NL-4 Speakon Discontinued - New Safety Lock Version!

Neutrik NL-4 connectors as we know them are all being discontinued. The new version costs more, is better built and has a child safet5y lock that needs a special tool.

Lets take a look at the new connector, the $90 tools they sell to open it and some work arounds.

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00:00 Introduction
00:25 Old versions
01:13 New version
02:40 Safety lock
03:30 Tool to open
05:50 Made a tool
06:51 Bypass safety lock
08:31 Why new safety is needed
09:55 Outro

[ScottGrammer]

Of all the things a kid could get hurt on in a sound reinforcement system, the speaker cable plugs would not be my first concern. $90 tool to take it apart? Baloney.

[BuriedAudioUK]

At Buried audio we've quickly made a 3D printable wrench that we are currently mass printing to supply with each order, that tool is while very well made, insanely over engineered and over priced to pay for that overkill.

[rashofbeatings]

me: you can't have too many tools..

neutrik: i'm glad you agree, because...

me: nevermind, i have enough tools

[MichaelVermaak]

We had a bunch of cables made for us recently and they came with these connectors. Went to open them up to double check the workmanship on the connections was good and came across the issue of opening them up. Crazy how much they charge for these 2 tools. Won’t be long before 3rd party options appear on the market.

[patdry]

“The vintage feel” 😂 Thanks for covering this, Dave!

[patawic]

Theres have been lots of changes to the way events are being handled in australia lately that require in some states that all Temporary stages (ie festivals etc) are required to treated like permenant installations that conform to current AS3000:2018 standards.
Meaning any speaker level connection above 50v technically has to conform to current standards, requiring a tool to access the internals, appropriate IP ratings etc etc.
All power distro required to have RCBO's for each circuit too, no longer will a single RCD protecting 4 circuits be sufficient.
All in the name of safety as you say, i like the new plug design.

[audibosoundandlight]

Great, now the new version of the old style (blue before, now all black) powercon AND Speakon look like a true1 connector from a distance 😅

Thanks for the video!

[TheSkeetskeet]

Love the new connector as an addition to the current line .. but absolutely a HUGE pain in the butt as a total replacement!!!

but .. regulations r regulations ... not sure how many babies are playing with touring line arrays but good I guess

[pauljanssen]

Dave, love the new vid. Staring out by saying you are a large importer and user of Neutrik. Showing off the new connector, how it works etc, etc. like any of the other product review vid. Now let's life hack the crap out of it, absolutely rat style. Now that is what I can only call excellent dealer support. Yup 90 bucks a pop for those tools is way over priced for what they are and would love to see normal priced versions out there. Keep up the good work.

[lillehammerlydoglys]

It occurs to me that the greatest possibility of getting a shock to the fingers is from the front (connecting) end of the Speakon-connector, anyways: The connecting surfaces are quite close to where your fingers reach and if there is humidity or moisture at play... These special safety tools seem like a joke considering anyone can open large three-phase connectors with ordinary hand tools.

[y-u-aargh]

0:59 just FYI, these are Pozidrive screws, specifically PZ1 size drivers should be used. If you've ever noticed these being prone to camming out and/or don't tighten all the way down, this is why! Also, same goes for most European flat-pack furniture like Ikea

[nathanbarnes]

That was an excellent Vid! Both infomative and hilarious. Gotta love that vintage feel!

[joshuawaterhousify]

Never watched your videos before, and I'm glad I continued watching after a certain point, because when I heard how you were talking about it being fine that they'd done it because they sold tools, I almost turned it off because that's crap. Glad I stayed to hear you talking about other ways to do it and various bypasses to avoid the overpriced tools. Might have to check in more often to see some cool sound gear and such! :)

[solitaire]

The industry found a solution to a problem that didn't exist. I would venture to say no one ever got electrocuted by the old style connector, I`ve never heard on any..
Anywho, did they improve the connectors identifications of 1+ 1- 2+ 2-?
Still made in Lichtenstein? What about the price?
Not having the proper tools when needed will be pissing off many, many people in the future me thinks.

[ayylien]

Thanks for making this video on the new connector and how to DIY your own tool. It is disgusting that companies design things with the need for proprietary tools to service for no good reason.

[alexwood]

Thanks for explaining the differences.
Just a quick tip. When you're doing close up shots with your hands, it would be better to use a plain background. All those little spots totally threw off the mpeg encoding and it just dissolved into blocky pixels when I needed detail.

[jameslawford]

At least Neutrik didn't completely balls it up like they did when the absolutely shocking NL4FX was launched. Quickly backtracked and re-released the NL4FC which is far easier to assemble by hand!
Will be interesting to see how my next batch of speaker cables work out once I'm out of stock of NL4FC.

[HJCF]

Very informative, Dave. Always appreciate your thoughts on things like this!

[kenp]

You know the old saying, if it's not broke, fix it till it

[peniku]

Neutrik connectors have great quality and last forever (unless you leave them in the rain), so I understand the high price, but what they charge for tools it ridiculous. Look at the price of the BNC crimping tool. It's 650€ including the inserts here. 650€ for a crimping tool! I ordered one from Aliexpress for 20€ and it works just fine...