FAQ: Basic Home Theater Setup Guide -Hooking It Up

[bootman]

www.audioholics.com/tweaks/connecting-your-system/basic-home-theater-setup-guide

Some good basic info.

[hemster]

Thanks, this is very useful. Made it a sticky.

[tropicallutefisk]

Maybe I should be using the Dumb Question thread, but here it goes... After a few years of my home theater being relegated to a smaller, less ideal room, I am finally getting my large room back for my system. Long story, short answer as to why is that my wife and I used to rescue, rehab and foster large parrots like cockatoos and macaws. Now that we are no longer active in rescue, the remaining misfits staying with us permanently can be moved to the smaller room currently housing my system. Now to my question... I'll be doing a 5.1 set up for the time being. Is there a way to send a signal from my Marantz 8802a processor to the Magnepan rear speakers and avoid running speaker wire? Probably a long shot, but thought given the amount of expertise here, if there is an answer I'm likely to get it here.

[ttocs]

Jan 20, 2022 9:32:45 GMT -5 tropicallutefisk said:

Maybe I should be using the Dumb Question thread, but here it goes... After a few years of my home theater being relegated to a smaller, less ideal room, I am finally getting my large room back for my system. Long story, short answer as to why is that my wife and I used to rescue, rehab and foster large parrots like cockatoos and macaws. Now that we are no longer active in rescue, the remaining misfits staying with us permanently can be moved to the smaller room currently housing my system. Now to my question... I'll be doing a 5.1 set up for the time being. Is there a way to send a signal from my Marantz 8802a processor to the Magnepan rear speakers and avoid running speaker wire? Probably a long shot, but thought given the amount of expertise here, if there is an answer I'm likely to get it here.

There are wireless interconnect devices, transmitter/receiver pairs, to send the signal from preamp to amp wirelessly.

On Amazon search for: BIC America WTR-Sys Wireless Transmitter/Receiver Kit for Hookup of Wireless Subwoofers and Wireless Powered Speakers

About $100ish for stereo trans/rec pair. Don't know the quality, but it is wireless.

[tropicallutefisk]

ttocs. Thanks! I think that is exactly what I was looking for. I had no idea it could be this simple. Since these are just surround speakers and they will be no more than 16 feet away this should work well for my needs.

[KeithL]

There are a few devices out there that do exactly that.

(Other than our own V-Sub we haven't looked at any of them lately.)

One thing you really need to be aware of is exactly what's going on when you use one.

Basically...

Assuming it has analog inputs and outputs...

- the signal is being converted from analog to digital

- sent over the air using some protocol (which may be lossless or lossy)

- the signal is then converted back into analog at the receiving end

This means that the audio signal coming from your preamp or processor is going through two additional stages of digital / analog conversion.

And, rather than listening to the DACs in your processor or preamp, you are now listening to the DACs in the device.

Therefore there is one more set of devices in the signal change which may potentially serve as a "bottleneck" on the audio quality.

This is not specifically a bad thing...

And, especially with things like subwoofers and surrounds, the exact audio characteristics of the DACs aren't exactly a major issue.

And the tiny bit of delay that such devices inevitably introduce will also probably not be an issue.

But just bear in mind that your audio signal will be going through more active components which can potentially have a major effect on audio quality.

Also remember that, at least so far, there's no such thing as a good totally wireless speaker...

So, in effect, you're trading not having to run speaker wires with having to provide AC power to run an amplifier or powered speakers.

This is fine if you're going to another room... where you plan to put another amplifier... but doesn't help much if you were hoping to avoid running wires to heights and surrounds.

(And, in the context of heights and surrounds, you're trading the need to run ordinary speaker cables, for running AC power cables, which then need to meet electrical code...)

Jan 20, 2022 10:15:49 GMT -5 ttocs said:

Jan 20, 2022 9:32:45 GMT -5 tropicallutefisk said:

Maybe I should be using the Dumb Question thread, but here it goes... After a few years of my home theater being relegated to a smaller, less ideal room, I am finally getting my large room back for my system. Long story, short answer as to why is that my wife and I used to rescue, rehab and foster large parrots like cockatoos and macaws. Now that we are no longer active in rescue, the remaining misfits staying with us permanently can be moved to the smaller room currently housing my system. Now to my question... I'll be doing a 5.1 set up for the time being. Is there a way to send a signal from my Marantz 8802a processor to the Magnepan rear speakers and avoid running speaker wire? Probably a long shot, but thought given the amount of expertise here, if there is an answer I'm likely to get it here.

There are wireless interconnect devices, transmitter/receiver pairs, to send the signal from preamp to amp wirelessly.

On Amazon search for: BIC America WTR-Sys Wireless Transmitter/Receiver Kit for Hookup of Wireless Subwoofers and Wireless Powered Speakers

About $100ish for stereo trans/rec pair. Don't know the quality, but it is wireless.

[tropicallutefisk]

Jan 20, 2022 10:57:10 GMT -5 KeithL said:

There are a few devices out there that do exactly that.

(Other than our own V-Sub we haven't looked at any of them lately.)

One thing you really need to be aware of is exactly what's going on when you use one.

Basically...

Assuming it has analog inputs and outputs...

- the signal is being converted from analog to digital

- sent over the air using some protocol (which may be lossless or lossy)

- the signal is then converted back into analog at the receiving end

This means that the audio signal coming from your preamp or processor is going through two additional stages of digital / analog conversion.

And, rather than listening to the DACs in your processor or preamp, you are now listening to the DACs in the device.

Therefore there is one more set of devices in the signal change which may potentially serve as a "bottleneck" on the audio quality.

This is not specifically a bad thing...

And, especially with things like subwoofers and surrounds, the exact audio characteristics of the DACs aren't exactly a major issue.

And the tiny bit of delay that such devices inevitably introduce will also probably not be an issue.

But just bear in mind that your audio signal will be going through more active components which can potentially have a major effect on audio quality.

Also remember that, at least so far, there's no such thing as a good totally wireless speaker...

So, in effect, you're trading not having to run speaker wires with having to provide AC power to run an amplifier or powered speakers.

This is fine if you're going to another room... where you plan to put another amplifier... but doesn't help much if you were hoping to avoid running wires to heights and surrounds.

(And, in the context of heights and surrounds, you're trading the need to run ordinary speaker cables, for running AC power cables, which then need to meet electrical code...)

Jan 20, 2022 10:15:49 GMT -5 ttocs said:

There are wireless interconnect devices, transmitter/receiver pairs, to send the signal from preamp to amp wirelessly.

On Amazon search for: BIC America WTR-Sys Wireless Transmitter/Receiver Kit for Hookup of Wireless Subwoofers and Wireless Powered Speakers

About $100ish for stereo trans/rec pair. Don't know the quality, but it is wireless.

I have an amplifier and outlet available. Its just a matter of getting the signal to the amp. I can put up with a bit of degradation of sound quality if I can avoid running wires through the attic. The room has a vaulted ceiling which squeezes the open space in the attic. Plus the wall behind where the TV and remaining audio equipment is going stops two feet from the ceiling. This means I would have to drop the wires and find a way to cover them up then drop into the wall. Thanks for the great info Keith.