need to connect it as a stereo system to two
>speakers that are equipped with speakons. So I need to know the
>correct wiring for an adapter. It appears to simply be +1 and -1 of
>each speaker cable go to each output. Correct?

Right.

>And I will need female to female adapters available in case I need to
>extend the cables?

Right.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

>
> What sort of stereo system is this that uses speakers with speakons (not
> normal for domestic speakers) and variable-length cable requirements ?
>
> geoff

Scott and Geoff,

Thanks for the replies.

I should have been more clear. My questions concern a PA system using
two PA speakers equipped with Speakon connectors that I will connect
to a 2 channel amplifier to reproduce in stereo. This is not for a
home stereo. Due to unknowns of the venue, I may need to extend the
speaker cables, so I will bring female to female adapters. Thanks

Mark