It's mostly because > Speakon connectors are rated for at least 30 A RMS continuous current 1/4 is still used in places (I have not too old guitar amp with on

It's mostly because > Speakon connectors are rated for at least 30 A RMS continuous current 1/4 is still used in places (I have not too old guitar amp with one), but main benefits are: * No exposed metal * Higher current rating * Unidirectional. Can't put output to output. * Locking connector. Especially the last one, you don't want random pull to remove a connector easily, especially on events where you can't control everything going on. The fact it's different than the rest is just cherry on top. Actually, with lower power (say tens of watts) you probably wouldn't even damage anything but speak-ons are near-ubiquitous on "big boy" stuff with few KWs of power