Review on 🔌 Monoprice Affinity Series Speaker Banana Plug with 24k Gold – 10 Pairs by Daryl Fitch

I've been installing speakers for a long time, but this is the first time I've come across banana plugs. These plugs look great, are very well made, sound great and match my speakers and AV system perfectly. I've had a few issues, but I'm listing more to help others who are purchasing this rather than as a criticism of the forks themselves. The issues listed here do not detract from my five star rating; those are great forks. However, here are my notes: The system they use to secure your wire in the clamp involves the use of two very small screws. Once inserted, they are very firm and secure, but the downside is that they were a little tricky to use. You have to use a very small screwdriver (I used a flat head goggle screwdriver) and the screws themselves are very small. If you have big fingers (like me) you will drop a lot of screws. Work on something that can catch the screws, like a box, plate, or tray. You shouldn't try to find them if they roll under your entertainment center or fall onto a deep-pile carpet (I speak from experience). I used very thick 12 gauge speaker wire. It fits snugly into these plugs, but replacing the screws was tricky, and unless you fully tighten them, the plug body won't snap back into place. I spent a lot of time tightening the screws and poked my finger many times with my tiny screwdriver from having to use so much force. This problem should not occur with smaller wire gauges. Finally, Monoprice added a small patch of fabric that you can place over the speaker wire to hide the connector-to-speaker wire transition. They placed this cover in the tube where the speaker cable enters. I had no idea it existed and had a hell of a time with my speaker wire getting stuck inside and the screws tightened first because the cover was still there. I can be sure that leaving the cover inside will not improve the sound of your speakers. Eventually I realized my mistake, but only after I'd done six of the ten plugs and I had to go back and disassemble and redo them all. I didn't even use the cases and just threw them away. Monoproce if you are reading this please include a picture of these caps and how they are used so other people don't make the same stupid mistake I did. My procedure for installing these clips was as follows: 1) Twist and remove the connector cover 2) Remove the fabric wire cover from the inner wire cover (tweezers will be needed to remove some of these) and discard 3) Unscrew both small screws and set aside 4) Insert speaker wire into wire cover 5) Tighten both screws very firmly. The screws must be almost flush or the shroud will not fit properly. Optional: hit yourself a few times with a tiny screwdriver6) Screw back the case7) Repeat nine more times