Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions Missing connectors

Greetings all. I recently had a house built and decided to have the builder run my subwoofer and rear speaker wires through the walls. The only problems with that is I don't have a subwoofer (RCA) plug on the one end of my line and have no idea what to buy to make it operational. Also the speaker wires they ran don't look like other speaker wire I am accustomed to as it looks as both the positive and negative run through the same sheath. I will try to get some pics today to post. Do you all know what I need to do? I was hoping I would have banana plugs in the walls instead i have loose wires. I do have a subwoofer jack where the sub will be so that one end is taken care of.

When you say "positive and negative run through the same sheath" do you mean something like this ?

Any RCA type connector will do for the end of the subwoofer cable. Just get one that looks like it will be easy to add the wire into solidly.

For the wire coming out of the walls, I used wall plates similar to these. Both Parts Express and Monoprice have a big selection to browse through. This one is a bit more pricey but there are cheaper versions of the same. it will accept both banana plugs and bare wire.
I used something similar to this where they all meet the source.

As per Doormat, I'm guessing that the wire you speak of is 'in-wall' speaker wire. Meaning that both the positive and the negative wires are encased in an outer sheathing to meet some areas building code specifications for anything running through a wall. The sheathing has no effect on sound quality and you can treat it the same as traditional looking speaker cable.

Well, Murph, I think I may just have learned how to post photos. Thanks!

No prob. Had some time to kill while I ate my lunch.

@Murfph@Doormat

Yes thats what it looked like. i went back to the house tonight and got a better look. The speaker wire is actually back about 12-14 inches from where the outer cover extended so I couldn't see it.

I know that overpriced speaker wire is a complete joke but what about a connector? Does it follow the same premise that cheap is as good as expensive?

Yep; as long as the connection fits snugly but not too snugly(which cost doesn't control)it does the very simple job that it's designed for.

And as long as the connector isn't made out of something that will oxidize or corrode, but most are gold plated so this shouldn't be an issue.

I really like Axiom's banana plugs and many like the locking banana plugs from from BlueJeans cable.

For home audio a cheap connector that fits too tight is not that big of deal as you do not disconnect them that often. For Pro Audio having a better built cable that employes a well engineered connector like those used from Blue Jeans cable can make a difference for longevity of your equipments connections and the cable itself.

Great point about the issue if reconnecting constantly was an issue. is their any tips as to how far to strip down the subwoofer cable?

Simple coax cable with RCA ends (I make my own sub cables as required this way) is all that is required for a sub cable.

If it's coax, spending a few bucks on a tool like this can save a lot oh headaches considering you have to get both the distance to strip the exposed core and the metal inner sheathing just right. And also, you can't just cut off the metal sheathing as it is used as the return wire.

A tool like this gets it right just about every time. Insert the end, press down and twist. Done.

I have one of them at home, handy tool.

where do you get this tool?

Most home improvement stores should have something like this in the electrical dept aisle. (Home Depot, Lowes, Menards, etc.)

And while you are at HD or Lowes or.... look for the tools and terminals to attach your own coax. I use this tool and these F terminals and these RCAs