Quick speaker connection question (solder/tabs)

[Crazyquilt]

Okay ... I've got the chassis on my Swart pulled, and the Mojotone out -- and then, clever sod that I am, I noticed that the Swart's speaker wires have crimped spade connectors, whereas the Celestion G12M I'm puttin in has solder connectors.

Oops.

Should I just remove the spade connectors from the speaker wires & solder them directly to the speaker? And, if so, it looks like I just hook the wire through the attachment point (after tinning, natch) and solder away. That right?

Or, is there a way to attach spade connectors to the Celestion so it's easier to swap out, should I need to do so?

Thanks!

[John Phillips]

IMO you should cut off the crimps and solder to the speaker in any case. This does assume that you can solder well, but it's just better, period. Crimps can work loose and possibly have long-term problems with corrosion; I'm not convinced they don't introduce extra resistance and I even think they sound worse (I've rewired many cabs from crimp to solder and noticed improvement in the sound).

The right way to make a solder joint like this is to wrap the wire thoroughly to the terminal (so it provides the physical support) then solder the whole thing up to make a solid all-metal connection that cannot work loose or corrode inside. I strip about half an inch of the wire, and wrap it tightly on the terminal, before soldering.

Just my opinion of course.

[Dave C]

+1 on what John P said . Definitely do not tin the wire first.....it'll be too stiff to wrap around the terminal.
Dave C

[Crazyquilt]

Well, I wouldn't want to have my soldering skills be mission critical in a life or death situation, but I'm careful enough.

That should be easy enough to do. I actually did a bit of a MacGuyver for the time being -- I soldered male spade connectors to the speaker, then slipped the clips on. But I can unsolder that & do it the right way in about ten minutes; there's plenty of room to get around in the cabinet, in that sense, although it's not by any means large.

Thanks again for the advice. I'll fix it before I fire it up again.