Owner's Manual

9
Speaker Connections
Speaker Terminals
The A 23+ speaker terminals accept speaker wires terminated with banana plugs, spade connectors or up to
10 AWG bare wire.
Bare Speaker Wire Ends
If you plan to connect your speaker cables with bare wire ends, use a wire stripper to remove just enough
insulation to expose a 12" (13 mm) length of bare wire. You can insert the stripped wire into the hole that
goes vertically through each terminal’s metal post. Before inserting the wire, twist its bare strands tightly to
prevent any of the individual strands from making contact across the red plus and black minus speaker
terminals. If you have a soldering iron, you can “tin” (apply a small amount of molten solder) to each stripped
bare wire to prevent it from unraveling, fraying and oxidizing.
Correct Speaker Polarity is Important
Polarity refers to + and – connections. Speaker wires are coded with color, printing or a ridge on the insulation
on one of the leads so you know which lead was connected to the + and – terminals at the other end. This
coding will help you keep the + and - polarity consistent for all channels. If one speaker is wired with incorrect
polarity it will significantly impair sound quality.
Speaker Wire Length and Gauge (thickness)
When selecting speaker wire, follow these guidelines:
• Keep the length of your speaker wire as short as possible.
• Use the thickest wire practical. For lengths greater than 50 feet, use speaker wire with an
AWG (gauge) of 14 or lower. The smaller the AWG number, the thicker the wire.