Selecting the Correct Wire
The first step is knowing
what type of wire to install for home theater A/V components you currently have
and may need for future upgrades. A professionally pre-wired home theater
should always be ready for upgrades. Having said that, it is virtually
impossible to future proof your pre-wired room. However, you can make future
upgrades much easier with proper planning. There are two types of pre-wire
installations: new construction and retro fit custom installation (homes that
are already built). Regardless of the installation type, the wire used and
installation methods are similar. All wire that is to be installed in the wall
should be rated for in wall installation and comply with the National
Electrical Code (NEC). Speaker wire approved for in wall installation will
typically be stamped with the designation UL approved CL2 or CL3.
In wall speaker wire is available
in many gauges both shielded and un-shielded. For high performance home theater
installations and longer runs you should consider 14 AWG or 12 AWG two conductor
for each speaker in the system. Another alternative is to use 16 AWG-4 conductor
(16-4) and double up the conductors making a pair; then, homes run the wire to
each speaker. Many “audiophiles” scoff at the idea of doubling up conductors
for a wire run but sonically I have never heard a difference between two
conductor 12 AWG and 16-4 doubled up. The benefit of using 16-4 is that it is
easier to pull and will provide you with a back up conductor in the unlikely
event that one fails. Generally, I like to run shielded in-wall speaker wire;
however, if you are meticulous in your installation shielded wire may not be
necessary. Multi-room or zoned pre-wire installations don’t really need large
conductor wire because they are normally used with volume controls (VC’s) at
lower listening levels. The use of 16 AWG is fine for these types of
installations up to about 50ft. Most often, purchasing in-wall speaker wire in
bulk is the most cost effective. When you measure distances for speaker wire
runs add about 30%-50% to your distance total or purchase a 250ft of 500ft
spool. The additional wire is needed: I will explain why later in the article.
RG6 Quad shield (RG6-QS) coax is a multi-purpose wire. This wire can be used for subwoofer interconnects, component video cables, digital interconnects, analog interconnects, and satellite/cable distribution. The best way to purchase RG6-QS is on a 250ft or 500ft bulk spool. The wire is un-terminated and you must have the proper tools for correct high performance terminations.
RG6-QS can be terminated in a variety of ways. “F” and RCA style connections are the most popular for home theater applications.
Many novice installers may be intimidated by the process of terminating their own cables. If this is the case, many manufacturers offer quality pre-terminated cables. Impact Acoustics, www.impactacoustics.com, and Blue Jeans cable, www.bluejeanscable.com, sell high quality, affordable cables direct to the consumer.
Now and for the foreseeable future, High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is rapidly becoming the cable of choice for high end home theater installations. Many manufacturers are quickly adopting the HDMI connection and are producing receivers, DVD players, HDTV’s, and front projectors with this input connection. Care must be taken when purchasing HDMI cables; long runs can create problems. I have tested the 35ft Blue Jeans Series-2 HDMI cable and the 15 meter Impact Acoustics Sonicwave HDMI cable at resolutions of 720p and detected no signal degradation. Of course, there are many fine HDMI cable manufacturers. Gauge and shielding should be a high priority when selecting the cable. If it goes in the wall or in the ceiling it must meet NEC standards.
Impact Acoustics Sonicwave Blue Jeans Cable Series-2
Category 5 (CAT-5) is often used in structured wiring, phone, computer multi-room control systems, and home automation systems. CAT-5 can also be used in home theater applications for remote control and as a trigger cable for operation of electric screens and other accessories. Cat-5 wire is generally generic and can be purchased in either shielded or unshielded 250ft and 500ft spools.
A Final Word about Wire Selection
There is much hype and marketing BS in the wire world. The simple fact is that the audio/ video wire market is big business with many boutique manufacturers competing for your hard earned cash. When you see that fancy package with slick marketing slogans you are essentially paying more for some thing that will end up in the recycle bin. Shielding, termination, flexibility, and construction are the most important traits to look for in a cable. Below you see two examples of analog interconnects. Can you tell me which one you think sounds better?
Impact Acoustics 6ft Sonicwave $43.99pr Ultralink 2meter Ultra Mk II $200pr
It must be the one with the fancy braided cover and the slick logo with directional indicators, right? If you can hear a sonic difference between these two cables with moderately priced equipment, then make room in your closet for that superman outfit! Cables should not sound like anything; their job is to transmit signal from one source to another without coloring the sound. Try not to get caught up in hype! Then you can spend your home theater dollars on something of greater importance.
Recent Forum Posts:
searched forum and think this probably as good a thread as any to ask some questions about something i'm trying to accomplish. my house was wired when built in '97' running RG-6 from different originating points for both SAT and cable and terminating in livingroom. RG-6 was then run throughout for distribution to different areas of house including an outside pool area.
i recently installed outdoor antenae for OTA HD reception and use the pool area RG-6 to bring HD signal to the reciever. but now i can't watch TV by pool because i use that line to bring HD signal in. I can either watch HD inside or TV outside. when i want to watch TVoutside i have to disconnect and reconnect a bunch of wires which is a pain.
i don't want run a seperate dedicated wire (bust out walls) from antenae unless absolutely necessary. here's my question. is a device (or other solution) which would allow OTA HD signal to be carried into the house and SAT signal out to pool TV simultaneously using the same RG-6? in other words can RG-6 be used to send seperate signal simultaneously and in opposing directions (like fiber optic)? thx.
I know it really doesn't matter but I don't like the idea of having wires that are unuseable hanging out inside the walls and attic.
This is a very common scenario when builders use so called "low voltage specialists" to install complex wiring in today’s multi-media homes. I get many calls a year from frustrated home owners complaining about wire that was installed in correctly, wire in the wrong locations or the wrong wire installed. Unfortunately once the sheet rock goes up its hard to fix mistakes. All wiring should be tested before sheetrock is installed. Cat 5 wiring if fairly delicate because it is high gauge and is a solid core, even introducing a sharp 90-degree bend in the cable can break a conductor. If you have just one or two conductors that are dead in the CAT-5 wire the other conductors can still be used for audio transmission, video transmission up to 75- feet if shielded or trigger wire. If you read the article it will guide you through the wire install process. Installation of conduit in the stud bay is very cheap insurance, but many builders will scoff at this idea because they haven’t a clue about pre-wire.
In the article, there is an outlet above where the projector will be mounted. Assuming that you don't want the projector plugged directly into the wall, will you be using some sort of surge protection on it? If so, how?
If you want to keep it clean then terminate the rack end side of the romex with a heavy duty grounded plug. This can get plugged directly into a rack mounted line conditioner or suppressor. Another alternative is to use something like the Furman AC-215 mounted in close proximity to the projector.
http://www.furmansound.com/product.php?div=01&id=AC-215_PRO [furmansound.com]
The reason I'm thinking that would be better is that in my house I had one CAT5 wire that was dead and the installers that were suffering in the hot attic told me that it was punctured by a staple. They pullled a new cable but could not get the old one out. I know it really doesn't matter but I don't like the idea of having wires that are unuseable hanging out inside the walls and attic.
