Spring Connector
The spring connector is a type of
speaker connection that is most often found on low-end home theater
equipment and entry-level stereos. They consist of a spring
loaded button that raises and lowers the contact point behind a plastic
housing. In order to make the connection, the bare end of the
speaker wire is slipped into a hole in the plastic housing while the
spring loaded button is up. Releasing the button lowers the
contact point onto the bare speaker wire. Due to the action
of the mechanism, the spring connection is sometimes referred to as the
guillotine connection.
Why Not Spring
Connectors?
There are a couple reasons to avoid
buying home theater equipment that employs a spring connector, the most
obvious of which is sound quality. The spring connector is an
inexpensive method of connecting speakers to a home theater
system. It is used in order to keep the cost of the
entry-level equipment down. For home theater, you should not
purchase low-end components, period. It is a waste of money
and you will only regret it later when you do not get the level of
results you had hoped for.
Spring Connector = Poor
Connections
Secondly, the nature of the spring
connector results in a small contact surface between the metal terminal
of the connector and the bare wire of the speaker wire. A
smaller contact area means a weaker connection between your speakers
and the rest of your home theater system. Weak connections
not only provide poor sound quality but also the occasional buzz, pop,
and hiss.
Spring Connector =
Inflexibility
A third reason for steering clear of
spring connectors is their inflexibility. Spring connectors
only work with speaker wires with bare ends and pin
connectors. With the exception of pin connectors, spring
connectors are incompatible with the other types speaker wire
connectors that provide a better signal transfer than that of bare
wire. Some companies in the home theater industry are aware
of this limitation and exploit it. They specifically use
spring connectors in order to reduce the possibility of customers using
another manufacturer's components with their own. This forces
their customers to buy only their equipment. Do not fall into
this trap.
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