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Re: An epic man-cave, requiring epic speakers
soadnathan #355555 09/26/11 09:00 PM
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I bought my wire from monoprice.com
GREAT cables/wiring for GREAT prices.

Some will say that you need to run 12ga wire, but 14ga is plenty for what your space is.

Also, many people are just as happy buying wire from their local home improvement store. Simple "lamp wire" is fine, but you should look for oxygen free, in my opinion, to reduce discoloring of the wires.

I went with in-wall rated, but you don't need to.
MonoPrice Speaker Wires

Of course, Axiom sells speaker wire! They are pretty spiffy too...
Axiom Speaker Wire


Farewell - June 4, 2020
Re: An epic man-cave, requiring epic speakers
soadnathan #355556 09/26/11 09:06 PM
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Epic win.

Just get 12-gauge stranded copper from Monoprice (or someplace local if you can). Copper is copper. If you need interconnects (HDMI, etc) get those at Monoprice, too.

I'd also get some banana plugs from Monoprice. While bare wire is acoustically just fine, trying to tighten down the nuts on the back of the receiver onto bare wire can be pretty frustrating. I use banana plugs at the receiver end and (mostly) bare wire at the speaker end. You can use plugs there, too, of course but it won't make anything sound better.

Edit: Dammit! Nick beat me to it.


bibere usque ad hilaritatem
Re: An epic man-cave, requiring epic speakers
soadnathan #355557 09/26/11 09:10 PM
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Oh, and the projector is pretty nice. A 2010 Editor's Choice at ProjectorCentral.com and real nice for $1300...

The Onkyo is probably more than you "need", but I too like to buy more than I need for receivers too since they can be so easily outdated and that extra cash now should yield a couple of additional years of enjoyment before wanting (or needing) to update later. Plus, it has Audyssey MultEQ XT....

The speaker choices I love, obviously, since that is what I've had for a while now. You will be very happy with that setup.


Farewell - June 4, 2020
Re: An epic man-cave, requiring epic speakers
nickbuol #355558 09/26/11 09:19 PM
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Tom, nice catch on the banana plugs. I was anti-banana for a number of years, but once I bought some, I decided that I would never NOT have banana plugs unless there was some odd limitation (like the plugs I have not working with the "V2" QS8s... The current QS8s have the built in wall bracket/wire connector thingy, so banana plugs for all speaker (not sub) wires coming to the receiver, plus banana plugs for the front 3 speakers (again, QS8s won't need them).

Depending on how much wire you need (you always need more than you think once you snake it around the room), 12ga is only $10 more than 14ga if you buy 300 feet of it.

I bought 450 feet for my 7.2 setup so that I have plenty. My longest run is right at 40 feet from wall plate to wall plate. Add a couple of feet for "patch" wires between the wall plates and the speakers, and the wall plate and the receiver and it adds up. (I also needed some wire for bass shakers and other things too.)


Farewell - June 4, 2020
Re: An epic man-cave, requiring epic speakers
soadnathan #355570 09/27/11 02:05 AM
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Nathan, I do have one suggestion for the excellent setup you'll be getting: since you'll be using a screen with a significant amount of clear space beneath it, a better choice for the center would be a vertical M22(they're sold singly), as Tom mentioned previously. This should give a wider and smoother horizontal dispersion. If you're ready to buy now, note that a price increase occurs on Oct. 1st.

As to speaker wire, an excellent explanation by a veteran audio professional found here should be studied to help you avoid some of the high-priced "magic wire" nonsense which pollutes the audio scene. As mentioned, regular electrical wire from local sources such as Home Depot or Lowes, or a low-cost online source such as MonoPrice does this very simple function as well as it can be done.


-----------------------------------

Enjoy the music, not the equipment.


Re: An epic man-cave, requiring epic speakers
JohnK #355595 09/27/11 12:05 PM
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"A fanatic is someone who can't change his mind and won't change the subject" Churchill
Re: An epic man-cave, requiring epic speakers
Argon #355617 09/27/11 04:17 PM
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I remember those getting good reviews YEARS ago. I've stuck with the Monoprice and/or PE ones, which seem to be of good quality and are often even less expensive.


bibere usque ad hilaritatem
Re: An epic man-cave, requiring epic speakers
tomtuttle #355618 09/27/11 04:19 PM
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Yeah, but the GLS ones "look" cool.


"A fanatic is someone who can't change his mind and won't change the subject" Churchill
Re: An epic man-cave, requiring epic speakers
JohnK #355624 09/27/11 05:05 PM
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Originally Posted By: JohnK
Nathan, I do have one suggestion for the excellent setup you'll be getting: since you'll be using a screen with a significant amount of clear space beneath it, a better choice for the center would be a vertical M22(they're sold singly), as Tom mentioned previously. This should give a wider and smoother horizontal dispersion. If you're ready to buy now, note that a price increase occurs on Oct. 1st.


Wow, I've heard too many people swear up and down that the VP180 was the only way to go for a center. Even with the 150 though, wouldn't the extra tweeter and 2 woofers be nice for a media experience? I was under the impression that the bookshelfs were the way to go for a center if music-listening was going to be the primary use?

Also, does the price increase affect all items? How significant of a price increase is it?

Re: An epic man-cave, requiring epic speakers
soadnathan #355633 09/27/11 07:22 PM
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Nathan, regarding the center channel - the best SQ option is to have 3 identical LCR speakers. In your case that would be 3 M60's. However most people cannot accommodate a large vertical center like that, so we have horizontal centers which most people can fit. While I have no doubts that the VP180 is an awesome center channel beast from all reports, the best matching option is still 3 identical speakers across the front.

If I could do 3 M80's across the front vs. L&R M80's with VP180 center, i would go 3 M80's. Again that's just not possible for most people thus the development of the VP180 and now the soon to be VP160.

IMO I would absolutely go with a vertical M22 or VP180 before going with the VP150. I have a VP150 unused right now after I discovered for my setup in my room an M2 outperformed my VP150.

Hope that helps.


Dan
On-Wall M5HP LCR, QS8 & EP500 in 7.1
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