Customer Reviews

GLS Audio Black Chrome Series "Generation 4" Gold Connector Banana Plugs Banana Clips - 20 Pack (10 Reds & 10 Blacks).

5 star:		(76)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Length:: 1:14 Mins

VIDEO - This video will show you how easy it is to connect your speaker wire to your GLS Audio Black Chrome Banana Plugs.

I ordered these plugs never having used a connector like this before. They arrived in a generic package with no directions on the box. The build quality was very good to excellent. Once you get them open ( they unscrew in 2 places) the speaker wire slides into the round hole that would accept a very large gauge wire, the wire is held in place by a small set screw. The other side is designed to clamp the wire insulation, but my speaker wire was too small for the crimping to part to work. Overall very nice but should be used for very large gage wire only.

Don't shy away from this product based on reviews about the cable snugness and slipping. My cables are 12 gauge and fit in fine. Yes, it is a loose fit from cable into the plug, but what counts is whether the wire can slip out of the plug or not. Two techniques you can use with that little screw to ensure this doesn't happen (you'll need a tiny screw driver, by the way). 1) Tighten that tiny screw very tightly while keeping the wire and banana plug steady during the tightening -- worked on all but one of my 18 connectors. 2) If that doesn't work, strip enough speaker wire back so you can fold it back on itself to make it thicker. I did this for one of mine. 3) In all cases, make sure there isn't any surrounding very thin plastic coating over the wire after you have stripped it. You want to screw down on bare wire.

This was so much easier to install than my previous banana and post plugs that required using pliers to pinch the plugs onto the wire, and then try to sheath a rubber protector over. And unlike those previous connectors, this product shows no sign of slipping off of the wires.

For context, this was only my second try at installing plugs on speaker wire. I'm no expert. That's how easy this was.

These are decent banana plugs.
I gave the sound and quality a 3 because it is no better than the cheapest sets on the market and is much more expensive.
All you are paying for on these is the black sheath and the brand name printed on the side.
The screw in design/screw crimp style for securing the speaker cable is an inferior design. There is a major problem with all screw fastened connectors that make the speaker wire come loose very easily. It does not matter how tight you screw them in.
The better connector type for banana plugs is the closed system screw type. This is the kind where you wrap the ends of the cable over the inner sheath and then you screw the outer sheath onto the inner sheath and thus pinning the speaker wire strands tight.
The inferior screw crimp style and for the connector being over priced is why I give this a 3.
The connector does look really nice though. I will give it that. But it is not enough to make this worth anymore.

I will agree with the previous poster.

The plugs came in a generic box, but arrived in good condition and were packed well. The build quality is good and all but 1 of the plugs fully tightened out of the 40 screw fittings and even this was very minor.

My only issue, is that like the previous poster my cable wasn't "thick" enough to be crimped by the locking mechanism at the back of the plug. Considering I am using high quality 12g cable from Monoprice, I am unsure what cable actually would be thick enough.

Even with that "issue" the cable is securely fastened in the plug and the plugs have all locked securely into my speakers and receiver. Overall, very happy for the price.

These are pretty amazing for the price. The construction is super solid and they fit very snugly. I'm using 14 gauge wire with no issues at all.

I've been in the music and sound business for mover 30 years. Most plugs look like they'll break with any stress - and they do. These banana plugs are hands down the best I've every used. They look solid and they are. They have a nice heavy feel to them and the screws and covers feel solid like they'll stay right where you put them.

I liked having the right screw driver included and the instructional video on the Amazon page was exactly the way they work. It took hardly any time to add the plugs to both ends of a 5.1 wiring set up and they fit perfectly into the connectors on the receiver and the speakers.

The "banana" part of the plug is a little bigger than most so it takes a good effort to push it in. But that's what you want with a banana plug. Otherwise you'll be using the screw driver to pry open the leaves on the "banana" to try to make it more secure. These plugs are perfectly secure and I trust they'll stay for a long time.

Highly recommend them if your system calls for this type of plug.
-a-

great price, cheapest around for good quality plugs.
I compared these to the Aperion plugs, and got these instead as they were in stock.
They don't really clamp down on the wire insulation, but they hold the copper really well. All in all, they work great and the price is awesome. good stuff. I think I still prefer the Aperion plugs overall, as they have a better design (cover screws on from the other side so you don't have to put the cover on the wire before you attach the wire). The GLS plugs however do feel more substantial, which i like. it's really a toss up.

Excellent product. It was inexpensive in relation to the other brands but presented and performs with the quality of the name brands like Monster. No directions were included, but a quick google search solved all of that. Highly recommended.

I chose these units based on their appearance and price, as well as some of the more positive reviews. Of the twenty pieces included in the set, a total of 4 turned out to be faulty and unusable in one way or another: enough to set back the time-line of of my long anticipated AV project. 2 of the banana plug male ends broke of the first time they were removed from the female wall plate jacks: the metal gauge of the plugs is extremely thin and despite my extra cautious, gentle removal technique, both snapped completely off the plug, thereby rendering them useless. the other two units were flawed on the end into which the stripped wire is inserted: the aperture for the 14 ga. speaker wire I was using was too large to make good contact even when the very poorly threaded retaining screw was tightened on the wire. The threads were so poorly cut and the material so weak that the units could not be used, even after soldering the stranded speaker wire in an attempt to fill the excessively large receptacle space...and, the threads of these two units gave way immediately when appropriate pressure was applied with a jeweler's straight-shanked screwdriver. The adjustable strain-relief fitting on all of the units failed to engage properly which meant that any mechanical force placed on the connections was handled only by the inadequate set-screw-over-stranded-wire connection. Trying to use these devices was an absolutely frustrating experience. I would not recommend them under any circumstances.