Which speaker cable and brand is best to use in Media room (3.4x3.6m) for Home theatre setup.
Hi Samara 1..
The most important thing when it comes to speaker cable is the gauge of the cable..The longer the runs of cable the heavier the gauge..
For the distance of your room ( presuming that the speakers and equipment will be at opposite ends of the room) 14 gauge copper cable is all you need..
Remember that you have a positive and negative connection to consider, so for each speaker the cable will be twice the length of the room...
I hope that helps..
great thanks @Prof
any plug points required to connect the speaker cable to speaker
what type of plug point is better as this is DIY kindly advise
Hi @Samara1
The best wire to use oxygen free wire depending on the quality of your system this maybe a waste of money like what I did. And still will suit old school set ups. Honestly ordinary speaker wire will run any system I have never seen a system fail due to poor cabling.
I fully wired years ago Oxygen free monster wire it was a great installation at $$$ expense. I had the bees knees reciever and it good play any movie format. The problem is I think about 10 movies out of the 400 I have actually worked well taking advantage of the full 7.1 channels In the end it was a waste of money.
Food for thought. that runs with Smart tv setups for all sound needs. Movies effects music etc.
Today the best home solution into the future is a front sound bar that has 7,1,2 sound system
7 is front speaker dialog. 2 side speakers, 2 wall facing speakers and two rear blue tooth speakers. No cabling required any more.
The 0.1 is the sub woolfer.
The 0,1,2 the 2 is two roof facing speakers that bounce sounds off the ceiling.
Hi @Samara1,
Here's a 14 gauge speaker cable as specified by @Prof.
If you can draw us a diagram of the room and show where the speakers will be positioned on it, we'd be better able to estimate the length of cable needed.
Mitchell
Any plug points will depend on what speakers and Receiver/Amp you have..
The simplest type is just a push terminal and you push a bared wire into it..and release it..These are just as effective as any..
The only problem that might occur is that the terminal hole is not large enough to take all the strands..in which case you may have to remove some of the strands...
On the more expensive speakers and amps you may find that they have screw down terminals and these work well for heavy gauge cable..
thanks @MitchellMc
below plan is my media room (3400mm x 3600mm) (excluding desk & Robes) and ceiling height is 2.7mm
so how much Speaker cable is required for 5.2 or 7.2 channel
I still higly recomend Sound bar 7.2.2 if its inputs will match your output ussually HDMI Cable these days but other inputs can be found on other models.
If you dont know if you want 5,1 or 7,1 sounds like you dont have the amplifier yet? as it will be one or the other/? Or your not adding side speakers.
Are you planning on running the wires under the carpet? through the roof or the walls too? As this will change length required.
Your room might let you lay them around the walls on top of the floor.
So sit your speakers where they are ment to be positioned ie Fronts, sides and rears and maesure along the walls from the speaker to the amp or tv position for each line. Now measure extra height if the speakers are mounted up the wall or are on stands. Now add the height of the amp outputs to cable length. Now Add a spare meter to the cable length as it is bad to be short bt longer is ok.
Formala for each cable length
( Wall lengths + speaker height+ amp height + add a spare meter= 1 cable length)
Now do this for all other channels and add them up.
It may be cheaper to buy a 100m roll on discount some where/
Bunnings has below and will suit any domestic speaker system. You could put quadruple the copper of this wire at big $$$ but the human ear wont tell any difference.
I/N: 4430107
$78.94
We'd need to know where on the walls you are positioning the speakers in order to try and estimate the amount of cabling required. @Jewelleryrescue has provided some great information on how to work out the length.
@Jewelleryrescue @Prof @MitchellMc
Great thanks guys you are amazing and kind to help.
small media room 3.4mx 3.6m x 2.7m(ceiling). Sorry for the long list of Questions as still not clear on this ☹
1) i am planning to wall mount the rear speakers as i dont have spacing on floor level as i will place couch opp to TV.
2) Front Speakers can be placed on top of bottom cabin or floor as i have to decide the cabin work yet.
3) this is how i thought to go for 5.2 channel. so please correct me if this is wrong and add or modify for 7.2 channel.
4) I asked electrician to do wiring points as above and advise me if any changes required here.
5) Do I need to select the home theatre package first in order to do this wiring. Which is the better way to buy like buying whole package from home theatre shop or buying speakers, amplifiers, TV or Projects separately from shops
6)What configuration for speaker or amplifier setup to buy and Which is best place or shop to buy these speakers, amplifiers in Sydney.
Morning @Samara1
Sound systems I love and the guys here have been giving some very good advice, the only thing I can add if you havnt decided upon what sound sytem is to take a wander through some Audio store or a few of the big chain stores that sell tvs as they usually have a media room set up to showcase various sound types.
I have two 5.1 surround sound systems, old systems cobbled together from various people. They do work great but are limited by not having a HDMI input. What @Jewelleryrescue says about cabling is very true, I use figure 8 multistrand cable (make sure its very flexible as theat means it will have a lot of fine wires in it) Both of the systems I have took a little time to get my heard around the various terms for the system and how they interact with the sound source (my tv's) So I wouldnt set up your room until you have a sound system you like.
Dave
Samara1..
Since all your speakers and Rec / Amp are all going to be on the front wall, you will only need a few metres of wiring to cover all that...approx. 10M.
The biggest problems are going to be..
How the surround speakers are going to be wired..ie where and how the cables are going to be laid..
Where the surround are going to be positioned in the room..
And how the surround speakers are going to be mounted.!!
All these measurements will be for a 5.1 system...
Before any of that can be sorted..I would need to see photos of the robe and the space to the right of where the cabinet will be..
Those images will show me what the best way will be to run the cables to the surround speakers..and it will determine what length of cabling you will need..
Prof...
Hello @Samara1
Just to add to the great suggestions made, I recommend looking at complete media systems rather than buying bits and pieces that might end up incompatible. A complete system guarantees that the speaker system is capable of handling the power from the amplifier.
Some systems will actually have a balancing sensor that comes with the package that allows you to focus or centralize the sound coming from the speakers. A complete media set is also open to upgrades from the same manufacturer giving you the opportunity to update your system without having to change the whole thing.
Please keep us updated with your progress, we look forward to seeing your media room ready for use.
Eric
That's good advice from Eric..
If you're new to home theatre and don't know much about the individual components and the speakers, it would be best to go to the shops who have this type of equipment..
Also to have a balanced system you have to divide you proposed budget into certain percentages for each piece of equipment..
For example your speakers generally will need to take up about half your budget to have a balanced system..The remainder will be divided between the Rec / Amp, the blu-ray player and any ancillary equipment..
Prof..
@Samara1 , @EricL and @Prof
The differenec between ease of set up with something that can handle HDMI and ARC compared to pre HDMI is huge, So many headaches working through it. The newer systems seem to rely upon a sound bar configuration with a subwoofer that does a very nice job. Bluetooth so no cables bar power. I have stood theer testing them out in stores and must say they come up well. For a room the size you are after that may be a good option.
thanks @Dave-1
sorry i didnt get ur first point talking about the difference between..
do you mean to go for wireless speakers for 5.1.2 setup so there wont be any headache in wiring the speakers.
currently electrical wiring going on so thought to run speaker cables in all corners of my media room before gyprock to have 5.1.2 setup .
@Prof @EricL @MitchellMc @Jewelleryrescue @Dave-1
Really appreciate your guys time, help and support.
do you mean to go for wireless speakers for 5.1.2 setup so there wont be any headache in wiring the speakers.currently electrical wiring going on so thought to run speaker cables in all corners of my media room before gyprock to have 5.1.2 setup .what brand or product to go for 5.1.2 setup so the system could be connected thru speaker wiring . how much cost range for this 5.1.2 so I can plan accordingly.
Eevning @Samara1
I was referencing modern systems that seem to have only a soundbar and a subwoofer, usually placed at the front of the room where the television is. The ones I have seen use bluetooth technology to sync the sound. The older systems that have been mentioned earlier (5.1 wired, 7.1 either wired or bluetooth)
Your room is not too large, I was suggesting to chech out the soundbar plus subwoofer instead of cabling.
I'm old school when it comes to speakers, I prefer them wired in as some of the 5.1 cordless systems either require them to be plugged into a power point or recharged on a cradle. Having them with a power block means that you'll need to install power points near where they will be positioned. Having to move and charge my speakers is not something I would be looking forward to.
A wired system means that the speakers will always be in the right position with no need to move them or worry about them running out of power. But the choice is yours on which system you would like to install in your home.
If you need further assistance, please let us know.
I totally understand and respect you have a older system. I recently bought a sound bar 2,1 with Aux (stereo input for a mono output of a older yamaha piano keyboard.) This input is a on the endangered speicies list/ The 3,1 sound bar works great as the yamaha speakers sound tinny. The sound is like a grand piano nice sound and base. On a personal note I am teaching myself the piano via an app I am intermediate level able to play sheet music. Ok not ready for a audiance though lol unless your want to torture some one.
So my point is I am sure you could buy a physical hdmi converter to your recievers inputs to allow your older system to be compatable and functional with newer codex's and formats from hdmi
But the future is sound bar with side and roof bouncing tech. Which makes perfect sense as we have ear lobes to detect sound timing and direction, I stress when you hear a unexpected sound you imediatly start turning your head to locate sound source. Therefore side sound bounce and roof bounce works as they help create a 3d sound scape.
@Samara1
@EricL Is right in saying you need to plan a whole system so you can plan wire needs etc. I strongly suggest you embrase the future trend of sound bars Samsung are the best. at Approx $2000 for New smart tvs etc. Embrace the future. I am old school tech and it failed miserably as all to few movies activated all 5,1 or 7.1 channels in a interactive way I am really disgusted at this .
Modern state of the art 7,1,2 systems usually blue tooth connect to remote rear speakers so you will need power points or extention power cables to run them.
History has taught me there is no guarantee your fav movie will support to 7.1.2 theater format to its full sound potential now or into the future.
@Jewelleryrescue has nailed it, extra power points are good, running audio cables within the walls is good tho judging where new units will be is hard to determine.
When I lined my garage walls I ran top to bottom of the wall an cable socket (think two brushes side by side) to hide all the HDMI/Sound cables/network. I thought I was clever until afterwards when I realsied if I ever move the bookcase then ??? Things wont line up or be useful. The only thing I can suggest is, if you can run channeling within the wall, have meausurments where things are exactly, take plent of photos.
Future proofing is hard, I have network cabling loomed under my hoise for an expected renovation that may never come about 🙂 But its there if needed.
@Dave-1 @Jewelleryrescue @EricL @Prof
you guys are amazing again for guiding me to the right path. thanks a lot.
sorry for reinforcing my point of old style system as i follow the old school approach eventhough my media room layout is not ideal as it has windows and robe.
bec of my home under construction and thought to do speaker wiring as my builder will do it by hoping for the best result.
i will go with 5.1 speaker system with wiring on the fixed speaker location as my media is small and wont move the speaker.
one thing i want to check with you all is, even though the future is soundbar but still majority of people and Media shops doing home theatre setups which is forcing me to follow the same approach 🙂 . sorry not to argue against your points guys. it seems to be debate which is best tradional Home theatre system Vs Sound Bar 😉
Samara1...
My only advise is that soundbars limit you to a fixed system...If you ever want to improve your sound system you will need to have a separate system where you can have a bigger speakers if you wish some time in the future...
@Prof @Dave-1 @Jewelleryrescue @EricL @MitchellMc
thanks guys,
bec of my back wall have entry door to media room where one of the rear speaker will be placed. my ceiling is 2700mm and door is 2400mm so i have only 300mm left above the door to install the rear wall speaker. will this 300mm spacing enought for rear wall speaker? could i go with In-Ceiling speakers for both rear sides instead of wall hung speaker. my media room will be bulk head with LED strips and have 4 LED downlights and i hope i can still go for In-Ceiling speakers on rear sides. any suggestion on this in-ceiling speakers comparing to wall hung speakers and any difference between this two please. kindly advise
Evening @Samara1
I prefer wall mounted ones, ceiling ones I feel locks you into the size and the fitting that is used. They can be replaced but "wiggles hands" over how hard it could be. I also prefer the sound that a wall mounted box has over a ceiling speaker. Just remember big does not mean better for speakers. Thats another huge discussion on how the way they are built changes the sound 🙂 I have never done it but know there are a few of us in here that have the skills 🙂 It certainly would be an interesting project.
I believe ceiling speakers completes the setup as it provides an extra dimension to the sound. Again, it all depends on the system that you purchase. I suggest doing a bit of window shopping and see what systems are capable of doing what you want.
My best advice is to bring the dimensions of your room so that the media specialists can make recommendations based on your room size.
media room will be bulkhead with LED strips
could i still install the ceiling speaker under bulkhead or directly under ceiling 🙂
If there is enough space in your ceiling, I propose installing it there, but there should be no reason you can't install it in your bulkhead. I suggest asking your builder if installing speakers in the ceiling is possible.
@EricL @Dave-1 @Prof @Jewelleryrescue @MitchellMc
1) Do i need to run the conduit to pass the speaker cables between Amplifier and all speakers?
especially for adding / removing cables easier in the future
otherwise the builder will do default way by stapling the wires to timber studs.
2) any outlet covers to cut out access holes for cables coming out of Gyprock to speakers?
kindly advise
Running conduit would certainly make adding and removing cabling easier.
You could install these Taskmaster 60mm White Cable Duct covers where the speakers are, which would be a neat port for the wall.
