I recently purchased the following:
Harman Kardon AVR-525
Harman Kardon DVD-25
Axiom M22ti(front left and right)
Axiom VP150 (Center)
Axiom QS8 (left and right surround)
HSU-VTF-2 (subwoofer)
Samsung 27" Dynamaic Flat (with component inputs)


I need some advice on cables. This is my first home theater system and I'm sure connecting everything will be fun, yet challenging for a newbie. I would guess that the Axiom speakers will not come with cables to connect to my receiver. Based on the information I have provided can anyone help me select what I will need? Are axiom speakers color coded for easy wiring? Instead of buying every wire individually, do companies offer a package that includes everything I will need? Can you recommend an online retailer that is reasonably priced?

Sorry to bombard you with questions. I am completely lost...


Regards,
Shameer

I often use PartsExpress.com for cables and other things. They have a ton of choices, but FYI, I currently use their Sound King 12-gauge speaker wire and some inexpensive AR Solutions interconnects. Their prices are in fact better than my local Home Depot and RadioShack.

Yep...what Sushi said. If you hang around here long enough you'll find that Sushi seems to know everything. He's our resident genius.

Sushi..when you go to your webpage(maybe on another forum) and look at your entertainment center you have some speakers mounted on the wall and I believe you recommended some wire molding available at Home Depot..what kind of speaker mounts did you use and is my memory correct about the wire molding...you did an excellent job of mounting everything...btw, I am mounting the Axiom 3Mti's...FishIsland

Sushi has QS8s and I believe he mounted them with the included brackets. The M3tis don't come with brackets, but lucky for you, Axiom does sell a very nice bracket. It's called the Full Metal Bracket.

For some reason, I can't find the link for it, though.

Ok, you'll need something to get the signal from the DVD player to the receiver, then from the receiver to the TV and the speakers.

Therefore, you'll need
1. Component video cables - 2 sets, usually color coded Red, Green, Blue-one from the DVD to the receiver, one from the receiver to the TV. Go with ones sold and labeled as component video, but don't go crazy.

2. Coax or Toslink digital cable-1 (from DVD to receiver). Your choice, both components support both formats. Supposedly, coax is slightly better, but I don't really buy that.

3. Subwoofer cable - ye old standard RCA-RCA cable. Longish, probably. 1 from the reciever's sub pre-out into the corresponding port on the sub.

4. See other posts for the speaker cable. Nothing special there.

5. You may want to look into the remote control ports on the DVD player and receiver. I don't know what they do, but it could be cool.

I wouldn't buy the package items. They could be lower quality, and they probably will cost more. The Axioms have red binding posts and black binding posts. The reciever's binding posts are color coded according to some standard or other, but the constant color (black or white, I don't remember which it is) goes to the black connection on the speaker, while the other color goes to the red connection. If you get it backwards, don't worry; the speaker will not explode; it just will sound weak.

Ken

I too have the QS8s for surround and the M2i for the back channel. All of them are mounted with Axiom's Full Metal Brackets. They require 5 #8-5/8 wood screws to attach the bracket to the speaker. I spoke with Eric? at Axiom and he stated that at some point Axiom would provide studs built into the back of the speaker...
I also bought some dry wall anchors from Home Desperate, they are rated at 148 lbs. The Full Metal Brackets have only two holes for attachment, so I felt the need to buy the highest rated anchors.
That said...I would have used the brackets that shipped with the speakers, but because of doors moulding, and corners the Brackets were the best choice.
I did pre drill 3/8 deep holes in the back of the speakers, and the whole thing works very well.

I used Cable Hiders from Slowe's. They are plascic and have peel off tape on the back for easy install. The one inch model will hold just 2 12 gauge wires. For 6.1 or 7.1 I would suggest the 1.5 inch Cable Hider.

Wire: I used 12awg wire from Slowe's and NXG cables from BestPriceAudioVideo.com A one meter digital coax cable with RCA plugs is $3US.

I do have a set of 2m $90US Monster Video 3 component cables and a set of 2m $14US NGX component cables, which I have done an A/B compairison with using 2 Toshiba SD4800s. IMHO there was no differance...None

Because the remote that comes with the HK 525 is weak...You might consider the Home Theater Master MX-500 universal remote control. $104US at surfremotecontrol.com Very easy to program and it has all of the macros you could think of. It controls all of my equipment. I could not be happier...

Fish,

Peter seems to know about my system better than me. Yes, I used the included "T" brackets to mount my QS8's directly into wall studs (say electronic stud finder ten times now). For hiding wires, I used the Cordmate II on-wall raceways that I got at the Home Depot.

Electronic Stud Finder. Electronic suds finder. Bubonic mud blinder. Elastomeric bud binder. Imaginary crud winder. oh screw it...

How about using a well-trained mouse to run speaker wires through the walls for you? As I'm sure you know, rodents are pretty intelligent and highly trainable.