The QED Performance Banana Plug is the loudspeaker termination for QED's rebuilt Performance cable range, launched in October 2026. Performance sits at the heart of the QED line-up, above Connect and below Reference and Signature, and the 2026 revision brought a 13 model analogue and digital range together under a single visual identity. This listing supplies the plugs as a matched pair, one red and one black.
A Matched Red and Black Pair
Loudspeaker connections are polarity sensitive, so each plug carries a coloured identification ring at the collar, red for positive and black for negative. Buying by the pair makes it easy to order exactly the number required: four plugs (two pairs) terminate both ends of a single cable run, and a conventional stereo pair of cables needs eight.
Construction and Finish
The 2026 Performance range introduced sleek silver-grey connectors across every model, and this plug shares that finish: a silver-grey metal barrel carrying the QED logo, a coloured polarity ring at the collar and a moulded black boot at the cable entry. Contacts are plated in 24K gold, as they are across the Performance range aside from the USB models, which use nickel-plated connectors. Gold has a resistivity almost as low as copper but, unlike copper, it does not oxidise in air, so the contact surfaces stay clean and the connection stays low in resistance rather than degrading over time.
Matching the Performance System
QED's pre-terminated Performance Speaker Cable is supplied with factory-fitted Airloc gold-plated plugs and spades, and the Performance plugs and spades are also supplied separately so that a cable run already in place can be finished to match. A spade version of this termination is listed separately as the QED Performance Speaker Spades. Every product in the range meets RoHS and REACH requirements, and the Performance packaging has been reworked to reduce plastic in favour of recyclable, paper based materials.