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Posted By: SirQuack Advice for a buddy. - 08/03/06 02:34 AM
Ok, I've got a friend that just had a new house built. I told him up front things to think about before the finishing work is done. For example, I told him it is a good idea to prerun wires for surrounds. Did he listen, no, now he is mad at himself. His current system is upstairs in the family room as the future basement HT area is now taken up by kids toys. Eventualy, he plans to make use of the basement, and hopefully get Axioms.

Upstairs he has no easy way to run wiring for 5.1 surrounds. He was asking me about wireless speakers. I really don't know if there are any halfway decent wirless speakers out there. We also found some speakers Radio Shack sells that use your existing house wiring.

For this system he is not totally concerned about audiophile performance, he just wants a little surround experience.

So, anyone have any input on decent wireless speakers he can use with his AVR. Or, how about these speakers that use the wiring in the house. My only concern is interference with items like refrigerators causing static in the line, for example...

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index....rentPage=search
Posted By: bridgman Re: Advice for a buddy. - 08/03/06 02:31 PM
Why not just use surface mount wire channels or pop off baseboards and hide the wires there ? We're just talking two speakers, right ?

I can't imagine that wireless speakers are ever going to deliver the same cost/performance as wired ones, if only because of all the duplicated electronics.
Posted By: SirQuack Re: Advice for a buddy. - 08/03/06 02:44 PM
Thanks John,

Believe me, I've offered those options. This is a new house construction. Currently his TV and L/R/C speakers are up on a mantel above the gas log fireplace, which is in one corner of the room. The couch sits diagonally in the opposite corner. The two walls to the left of the fireplace are open to the kitchen area.

He would have to run wires down the wall, or up the wall and across the ceiling or clear around the room, which he thinks would look ugly for the new house. I mentioned they make surface raceways that are paintable, or he could hide the wiring behind trim work, for example....

Oh well, only time will tell...
Posted By: tomtuttle Re: Advice for a buddy. - 08/03/06 06:59 PM
Seems to me like you tried to help him in the first place. I think he's beyond "help" at this point; I doubt you could find a solution that fits his criteria.

How about one of those Yamaha sound projectors? I know they typically perform best in rectangular spaces, but if you could test-drive one, that would be a legitimate way to get hi-fi without all the wiring.
Posted By: bridgman Re: Advice for a buddy. - 08/03/06 07:12 PM
I'm getting a bit confused. It is a "recently built" house which he is living in now, right ? So, other than "they don't make 'em like they used to" it's just a house, right ?

Is there any reason why he doesn't want to just fish wires through the walls ? I know metal studs make this much more exciting but it *is* low voltage after all...

Having said all that, I guess we're not talking state of the art HT here if the TV is over the fireplace.

I would be looking at wireless speakers which could be used out on the patio or something later, probably something where the transmitter took speaker-level inputs for simplicity, and not sweat the details too much.

Alternatively, (a) Panasonic, I think, made a nice little wireless HT system which is probably being cleared out now, and (b) something like the X10 SoundPower would let him buy "real" surrounds now and use them wirelessly. It includes a power amp on the receiving end so you just plug in regular speakers, but that assumes you can run a cable between the surrounds.

Are you pretty sure "buddy" has AC outlets in the right place to power the speakers ?

If you want a smile, a guy I knew some years ago decided wireless speakers were the way to go. He spent a couple of months picking the right brand and getting the best price, brought them home...

... and realized he didn't have AC power in the right place either. Ended up paying an electrician to pull wires to the right places SO HE COULD PLUG IN HIS WIRELESS SPEAKERS.

Life is funny some times.
Posted By: dllewel Re: Advice for a buddy. - 08/03/06 07:33 PM
Quote:

... and realized he didn't have AC power in the right place either. Ended up paying an electrician to pull wires to the right places SO HE COULD PLUG IN HIS WIRELESS SPEAKERS.

Life is funny some times.





Posted By: mrnomas Re: Advice for a buddy. - 08/03/06 07:52 PM
Quote:

Ended up paying an electrician to pull wires to the right places SO HE COULD PLUG IN HIS WIRELESS SPEAKERS.




Now that is what I call karma
Posted By: SirQuack Re: Advice for a buddy. - 08/03/06 11:46 PM
I am confusing.

A lot of these new homes put the darn fireplace in the corner, and leave a corner ledge above that for a tv. In his situation, the only AC outlet near the fireplace is to the left side, this is where he has his small audio rack. To the left of that is all wide open with stairs and entrance to the kitchen area. So, if he was to run speaker wire to the rear of the room, he would have to run it over the top of the fireplace mantel, down the otherside and then behind the molding. He does not want wires dangling everywhere. Ken, I did tell him about that yamaha unit.

Today, he told me he was an IPOD lover, so he may get something like this:



http://www.brookstone.com/shop/product.a...CFRBjDgodBHHYQw
Posted By: tomtuttle Re: Advice for a buddy. - 08/04/06 12:03 AM
What I hear you saying is that I need to change my avatar.
Posted By: SirQuack Re: Advice for a buddy. - 08/04/06 12:19 AM
Not a bad idea.
Posted By: mrnomas Re: Advice for a buddy. - 08/04/06 12:53 AM
Or maybe you can get him this.
Posted By: biggsly5000 Re: Advice for a buddy. - 08/04/06 08:16 PM
Sounds like my room is very similar to his. Time to get a rug and some flat speaker wire and some speaker stands for the surrounds. Damn corner fireplaces, I hate it. Stupid useless gas fireplace. I thought about ripping the bastard out so I could put my sub there but the wifey was not too keen on that idea.

You can see the 2 surround sound speaker cables running from under the entertainment center to the edge of the rug, but I think its the easiest way to get set up quickly.
Posted By: SirQuack Re: Advice for a buddy. - 08/04/06 08:42 PM
Thanks Ronno,

Yep, sounds very similar to your place. He is wondering how hard it would be to fish some of the wire under the carpet. We would just have to pull up the areas near the walls, maybe remove the furniture, and see if it would be possible. I know carpet is stretched, it may be a no go.
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