Every speaker connection has two halves: the male plug that goes in, and the female jack it goes into. Most of the time the cable ends are male and the gear is female, but there are adapters and couplers that flip that around. Here is how to keep the genders straight.
Speaker Wire Connector Male vs Female: Plugs, Jacks and Gender
Quick Answer / Summary: A male speaker connector is the plug that inserts into the female jack or socket. Most speaker cable ends are male (banana, pin, spade, Speakon plugs), while the terminals and sockets on the equipment are female.
Male vs Female Connectors
A male connector is the part with the exposed pin or blade that inserts into the other side. Banana plugs, pin plugs and Speakon plugs are all male, because they push into the socket.
Plug and receptacle
A female connector is the receptacle that receives the pin. Binding posts, spring clips, Speakon sockets and 1/4-inch jacks on the equipment are female.
The rule of thumb is that cable ends are male and equipment ports are female, so the cable plugs into the gear. Gender only becomes a question when you use adapters or join two cables.
Which End Goes Where
On a typical speaker cable, both ends are male plugs, such as banana or spade, and they plug into the female binding posts on the amplifier and the speaker.
Cable into gear
A female-female coupler joins two male cable ends together, which is how you extend a cable that already has plugs on both ends. A male-male adapter does the reverse.
When shopping, the gender of each end is written as male-to-male, male-to-female and so on. Match that to whether you are plugging into gear or joining cables.
Common Genders by Connector
Banana plugs are male, and the binding post is female. A banana coupler is a female-female barrel used to join two banana cables or to stack connections.
Speakon is slightly unusual: the cable-mounted connector is male, but Speakon cables are often described as male-to-male even though the plug latches into the panel socket.
Pin connectors are male, fitting female spring clips. Spade lugs are male-ish forks that wrap a female threaded post, so they are not strictly gendered the way a pin is.
Choosing the Right Gender
Read what you are connecting. Cable to equipment is almost always male cable ends into female equipment jacks, so buy male plugs for your cable ends.
If you need to extend or join a cable that already has plugs, you need a female-female coupler to accept both male ends.
Check the product listing for the gender of each end before buying adapters, since getting a male-male when you need a female-female is the most common ordering mistake.
Speaker Connector Gender by Type
| Connector | Cable End | Equipment End | Joiner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banana | Male plug | Female binding post | Female-female coupler |
| Pin | Male pin | Female spring clip | N/A |
| Spade | Fork (male) | Female threaded post | N/A |
| Speakon | Male plug | Female NL4 socket | N/A |
Real-World Application Scenarios
A user buys male banana plugs for the ends of speaker cable to plug into the receiver’s female binding posts; another extends a banana-terminated cable with a female-female coupler; a technician checks the gender labels before ordering a Speakon adapter.
Recommended Internal Resources
- banana, pin, spade and Speakon plugs
- the receptacles on speakers and amplifiers
- the full guide to banana, spade, pin and bare wire
See speaker wire plug types for the plug side and speaker jacks for the receptacle side.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between male and female speaker connectors?
The male connector is the plug that inserts, and the female is the jack or socket that receives it. Cable ends are usually male and equipment ports female.
Are banana plugs male or female?
Banana plugs are male, and the binding post they plug into is female. A banana coupler is female-female.
What is a female-female speaker connector for?
It joins two male cable ends together, such as when extending a cable that already has banana plugs on both ends.
How do I know which gender connector to buy?
Match the cable end to the equipment jack (male into female), and use a coupler of the right gender when joining two cable ends.