I usually like to put a little more time between posts, but this little victory deserves to be posted...

If there's one thing about technology that I really can't stand, it's proprietary connections... They're the worst, around! (in a Joe Esposito sort of way). I've encountered proprietary AC adapters for notebooks and LCD monitors, proprietary video plugs, proprietary audio cables, you name it! But recently, I had to deal with something that really takes the cake... Something so insidious, so evil...so... unnecessary! I discovered... a proprietary speaker wire.

Here's how it all went down...

I recently salvaged a Sony DAV-C450: it's an older 5.1 receiver... Anyhow, as I was hooking it up I found that one of the speaker wires seemed to be missing... No big deal (or, so I thought) until I took a glance at the back of the receiver and noticed this...

When you see it, you will... wait - how does that go again?

Ye gods... the horror of it all! A proprietary plug just for a standard set of speakers! Dammit Sony, how am I not surprised?! And of course, just to add insult to injury, on the speaker-end there's regular spring clips... /facepalm.

A few searches later, I had found others in a similar situation, but no solution...

I figured I'd check the Sony site to to see how much a replacement wire would cost... how bad could it be, right?

Well, this bad: $30 + tax and shipping! lol I was glad I hadn't taken that sip of coffee...

It became obvious that it was time to take a closer look at the plug itself...

... and that's when it hit me. The spare quick connects remaining from the DIY Arcade stick!