Cup Terminals vs Direct Connection

[Jaguar 10+ year member]

Is there really a difference at all? If so, how? I can see how there could be a minimal amount of resistance of having the wires go through the terminals, but not enough to notice an improvement. Am I wrong? I was thinking of routing my subwoofers directly to my amp direct through the port or drilling holes bypassing the terminals until I get a new box, but is it worth it? Idk. Probably with some good terminals, it would not matter but currently I have these standard low grade terminals.

 

Advice.

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[SplAffair 10+ year member]

you wont notice a difference....

 

[murph 10+ year member]

Most people prefer it because when running 1.5k and up terminal cups have a tendency to melt. You also get less resistance and it is easier to use bigger wire since most terminal cups can't fit bigger than 12 gauge.

 

[shpatb 10+ year member]

Just go direct... drill a small hole, run through and then put some kind of sealant around the hole you created.

 

[Jaguar 10+ year member]

you wont notice a difference....

Ok. Maybe I wouldn't notice a difference, but let's take this to the next level, wouldn't it make a difference? What about cheap terminals vs higher end

terminals vs direct connection? Hm.. Idk. Obviously direct connection "owns", but what I'm trying to gage is how much cup terminals are responsible for

distortion/resistance. Would sound meters(octave band analyzer, fft analyzer, oscilloscope, spectrogram) be able to discern a noticeable difference?

 

What are the +'s and -'s when it gets down to it.

 

[maylar 10+ year member]

Ohms is ohms. If the terminals add resistance they can reduce current and therefore lower power. But we're talking less than a tenth of an ohm even for cheap terminals. Ain't gonna be measureable. A much bigger issue is as stated above - the heat generated by a poor connection can melt the plastic.

Copper bolts through the box work as well as anything, and they seal the holes. Available from big home stores. Personally I like the gold plated binding posts that Parts Express sells but they're expensive.

.. and please lose the bold and colors. Difficult for old eyes to read.

 

[Jaguar 10+ year member]

Ohms is ohms. If the terminals add resistance they can reduce current and therefore lower power. But we're talking less than a tenth of an ohm even for cheap terminals. Ain't gonna be measurable. A much bigger issue is as stated above - the heat generated by a poor connection can melt the plastic.

I feel you on this %100, however even though less than a tenth of a loss of an ohm can add up if there are other, even several other points of

weakness in the system as a whole. It's not only about the power but preserving the audio information. As the signal passes between current

and diaphragms when amplified, how well the signal is preserved is directly related to how clear the sound is when it is produced by speakers.

 

[maylar 10+ year member]

Preserving the audio information? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif

Lol we're talking about subwoofer boxes. It ain't rocket science.

 

[Dirtrider4eva 10+ year member]

If youre so worried just run silver lines.

 

[Falcons 5,000+ posts]

Sounds like your an sq guy. I hope you have a lot of money.