Alternatives to cup terminals?

[miska_man 10+ year member]

well it dosnt sound leaky, so i dont care lol

Do you seriously have almost 1,500 posts on this forum and not know advanced car audio? Drilling holes and not caulking is something I would expect from a noob, not someone with as many posts as you.

As for the OP, this is what I would do:

wing nut/lock washer/ring terminal/flat washer/nut/wood/flat washer/ring terminal/flat washer/head of bolt

Other than the nut to the left side of the wood, it is almost the exact same as kushy_dreams idea. The nut to the left side of the wood is so the bolt doesn't slide back into the box.

 

[HillBillyJoe]

nut, bolt, washer, ring terminals...

 

[murph 10+ year member]

Is it really that hard to caulk the hole after you run the wire through it. Nope. Now stop thinking about using ****** terminal cups and do as suggested with the bolts or direct connection with the hole.

 

[CADENCE SOUND 10+ year member]

Speaker Cable at Blue Jeans Cable

I like the binding post idea....Used these guys a lot for my HT stuff..good prices on quality gear..

 

[orphe 10+ year member]

I use 1 1/2in long 10-24 bolts with wing nuts.

That looks like a hazard to me...

What if something metal falls on those two terminals?

What if the box shifts and hits bare metal?

What if your arm/hand touches it on a hot humid day?

For the OP just drill a hole in the box nearest to the amp, Run wire through it and seal.

 

[JoshC 10+ year member]

Do you seriously have almost 1,500 posts on this forum and not know advanced car audio? Drilling holes and not caulking is something I would expect from a noob, not someone with as many posts as you.
As for the OP, this is what I would do:

wing nut/lock washer/ring terminal/flat washer/nut/wood/flat washer/ring terminal/flat washer/head of bolt

Other than the nut to the left side of the wood, it is almost the exact same as kushy_dreams idea. The nut to the left side of the wood is so the bolt doesn't slide back into the box.

Lol ok Einstein, sorry i based this off experience not what the "pros" do

I have had ported boxes with terminal cups and ive had boxes with holes. I have a very high sensitivity to port noise and air leaks, i redid the box to my JBL 10P 3 times just because i didnt like the noise made when the air was shot at certain angles in my single cab(one was into a tray causing slight wooshing, one slot port just drove me insain 50-60hz buzzing, one box didnt have the range i liked) and ive NEVER heard a difference from holes for wires

Now u wanna talk about a sealed box then YES, i heard that **** SHHHHHH when the caulk dryed and cracked on my old JL w3 box. Just had holes in the top(got box from friends dad) and pre ran wires. So i just dropped it in and i could hear the air coming from the hole. So that needed to be re sealed up

So in my experience with a sub stage(1K and under) if the box is ported i just drill. I bet you money if you got in my truck you wouldnt be able to tell

 

[JoshC 10+ year member]

Is it really that hard to caulk the hole after you run the wire through it. Nope. Now stop thinking about using ****** terminal cups and do as suggested with the bolts or direct connection with the hole.

hahahhahaha //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/thumbsup.gif.3287b36ca96645a13a43aff531f37f02.gif

Ide caulk mine up just for you, the the holes are impossible to get to unless the box is out of the truck. And im not removing my center console again

EDIT: so my buddy who builds my boxes and he did seal up my wire holes hahahha, but 2 of 3 of my JBL boxes had holes without caulk and i didnt hear any noise from them.

 

[THATpurpleKUSH 5,000+ posts]

That looks like a hazard to me...What if something metal falls on those two terminals?

What if the box shifts and hits bare metal?

What if your arm/hand touches it on a hot humid day?

For the OP just drill a hole in the box nearest to the amp, Run wire through it and seal.

No bare metal will touch to the wing nuts, the box doesnt shift its bolted down, I have done installs in over 100degree temps with tropical humidity and no problems. ITs much safer than youd think.

 

[orphe 10+ year member]

No bare metal will touch to the wing nuts, the box doesnt shift its bolted down, I have done installs in over 100degree temps with tropical humidity and no problems. ITs much safer than youd think.

I dunno. still leaves out the what if something metal falls on it???? The results could be pretty bad while amp in on.

 

[THATpurpleKUSH 5,000+ posts]

I dunno. still leaves out the what if something metal falls on it???? The results could be pretty bad while amp in on.

I'm telling you bro, its not gonna happen. Idk what kind of trunk you have or whats in it, but I would bet that theres a better chance of getting struck by lightining then a piece of metal falling precisely on the wing nuts, causing a short. I have built many boxes this way and there has never been an issue.

 

[Kangaroux 5,000+ posts]

Worse case scenario, something falls EXACTLY onto both of the terminals and it shorts something out. If your amp is worth two shits it has a built in circuit to protect itself in the case of a speaker wire short.

 

[Kangaroux 5,000+ posts]

Do you seriously have almost 1,500 posts on this forum and not know advanced car audio? Drilling holes and not caulking is something I would expect from a noob, not someone with as many posts as you.
As for the OP, this is what I would do:

wing nut/lock washer/ring terminal/flat washer/nut/wood/flat washer/ring terminal/flat washer/head of bolt

Other than the nut to the left side of the wood, it is almost the exact same as kushy_dreams idea. The nut to the left side of the wood is so the bolt doesn't slide back into the box.

I didn't caulk the area around where my speaker wire comes out and I hear 0 air leaks, even at 22hz on full volume. Only reason I haven't caulked it is because it's a mess and I move the wire around quite a bit.

 

[JoshC 10+ year member]

I didn't caulk the area around where my speaker wire comes out and I hear 0 air leaks, even at 22hz on full volume. Only reason I haven't caulked it is because it's a mess and I move the wire around quite a bit.

LOL thank you, he kinda sounds like a jackass. Idk how bit of holes ure drillin buddy but i said big enough for the wire. Theres not alot of air that could get threw lol

 

[orphe 10+ year member]

I'm telling you bro, its not gonna happen. Idk what kind of trunk you have or whats in it, but I would bet that theres a better chance of getting struck by lightining then a piece of metal falling precisely on the wing nuts, causing a short. I have built many boxes this way and there has never been an issue.

Worse case scenario, something falls EXACTLY onto both of the terminals and it shorts something out. If your amp is worth two shits it has a built in circuit to protect itself in the case of a speaker wire short.

Probably right but hey, ya know, S#!t happens! Better to just play it safe! I NEVER thought anything could get into my ports if I kept the area clean. Found a shirt I have been missing for 2 weeks..

 

[Kangaroux 5,000+ posts]

Probably right but hey, ya know, S#!t happens! Better to just play it safe!

Honestly you probably have a better chance of your power wire coming out of the fuse or the terminal coming loose on your battery than that happening.