Numpty Question Time about Speakons....

[phil.c60]

So, following the West Sussex mini bass bash I have joined the Barefaced club courtesy of a very nice man called Ken who flogged me his Compact via Ebay. Nice guy, cab is mint. Hope it plays well (cue the usual rash of "I like them, they're the only thing to have" "I don't like them, you're mad" type comments).
Cab has 2 Neutrik Speakon four-pole connection sockets. Why four-pole? Why not only two-pole like my Little Mark 3, that I want to run with it?
Apparently, you can plug a two-pole lead into a four pole socket, so all I need is a standard two-pole Speakon-to-Speakon cable?
No, cab does not have Speakon/Jack dual sockets, like the LM3 does, so jack lead is out.
I have never owned or used anything with Speakons, so be gentle with me.

PS: I rang one "leading equipment supplier" and the guy I spoke to said "I didn't know they made them with four poles. Mmmm, don't know."

[icastle]

It's probably the easiest option.

A two pole socket will only properly accept a two pole plug.
Before anyone disagrees with that statement, check the Neutrik specs.

A four pole socket will accept either a four pole or two pole plug.

[phil.c60]

Thanks, icastle, two pole lead on it's way.

[flyfisher]

My understanding is that the Speakon connector specification allows up to 4 connections (well, 2 or 4) so it can support 'bi-amped' configurations in which a crossover unit is positioned between the pre-amp and power amp and a separate power amp is used to drive two speakers in a single cab, which would normally required two cables with two conductors each. A 4-pole connector thus allows a single 4-core cable to be used for neater system wiring.

Probably not of any great use for bass rigs but it makes the speakon connector more widely applicable in other applications.

Edited September 17, 2014 by flyfisher

[mike257]

Yep, use NL4 (Four pole Speakon) all the time in PA applications. Often used to feed a stack of subs/tops with a single cable, then short link leads between the individual cabs break out the right signal to the right place. There's even a larger NL8 version that can carry four seperate signals (eight poles) although that's a physically larger connector so not cross-compatible with the two pole and four pole versions.