[salamander]

Joey - Make that page 9 of the manual. Sorry for the typo. I have fixed it in the original post. Step 8 on that page states:

Referring to figure H, connect the Loudspeaker hookup cables with banana plugs into the hole at the top of the terminal to the MC452 Negative Output Terminal and Positive Output Terminal identified as 2Ω (ohms), 4Ω (ohms) or 8Ω (ohms).

I agree the image of the angled banana plug in figure H looks a bit unusual, but as stated in the manual text, it is shown plugged into the hole at the top of the output terminal. Conversely, figures 7 and 8 on page 9 show bare wire and spade lugs connected using the terminal side access hole (i.e. the hole below the McIntosh-branded cylinder component of the output terminal).

As you described, using the banana plug in the lower side access hole definitely increases the risk of crushing it when tightening the hex nut.