In our lab tests we have found that heavy-duty 40-amp SpeakON™ connectors consistently outperform spade lugs, pins, and banana plugs. When SpeakON™ connectors cannot be used, we have found that locking banana plugs provide the next best connections. In contrast, spade lugs and pins often provide poor connections. Spring-type (non-locking) banana plugs almost always provide poor connections and should be avoided. The Benchmark AHB2 power amplifier is so clean that poor speaker connections can easily create more distortion than the entire power amplifier. We have seen this many times in the lab. The effects of poor speaker connections can easily be measured when testing the AHB2 power amplifier. We have learned that we cannot accurately measure the AHB2 unless we use SpeakON™ connectors or high-quality locking banana connectors.