Need some Home Theater Advice

[Dimkaumd]

I just bought 5 polk audio speakers: (http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm...m/ccd/productDetail.do http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/polk... )

I have never had a home theater system in my life, so I dont know anything about this. Which speaker wire should I get?

I went to the store, and they had several kinds. I saw regular speaker wire, HD speaker wire, and Monster Cable speaker wire.

Is there a real difference in these? Which one would you recommend to watch movies and tv?

If I get HDTV later on, do I need HD cable?

Thanks

 

[spidey07]

Use cables that are up to the task at hand, for the lowest cost. Is there a difference in cables? Absolutely, but only from a design perspective and moreso in video than audio. As long as the cable is up to the task you ask of it you'll be fine.

For those speakers any speakerwire will be fine. HD speaker wire....LOL. Find 12 or 14 gauge speaker wire from monoprice, buy a spool, done.

 

[s44]

Originally posted by: spidey07
Find 12 or 14 gauge speaker wire from monoprice, buy a spool, done.

Exactly. Amusing reading here on the subject.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: s44

Originally posted by: spidey07
Find 12 or 14 gauge speaker wire from monoprice, buy a spool, done.

Exactly. Amusing reading here on the subject.

Not to stir the pot, but for some speakers the characteristics of the cable is a big deal.

Primarily electrostatitcs, and even more so in when bi-wired.

That article does not take into account anything more than a typical distortionbox speaker.

 

[Dimkaumd]

Whats the whole gauge thing for? I see 12, 18 gauge etc....do I need to worry about that?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Are you installing these yourself? I haven't had to deal with in-wall stuff before, but there is speaker wire that is rated for in-wall use and speaker wire that is not rated for in-wall use. Monoprice has both.

Gauge is the thickness of the cable... lower number = thicker.

 

[s44]

You need thicker wire for longer runs. 12 should cover you for most single-room installations. There's a chart in the article I linked.

Oh, yeah, the previous poster is right: make sure you use in-wall rated stuff for in-wall installations. That's a safety thing, not sound. Monoprice's in-wall is out of stock (and I'm not sure it's ever actually appeared), but Blue Jeans Cable has some very good stuff (for in-wall, get the Belden or BJC) at good prices.

 

[ShockwaveVT]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: s44

Originally posted by: spidey07
Find 12 or 14 gauge speaker wire from monoprice, buy a spool, done.

Exactly. Amusing reading here on the subject.

Not to stir the pot, but for some speakers the characteristics of the cable is a big deal.

Primarily electrostatitcs, and even more so in when bi-wired.

That article does not take into account anything more than a typical distortionbox speaker.

Stop trying to confuse the OP .

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: ShockwaveVT

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: s44

Originally posted by: spidey07
Find 12 or 14 gauge speaker wire from monoprice, buy a spool, done.

Exactly. Amusing reading here on the subject.

Not to stir the pot, but for some speakers the characteristics of the cable is a big deal.

Primarily electrostatitcs, and even more so in when bi-wired.

That article does not take into account anything more than a typical distortionbox speaker.

Stop trying to confuse the OP .

I'm not!

I want to argue about speaker cables and their impact on sound.

 

[montypythizzle]

Do you really need in-wall speaker wire?? Never really seen speaker wire make a spark... let alone it has a probably thick jacket around it if it is 12awg.

 

[zagood]

Originally posted by: spidey07

I'm not!

I want to argue about speaker cables and their impact on sound.

well, at least you're honest lol...

-z

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: montypythizzle
Do you really need in-wall speaker wire?? Never really seen speaker wire make a spark... let alone it has a probably thick jacket around it if it is 12awg.

Doesn't matter. If something happens and it's because you didn't follow wiring codes insurance can deny the claim.

 

[montypythizzle]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: montypythizzle
Do you really need in-wall speaker wire?? Never really seen speaker wire make a spark... let alone it has a probably thick jacket around it if it is 12awg.

Doesn't matter. If something happens and it's because you didn't follow wiring codes insurance can deny the claim.

It really depends on city codes, which I do not know mine nor the OPs. I don't think it is a standard per se, it may just be for "safety's sake".

 

[cheesehead]

Originally posted by: montypythizzle
Do you really need in-wall speaker wire?? Never really seen speaker wire make a spark... let alone it has a probably thick jacket around it if it is 12awg.

I'd just go with whatever you use for 120v power lines. I've yet to see a home-audio amp capable of more than 60V AC on the output, or a speaker that used more than 15A.

Originally posted by: spidey07

Not to stir the pot, but for some speakers the characteristics of the cable is a big deal.

Primarily electrostatitcs, and even more so in when bi-wired.

That article does not take into account anything more than a typical distortionbox speaker.

Nelson Pass AND Sigfried Linkwitz reccomend avoiding expensive speaker wire. Bi-wiring has been proved to be pure malarkey; bi-amping is not, but as the name suggests, you have to buy a second amp (and usually an active crossover to go with it.)

With audio cables, the thing to look for is shielding - for the low-voltage signal cables (also called "interconnects"), even a tiny bit of RF hum will be multiplied a hundredfold by the amplifier they connect to. With speaker cables, a low capacitance and inductance is good - however, the stuff they use to wire lamps is usually just fine. Avoid funny-colored (say, silver on one side) low-cost "speaker" wire; often, the fancy-looking but cheap wire is more prone to oxidization (which is just annoying) than plain old copper.

Electrostatic speakers - which are nastily reactive loads, and act almost like a capacitor - can run into trouble if you've got inductance or capacitance from your cables. For the paranoid, a good 20' of Canare Star Quad will only run you about $25 tops. (If you've just spent $2,500 on a good pair of electrostatics, this is chump change.)

For video, go to Monoprice. Shielded cables are your friends. Use video connections in this order (best to worst): HDMI/DVI, component RGB, S-video, composite (one yellow connector), coaxial. For digital audio, both optical links and S/PDIF links are just about as good; however, S/PDIF cables are usually cheaper and more convenient. Just make sure to get a proper S/PDIF cable - while normal audio connectors use the same RCA plugs, S/PDIF cables have a different impeadance, and using the wrong impeadance of cable causes signal loss (which is bad.)

 

[spidey07]

I didn't say speaker cable had to be expensive to be good, just designed well with low impedance/capaticance.

I truly can tell with my speakers. I forget what I'm using now but it's pretty cheap, < 100 bucks.

 

[montypythizzle]

Heh, are you going to use banana plugs with the romex? I guess you could shave the wire so it would fit into your amp or binding posts.