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General discussion

What wiring should i use to wire up Home Theatre

Jul 19, 2005 8:01PM PDT

Hi, I have Pioneer Receiver VSX-D912 and 5.0 channel Dream Acoustic Speakers, With 2 floorstanders, 2 surround and 1 centre and i was wondering what the best wiring would be to wire it all up its not in a very big room and sound quality would be a priority, I don't have a subwoofer at the moment and I was wondering what a good priced subwoofer would be to get which is powerful. Thanks

Discussion is locked

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Simple....
Jul 19, 2005 11:49PM PDT

...Go to your local hardware store and pick up as much double copper 16 gauge lamp cord as you need. Readily available for under $0.20/ft.

For the subwoofer, give a look at this Polk. While certainly not state of the art (e.g. Velodyne), Polk has always given excellent value/dollar. this one is under $250.

http://www.polkaudio.com/home/products.php?category=7&speaker=377

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Wiring to use
Jul 20, 2005 12:25AM PDT

Hello,

For your speaker wire, I always install 14/2 guage UL rated in-wall speaker wire.

Here's why. Speaker cable, or wire, is measured in gauge. The smaller the number the heavier the cable. 14 guage (14 AWG) wire, because it is easy to manage, terminate, and has low impedance, is considered to be the standard. However, make sure that the speaker wire is UL Class 2 or 3 (Cl-2 or Cl-3) rated for in-wall use. Cl-3 rated cable has an extra insulating (usually grey) sheath around the two insulated (red and black) wires, and the designation "Cl-3" will be printed on the cable.

Side Note: cable marketing, fact vs fiction.

There is very little science in the "art and science of audio cables/wires. Unnumberable "double blind" test have proven that while the average consumer can detect a difference between adequate and inadequate wires, they cannot discern the differences between generic and designer-brand versions of the same basic wire types. Just make sure that the following specifications for speaker wire are met with the wire you choose:
1. loop resistance (less than .2 Ohms)
2. inductance (less than .25 microHenries per foot)
3. capacitance (less than 50 picoFarads per foot)

Aside from the tech mumbo-jumbo, be rest assured that most installer-grade CL-3 rated 14 guage stranded speaker wire meets all of these requirements. And as long as the wire meets the above standards, the most the sound will be distorted would be no more than .5dB which is 1/6th of what the human ear is capable of detecting. Even if the wires did not meet these specs and were significantly worse, you may have a drop of 1 - 2 dB which is still well below the normal 3dB that is detectable by the human ear.

That said, don't rush out and buy the most expensive speaker wire because it has been tested and retested to meet strict lab tests. You will never notice the difference between the name brand or equal generic brand.

Hope this helps.

Take Care,

Shawn Mosqueda
WireSmart LLC

If you have any other questions feel free to contact me by clicking on the profile link below.

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Wire to use
Jul 20, 2005 4:02AM PDT

I am about setup surround sound system and looking for speaker wire. Few friends told me to get Monster speaker wire.

Thanks Shawn for good info. I will buy generic wire to save a ton of money.

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What wiring should i use to wire up Home Theatre
Jul 20, 2005 4:09AM PDT

In additon to the other posts my rule of thumb, if the run is under 20' use 16ga, if it's over 20' use 14ga, if it's over 50' use 12ga. If want to use 14ga for every thing, go for it.
Monster cable is desinged to make a lot of money for the person that sells it. John

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Thanks Heaps
Jul 20, 2005 8:23AM PDT

Yeh I was never going to get over-the-top wiring, Thanks for the help with the subwoofer really helpful!!

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(NT) (NT) Go with a Harman Kardon or Bose Subwoofer
Jul 20, 2005 11:20AM PDT