Customer Reviews

Monster Cable THX-GP 20-Pack Standard THX-Certified Gold-Plated Speaker Connectors

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I am using 12 gauge wire for all my speaker runs and wanted this type of connector to terminate them to a pair of Yahama NS1000M speakers. The NS1000Ms are older speakers that use a clamp type terminal. The 12 gauge wire will not fit in the solder cup on the THX speaker pins. Yes you can trim the wire down and with some careful soldering make them work but the color coded caps are not large enough to accmodate the 12 gauge wire. The specs should show the maximum usable wire size but do not.

Speaker connectors are important - they ensure good conductivity and protect speaker cable (and components) from long-term corrosion. But speaker cable connectors aren't cheap - particularly if you want Monster Cable.

Monster's other connectors are expensive. They are high quality, hefty pieces of metal meant to do the job for years at a time. They offer a variety of connector styles in standard and easy-termination types.

THX-GP connectors are NOT Monster's high quality connectors. They are lightweight and not particularly impressive looking. They are, however, cheap. Cheap is a very good quality to look for when shopping for temporary cabling.

THX-GP are crimp-on termination connectors, meaning you'll need a crimping tool. Luckily speaker cable isn't picky about tools, and chances are a pair of needle-nose pliers will work just fine. I used a RG6 crimper which, despite its size, worked perfectly. The rubber sleeves slip over the termination afterwards.

If you're looking for high-quality, long lasting connectors for a high performance audio installation, you're probably not reading this review. The rest of you can go ahead and buy these - by the time you start caring about their quality, you'll be ready to replace them.

This package of connectors really is a great value but buyers should be aware that it only has tip connectors. Since a lot of subwoofers have connections that don't really work with a tip connector (my Yamaha is one) I had to spend an additional amount for banana plug connectors to complete my setup.

Other than that issue, the connectors were easy to install on the wiring. (I would recommend a 16 gauge wire for a good snug fit.) Unless you are running a high-end configuration, these connections should perform very well for you and be dependable until you upgrade your system.

These speaker connectors are very nice for small speakers (I have a Sony 5.1 package). I'm using these with the 16 gauage wire from Monster Cable - Monster Standard® THX-Certified Speaker Cable.

I found the connectors fit the wire perfectly. You do not need to solder these, pliers or another "crimping" device will work just fine. All together, they offer a very good connection. I tried connecting the wire with and without the connectors and I couldn't really tell a difference in sound. However, I think it offers a "cleaner" connection so if you ever need to move a speaker or disconnect devices for cleaning, it is handy. You do not have to worry about pieces of wire wearing down and breaking. Also, the color coded wire slips are nice when setting up your speakers, helps you identify which ones positive (+) or negative (-). I read some people complaining about no + or - signs on the wire. I believe one side of the cable has writing on it, so pick! If you get confused by that, I'm sorry that life is so hard on you.

I know people like to say Monster is overrated and overpriced. However, out of all the connectors and wire I looked at this was by far the cheapest. From my experience, when dealing with analog signals, a higher quality cable does help. Digital is another sotry, quality doesn't matter because you either get a signal or you don't- simple as that.

Overall, I'm happy with this product and highly recommend it. I hope this helps.

These connectors are OK for a temporary job, but I would not recommended for long-term use if you have a serious HTS. This crimp design leaves a lot to be desired and make it feel as if the speaker wire will eventually pull out with an inadvertant tug of the wire.

Save the bucks and get some threaded banana plugs.

I broke most of them trying to get them to stay on my speaker cables, because they would slip off if not crimped hard enough. Save your money, and buy better connectors or just use the bare wire.

I bought these speaker connectors to use on the Monster brand THX speaker wires. The crimpable gold connectors are ok, however, the rubber cover sleeve is average at best. What I can't understand is the amount of loose-ness of the rubber sleeves when they are designed to stretch to fit almost any thickness speaker wire. Thus, the rubber sleeves on my Monster brand 16-gauge (standard thickness) speaker wires are very loose making me concerned that the exposed speaker wire will corrode over time due to the exposure to air caused by the loose rubber sleeves. I can't believe Monster didn't design the opening of these sleeves to be narrower so that the rubber can stretch a little and form a tight fit with the speaker wires.

I am an electronic technician with over 40 years experience. Think about this before you buy; The written description for this product says (paraphrased) that bare copper wire oxidizes over time causing a bad connection to your speakers, I agree. It is intimated that these connectors prevent that. Humm? Apparently they believe the crimped connection to the wire with these connectors will eliminate this. NOT. Though better, it is still only a mechanical connection like the one made with spring loaded pinch or screw type banana connectors/posts on the back of speaker systems and the connection will oxidize over time. The same thing happens at the other end at your amp/receiver connectors.

Buy these connectors learn how to solder WELL and solder these on to your wires for a BETTER connection. (Hint from 40 years experience, always use plenty of heat at the joint when soldering so the solder will flow and bond well with the metals being soldered. Most students of sloldering do not get the joint hot enough and have what is called a "cold" solder joint which is no good at all.) I say BETTER connection because you still only have a mechanical connection to your speakers via the pinch or screw connector or binding post. Truth is, you need to buy an anti oxidation product at an electronics retailer and apply to any mechanical electrical connection such as this.

STILL, you should "refresh" the mechanical connection from time to time by disconnecting, cleaning the surfaces, and reconnecting. Lot of trouble you say, I agree. It all depends on what you can live with. Can you sleep at night knowing your mechanical connections to your speakers and amp/receiver are corroding more and more with every sheep you count. :-) If you can't sleep, you will have to solder the wires at your speaker connections AND your amp/receiver. Then hope that you did not flow the solder inside the speaker and amp/receiver and allow the wires inside to become seperated or the joint compromised in some way.

We simply live in an imperfect world and can either learn to live with it or go insane. I choose to live with it. Always remember these two things; If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Humm, I forgot the other one. Sleep well.

Complete junk. First, there are no instructions on how to use these connectors (they certainly are not as intuitive as toilet paper). Second, the rubber coverings are way too loose and are useless. This has to be one of the most frustrating items I have ever purchased from Amazon. Don't expect to find help from their (Monster Cable) web site, all you will find are similar bad customer reviews.

I bought these connectors to terminate the speaker wire when I hooked up my Onkyo SKS-HT540 speaker system. On the receiver end of the wires I used banana plugs and on the speaker end I used these bad boys. I really probably would have preferred to use plugs on both ends but the speakers in the Onkyo system that I bought have spring clip connectors and since I wanted to avoid bare wire ends I went with these. I used 12 gauge wire and although it was a snug fit for these connectors it worked out well. The only thing that could have been better would have been if the pins were angled instead of straight so that the didn't stick out as much behind the speakers. Monster does make the angled speaker pins, but I found that they were significantly more expensive so I went with these and am glad I did.