| HTINews Article - Apr98 - [HTI Home Page] |
Information Services Order Free Catalogs and Product Info [Click Message To Learn More] |
|
Doug
Moses is a Regional Systems Development Manager for a large Securities firm with 10 years
of experience in the Computer industry with Networking and Programming. One of Dougs
hobbies is Home Automation. |
This article is about my recent experience of hooking up surround sound
speakers to my Home Theater system. I am a high-tech sort of person that usually wants the
best that can be purchased in my toys. Just recently I purchased a set of surround sound
speakers for my entertainment system. They were Infinity brand. I had planned on
installing speakers about a year and a half ago when I had the house built so I ran
conduit in the walls to all of the places I thought I would need connections. I used 1
inch PVC conduit; not the best, but it was cheap. When I purchased my speakers, I wanted
to listen to them right away so I did a quick connect to my system with only 18 gauge 2
conductor clear jacket speaker wire that I had a spool of from years ago. To my
astonishment they sounded great! I had read many times that the grade of wire used for
speaker connections was important for sound quality. I am not an Audiophile so my ears
could not detect the subtle impurities that were probably being emitted. My dogs in the
back yard were not howling and my wife thought that they sounded great too, so I decided
to experiment and go cheap on the wire and use the 18 gauge 2 conductor clear jacket spool
of wire instead of buying better wire. The plan was, if they sounded bad, I would purchase
the good stuff and no harm would be done; just time lost. I know that this type of wire is
probably not UL rated and up to building codes but this was a scientific experiment and
that was the price for progress.
I began by mounted the
speakers, one on each corner of my living room walls, at the highest points in the room;
eight feet ceilings and then proceeded to run the wires. My first hurdle was feeding the
wires through the conduit. The clear jacket wire would get stuck about half way down the
pipe. I quickly found out why you need to used slick PVC jacket wire. I was persistent in
my efforts. I used a fishtape to force the wire through the conduit; not the best
solution, but it worked.
My next hurdle was time. The task of running the wires actually took about four days to
complete. I spent only a few hours a night on the project after getting home from work. I
had to work around ER, Chicago Hope, NYPD Blues, etc.; you know the important stuff!
Finally I was done. I put my favorite CD in the player to test the
speakers, Alanis Morissette's "Jagged Little Pill", and turned up the volume.
WOW they still sounded great!. The powered subwoofer was booming and the surround sound
speakers were taking the load. I then proceeded to test the system by watching several new
release movies. The surround sound worked great there too. I finally had a complete Home
Theater system. That weekend we had a party at the house and the speakers were the topic
of discussion. Everyone wanted to know how I made them sound so good. I told them it was
because I was highly skilled in home audio system designing; I guess they all saw right
through that lie.
A Final Note
Although the low-tech wiring worked well in this situation I am probably going to replace
the wire someday and do it right. I think the reason why they sounded so good was because
of the speakers themselves. If you are going to go cheap on a set of speakers you are
going to suffer the consequences of poor sound. The powered subwoofer is the most
important speaker in a system. I know this for a fact. When I turn off the subwoofer the
sound is still good but you can defiantly tell a difference in the effect.
Here is a good link I have found if you want to know the right way to install wire for an
Audio System. Hope this help in your efforts.
Whole House Audio Tutorial
