# Is a terminal cup necessary on a subwoofer box?



## deadlift425 (May 11, 2009)

The reason I ask is everyone does not carry them around me. I do have a few other places that I could run to, but no one sells them individually. 

The guys at ABC warehouse and my local sound shop told me to drill a small hole, feed the wire through, and seal it up with silicone. 

Being that you guys are experts in the field, which way would you suggest? 

Btw, I will probably go out tomorrow and shop a few stores(radioshack) to see if they carry them. I want to finish my box tomorrow!!


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## shadowfactory (Oct 20, 2008)

deadlift425 said:


> Being that you guys are experts in the field, which way would you suggest?





deadlift425 said:


> The guys at ABC warehouse and my local sound shop told me to drill a small hole, feed the wire through, and seal it up with silicone.



Only thing I would add is a zip tie to each side to keep the wire secure.


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## Torquem (Jun 27, 2009)

I have two that you can have 

Apparently when you get up around 800+ watts you can melt terminal cups. I had never heard of it but when I posted this same question there were LOTS of people that had melted them.


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## norcalsfinest (Aug 30, 2008)

Torquem said:


> I have two that you can have
> 
> Apparently when you get up around 800+ watts you can melt terminal cups. I had never heard of it but when I posted this same question there were LOTS of people that had melted them.


I did it with ~1200w. Pissed me the hell off.


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## meelo (Jul 2, 2007)

i was told and now i prefer bolts and ring terminals they make a much better connection through the box and nothing rattles and it makes a very secure connection.

just my 2 cents.


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## emperorjj1 (Sep 10, 2008)

striaght wire is the least convienient but best connection. bolts and ring terminals would be a close second followed by terminal cups. most times terminal cups melt is do to a bad connection on either end or both. yes you can have a good connection and still melt a terminal cup but its far less common then melting due too a bad connection


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## Jcube69 (Jan 15, 2009)

emperorjj1 said:


> striaght wire is the least convienient but best connection. bolts and ring terminals would be a close second followed by terminal cups. most times terminal cups melt is do to a bad connection on either end or both. yes you can have a good connection and still melt a terminal cup but its far less common then melting due too a bad connection


not to thread jack or anything but by bolts and ring terminals do you literaly mean just using a bolt say through the mdf which u thenout the ring terminal on?....yes im serious i read that and it looked as if i sounded stupid but idc...its a serious question


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## Catman (Mar 18, 2008)

I always use a #10 brass machine screw. Drill a precise hole through enclosure ...put a ring terminal on wire going to sub and put it on the screw (inside the enclosure) ...tighten it with a Nyloc nut then put on a flat washer. Put screw through hole and secure on outside with another washer and Nyloc nut ...this makes it permanently attached to the enclosure. Now you can just put a ring terminal on the wire from the amp and tighten down with a wing nut or Nylock nut.

>^..^<


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## emperorjj1 (Sep 10, 2008)

Jcube69 said:


> not to thread jack or anything but by bolts and ring terminals do you literaly mean just using a bolt say through the mdf which u thenout the ring terminal on?....yes im serious i read that and it looked as if i sounded stupid but idc...its a serious question


yes that is correct. parts expess sells the actual binding posts Parts-Express.comayton BPA-38G HD Binding Post Pair Gold | Post plugs plug PA ir din plug Din dayton banana binding posts binding post binding banana plugs banana plug banana air dayBinding123008

which should have a better connection then normal bolts but its all sorta relative brass bolts work too


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## Austin (Mar 12, 2009)

I just drilled a whole through my box. I heard somewhere (on here?) that somehow you can lose about 3 decibels...kind of hard to believe buttt its just another possible source of an air leak so straight hole for me 

The binding posts may be on my next box though since they would look much nicer.


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## ogg (Oct 13, 2007)

meelo said:


> i was told and now i prefer bolts and ring terminals they make a much better connection through the box and nothing rattles and it makes a very secure connection.
> 
> just my 2 cents.


This is how I'm doing my next enclosure.


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

emperorjj1 said:


> yes that is correct. parts expess sells the actual binding posts Parts-Express.comayton BPA-38G HD Binding Post Pair Gold | Post plugs plug PA ir din plug Din dayton banana binding posts binding post binding banana plugs banana plug banana air dayBinding123008
> 
> which should have a better connection then normal bolts but its all sorta relative brass bolts work too












*I have used these on an enclosure with 2 IDMAX tens in it*


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## mpaschetto (Mar 14, 2008)

a$$hole said:


> QUOTE]
> 
> I was also going to suggest these binding posts...I've used them in
> both home and auto loudspeaker enclosures with very good results!


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## meelo (Jul 2, 2007)

mpaschetto said:


> a$$hole said:
> 
> 
> > QUOTE]
> ...


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## MarkZ (Dec 5, 2005)

Yeah, those are the ones I used on my last box.

3dB by drilling a hole? That ain't gonna happen...


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## deadlift425 (May 11, 2009)

Well, I bit the bullet and found a banana terminal plate at Radioshack for 6 bucks. In the future though, I will most likely use the binding post!!!


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## VP Electricity (Apr 11, 2009)

deadlift425 said:


> ... drill a small hole, feed the wire through, and seal it up with silicone.


Done it many a time, especially with glassed tub enclosures.


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

The reason I have used terminal cups instead of binding posts in the past is it seems like in every install I do there is a potential for stuff to be moving around or rubbing against the box, and I don't want to have a protrusion that can catch on things or get hit. Terminal cups get recessed, and therefor the box gets set on just the wires. Has never been an issue for me, but I've never run more than 400W into the box.


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## jimboman (Jun 24, 2008)

IMO - the least amount of connections - the better it is..


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## GregU (Dec 24, 2008)

jimboman said:


> IMO - the least amount of connections - the less chance you have for error or added resistance


I feel very strongly about that also.

I personally drill a hole for the wires and then use monkey **** on the inside of the box to seal it up.


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## Barnaby (Aug 25, 2009)

Back when I was installing for a living (late '80s/early 90s) we never installed terminal cups or binding posts. To me it always seemed like it was an additional step that didn't provide any value unless the box (like the old school Kicker boxes) was to be taken out. Wasn't even out of the question to tie a loose knot in the cable on the inside to keep it from pulling through. They were always siliconed up as well.


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## meelo (Jul 2, 2007)

while i agree with less is better, sometimes modular is required....especially when you need to take it out or make some changes...depending on how much you swap parts...


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## emperorjj1 (Sep 10, 2008)

straight 8g ftw


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## Austin (Mar 12, 2009)

^^^nice


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