The loudspeaker connection panel is supplied with two 1/4"
phone jacks and two Neutrik
TM
Speakon
TM
NL4MPR
connectors. Neutrik Speakon NL4FC (the mating connector
for the Speakon NL4MPR), phone plugs, cable and/or pre-
assembled speaker cables are readily available at most
Community dealers. Keep in mind that the contact surface of
the tip of a phone plug is very small and if the jack or plug
gets dirty or the plug is accidentally kicked or hit, the
connection may become intermittent.
Speakon connectors were designed specifically for high-power
speaker application and therefore have a large contact surface
area which is self-cleaning every time they are plugged or
unplugged. Speakon connectors also lock together making it
virtually impossible for them to accidentally come loose. For
added protection, properly-assembled Speakon connectors have
a built-in strain relief for the cable. You won’t need a soldering
iron to connect the cable to the connector - just strip the cable and
twist the strands together, then insert into the copper sleeve.
Insert the copper sleeve/wire combination into the hole and
tighten the screw which clamps down on the copper sleeve. For
an even better electrical connection you may choose to solder
each connection, but be careful as it is easy to melt the plastic
connector.
It’s very important to wire your Speakon or phone jack connectors
exactly the same at each end of the cable. This is necessary to
maintain proper polarity. All quality cables have either color-
coded insulation or a very clear way of marking the wires which
make up the cable. If the insulation is not color-coded, there may
be a rib molded into the side of the jacket material. In the pro
sound industry, the black or darker colored insulation material
is typically used as the “low” side, which connects to the side of
the Speakon connector with the lug marked “1-”. For a phone
jack, this conductor connects to the “sleeve” or body of the jack.
If the cables are wired incorrectly, there will be significantly less
low-frequency output from your system.
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