problems connecting speaker wire to receiver

it's the terminal designer that are idiots. I think my Sony has some of those also. The only thing it is good for are the banana plug (and those thing cost a fortune).

Perhaps bad design requires more insulation be trimmed back for enough wire to be exposed.

Only after 45 years of pursuing my audiophile yearnings, I did (unnecessarily, I truly believe) get banana plugs as well as the dealer's hefty basic speaker cable when I got my ultimate set of speakers a couple of years ago. Yes, after all that time I did wind up getting B&W 804s. (list price: $4000) That will be my final splurge.

Your particular problem terminal posts are evidently of poor design. If you shed your normal shyness to speak out at work or otherwise in public seeking advice from someone with real audio knowledge & experience - I bet you will find one.

I also hate connecting bare wire to my Onkyo TX-SR803. It is difficult to screw down the binding screws while keeping the bare wire in place. Also, there is not much room between binding posts to get a good view of the wire while you secure it.

I went with banana connectors from monoprice. They are relatively cheap and make connecting to your receiver ALOT easier and cleaner.

These are the ones I have and they work great and are definitely high quality:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10401&cs_id=1040115&p_id=2943&seq=1&format=2

You slide the wire into that hole and then tighten it down.
You only need about 3/16" of bare wire. YES IT IS A PAIN to do!
Getting the banana plugs does make it easier. John

Onkyo designed the plugs in a misleading way that makes the user assume that by simply unscrewing the plug and inserting the wire in the center hole and screwing the plug, the wire is connected, but this is not the case. You actually need to insert the wire through the SIDE openings once you unscrew the plug, and then basically screw the plug to hold the wire in place.

Onkyo should never have left a hole in the center of the actual plug. I realize they did this so that a user can use banana plugs, but they should make that clear in the instruction manual. Basically, that if you are using a banana plug, you can insert it in the center hole, but otherwise, you need to use the side openings to insert bare wire. I nearly broke the plugs on the receiver trying to get the wire to attach properly until I realized that the bare wires had to go in the SIDE openings.

Hope this clears up the issue.