I hate connecting speaker wire to speakers and amps. I finally broke down and bought some banana plugs: I bought 24 of them. (Amazon.com, Amazon UK)
With banana plugs, you run your speaker wire in the big hole in the side, after unscrewing the bottom part, then screw it shut to hold the wire firmly. You can then insert the plugs into the speaker terminals, assuming your speakers are compatible with banana plugs.
As you can see, the banana plugs I bought aren’t expensive, but you can spend a few hundred dollars on a pair of them. Remember, for a stereo with two speakers, you need four pairs: one for each end of each speaker cable.
So, I naturally went in search of reviews of these audiophile banana plugs. I was surprised that I didn’t find any. Imagine spending a couple thousand dollars on speaker cables, then putting $2 banana plugs on them. Wouldn’t that ruin the entire system? Apparently not; even in audiophile forums, I don’t see any kind of raving about top-of-the-line banana plugs. (Many expensive audio cables come with banana plugs fitted, but not all.)
So, if the cable is great, it makes a difference. But you may connect an expensive cable to your speakers or amps with cheap banana plugs, and that has no effect? Interesting.
If anyone does find reviews of banana plugs, let me know.