Jace
Minor Hero
Posts: 19 
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Post by Jace on Mar 22, 2016 23:19:33 GMT -5
I apologize if this topic has showed up somewhere else, if it has I was unable to locate it. I do know this topic is highly subjective along with being in the eye of the beholder. This is my first HT system and all components with the exception of wires/cable have been ordered, with some being received already, and are as follows:
XMC-1
XPA-5
OPPO 105D
Focal 726V (Mains)
Focal 705V (Surrounds)
Klipsch RP-440C (Center)
And now to the reason for this post....I was pretty set on going with Audioquest cables all around. Until I was shopping for a pair of 50' Type 4's for my surrounds. At $500/pr for a 'no frill' set, I put the credit card away and began thinking. Is this worth it? Is there another brand/manufacturer out there the is comparable or much more 'reasonable'? Is a wire, just that, a wire? This is where I rely on the highly experienced Emotiva family to help me understand and shed some light on my curiosity. I do apologize if this is posted in the wrong location within this community. I do look forward to your responses, and thank you.
-Jace
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Post by JKCashin on Mar 22, 2016 23:34:25 GMT -5
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guitarforlife
Sensei
Just another busy day in Northern Wisconsin.
Posts: 947
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Post by guitarforlife on Mar 22, 2016 23:54:09 GMT -5
Made my own with banana plugs fro Parts express And good old speaker wire. Have had this type for 40 years works great sounds great cost around 12 bucks. To each his own.  |
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Post by repeetavx on Mar 23, 2016 0:17:00 GMT -5
+1 for Blue Jeans Speaker Cables. The most important thing about speaker cables is that they have to have the least amount of resistance possible. That's why a thicker speaker cable is more desirable than a skinny one. Another place you have to watch out for is resistance between the wire and the terminals. Whether it is the spade/banana plug or the binding post. Blue Jeans cables sonically weld their wire to their banana or spade connectors guaranteeing the lowest possible resistance in the connection. They would be perfect for those long runs. I have a pair that replaced a pair of these and don't hear much difference. |
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Post by stsandhu on Mar 23, 2016 0:35:42 GMT -5
Get the cheapest 12-14 AWG cables that you can find. Nobody can hear the difference. Monoprice is much cheaper than Blue Jeans.
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Post by gus4emo on Mar 23, 2016 6:57:50 GMT -5
Get the cheapest 12-14 AWG cables that you can find. Nobody can hear the difference. Monoprice is much cheaper than Blue Jeans. Agreed, over a year ago I got 300 ft 12 gauge spool monoprice from Amazon, did all 9 speakers plus the NHT sub (since the amp is outboard), also the left and right channels was X 2 because I use an Adcom switch to switch speaker pairs for movies and music, the 4 surround speakers were 33 feet each, everything is perfect..... |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2016 7:02:35 GMT -5
Save lots of money and spend it where it makes a real sound difference. No sound difference with expensive wires and cables, regardless of all the sales and marketing BS. Cables, speaker wire, extended warranties, are some of the many ways dealers make much higher profit margins. Use bulk speaker wire or lamp cord/zip cord from Home Depot, etc. The lengths do not have to be the same for L&R, etc. You will most likely have fairly short distances so 18ga should be sufficient. 16ga max. It is nice to have the banana plugs for convenience and you can find cheap but good ones online, I can't remember the dealer but I think Parts Express is fine. Look at Monoprice (online direct) for very good cables, wire, banana plugs and products at near wholesale prices, very low. They ship very fast and if you have any problems their customer service is outstanding. You have chosen a great pr-pro, amp and Blu-Ray player, excellent choices! Where is the sub? Do not skimp on the sub! Place that $500/ plus you will not waste on the cables/wire toward a sub. Go online direct only and look at HSU, Outlaw Audio, Power Sound Audio, Rythmik or SVS. They are all excellent and you will save lots of money over a similar quality sub at a local dealer. Expect to pay from about $650 at the lowest to about $1500 for an excellent sub. One more question, I wonder why you didn't buy the center speaker that matches the 726V L&R. The Focal Chorus CC 700 V is the center that matches the 726V. These two speakers have the same exact tweeter and midbass (and other similar specs) for excellent smoothness sound blending across the LCR front soundstage. No offense, but IMO the Klipsch RP-440C is a big mismatch for your Focal mains. It has a much higher sensitivity rating and the sound characteristics will likely be much different. We argue all the time here about having matched center speakers or not. There is much more that comes from the center than dialog. I'm guessing someone convinced you that you need a big loud center. The center should blend seamlessly with the L&R and not noticeably louder. If one has trouble understanding the dialog it is usually not the speaker but poor soundtrack mixing or you have the center speaker poorly placed. I know you don't want to hear this but it is my honest opinion for an otherwise outstanding system so far (besides needing a sub). If possible, my advice is to return or sell the Klipsch and get the Focal center speaker. All the best with your system.  |
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Post by gus4emo on Mar 23, 2016 10:03:01 GMT -5
Banana plugs? I tried Insignia from BestBuy, very good, also Amazon has Deadbolt banana plugs, they are amazing....
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Jace
Minor Hero
Posts: 19
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Post by Jace on Mar 23, 2016 10:05:20 GMT -5
Thank you everyone for the responses so far. I wanted to go ahead and reply to Chuckienut. As far as the center channel goes...I had chose it due to its physical size as I needed to be able to set my 60" Sharp Aquos on it. I have not purchased the Klipsch as of yet. I would prefer to use the Focal center speaker but just not sure as to how it would hold the TV. Directly under the TV is my only location option. I am at the office now so I can't measure the base exactly, but if memory serves me correctly I believe it is about 23" x 16".
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Post by vneal on Mar 23, 2016 10:05:58 GMT -5
KIMBER KABLE
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Post by Jim on Mar 23, 2016 10:07:33 GMT -5
+1 for Blue Jeans Speaker Cables. The most important thing about speaker cables is that they have to have the least amount of resistance possible. That's why a thicker speaker cable is more desirable than a skinny one. Another place you have to watch out for is resistance between the wire and the terminals. Whether it is the spade/banana plug or the binding post. Blue Jeans cables sonically weld their wire to their banana or spade connectors guaranteeing the lowest possible resistance in the connection. They would be perfect for those long runs. I have a pair that replaced a pair of these and don't hear much difference. Another vote for Blue Jeans Cables. They're good stuff. |
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Post by audiogeek on Mar 23, 2016 10:57:38 GMT -5
Jace, if you need something to support your tv just build s simple rectangular box and slide the center into that. The center match is way too important to compromise there, imo. Good luck!
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Post by frenchyfranky on Mar 23, 2016 11:02:17 GMT -5
Save money on cable, any heavy gauge good quality ofc in-wall type speaker cable like monoprice will do the job, IMO avoid clear plastic sleeve, they tends to oxydizing the copper faster than opaque in-wall type.
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Post by geebo on Mar 23, 2016 11:06:32 GMT -5
Bluejeans cable. Well made with custom sizes and configurations.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2016 12:30:02 GMT -5
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Jace
Minor Hero
Posts: 19
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Post by Jace on Mar 24, 2016 22:37:30 GMT -5
Thank you everyone for your advice. I hadn't thought about building a shelf of some sort to set the TV on. I heeded the advice and purchased the Focal CC 700 V to compliment 726V L&R. Speaker cable advice was much help as well. I am sure that advice goes beyond the speaker cable and extends to all audio and video interconnects.
When I originally started this project my intention was two-channel stereo. Now look where I am.
Given this is my first HT system, Mr. Chuckienut has suggested/reminded me a couple times how important it is to have a good sub. Albeit a newbie, I do believe if I were to add a sub at this point, given the equipment I have ordered, I would need to procure another amp to power it?
Not sure if I should start another thread for this or not, changing subjects here. I am not sure how many of you have a dedicated HT room or incorporating it in you living room where daily TV viewing is accomplished. Ours is being incorporated into our living room, normal viewing area. Something that has me baffled is with our TV it has down firing speakers, poor sound. We purchased a Paradigm sound bar w/sub which helped tremendously for normal viewing. With that said, our sound bar needs to be removed to accommodate the installation of the center channel. What I am wondering is do you guys run your HT system during normal TV viewing or only when watching movies? If using only while viewing movies do you just use the TV speakers for your normal TV viewing or have you figured a way to incorporate a sound bar? The only option I have come up with is to leave room for the sound bar and place it back into position when not watching movies. Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
-Jace
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guitarforlife
Sensei
Just another busy day in Northern Wisconsin.
Posts: 947
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Post by guitarforlife on Mar 24, 2016 22:45:58 GMT -5
I'm a two channel stereo kinda guy. So I run my DVD and TV just stereo. It is the way I like it. So yes all my normal TV viewing is run through a system. I just run RCA out from TV into my AUX on my pre amp and that's it.
But like I said I do not care for all the extra channels.
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Post by 509Paul on Mar 24, 2016 23:18:58 GMT -5
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2016 1:47:22 GMT -5
Jace, My recommendation for going with best bang for the buck speaker wire refers to all cables and connectors also. Be careful as the mark up on HDMI cables for example at many local stores is outrageous. Again, Monoprice, Blue Jeans, Home Depot, Target or even Amazon. When talking subs we are referring to "powered subs" which all have their own dedicated power amps inside. No need to buy a sub amp. Some folks have DIY or older subs that use an external amps, not for you. I highly recommend going with online direct sub dealers for the best price bargains and also excellent subs. It will help greatly if as you have time you would post some photos and room dimensions or diagram of the room. Knowing the size of your room will help us to estimate what size of sub(s) you need. Some folks recommend always having at least two subs to spread the low bass output more evenly thru the room. This is helpful if you have many seats. However, if you are like me and I'm usually the only one who cares about the sound (my wife doesn't) and I sit in one sweet spot seat then one sub placed and/or adjusted/EQ'd to sound best at that seat is fine for me. I much in my case prefer for example one $1000 sub versus 2ea $500 subs. Here are some links to the best IMO online direct sub dealers. I give prices for a sub in the medium to lower high prices so you can see what the costs are. Later let us all know what your budget is for a sub(s) and how much room you have and we can be more specific. I presume you will be playing both movies (5.1) and music (both 2 channel and multi-channel SACD (5.1) or 2 channel in Dobly 5 channel surround). Ported (vented) or sealed subs are the two main designs. It varies but usually the larger/heavier ported subs tend to play louder in the lower bass where the special effects (LFE) are and are many time preferred for movies. Some folks like the smaller/lighter sealed subs because they are preferred by many for music. The smaller sealed subs usually require a stronger amp for design reasons but the amp power is not usually an indication of quality and output. I find that the better brands do a fairly good job with the ported models being a good compromise for both. I would stay away form any of the small cube subs less than 15" cube in enclosure size. Be sure and check out the exact dimensions and weight on the subs as the photos can be deceiving. Last, how loud do you like your movies and music at times? That will come in when you decide on a specific model. Here are my favorite sub dealers and a few of their models, check out their website: ......... HSU Research, VTF-15H MK2, $899 www.hsuresearch.com/products/vtf-15hmk2.html (excellent sub, good price) .......... Outlaw Audio, Ultra-X12, $639 www.outlawaudio.com/products/ultra.html (best buy with slightly less performance) .......... Power Sound Audio, 15V, $949 www.powersoundaudio.com/collections/vented-subwoofers (excellent sub, good price) .......... Rythmik, FV15HP black matte, $1200 www.rythmikaudio.com/FV15HP.html (superb sub) .......... SVS, PB-2000, $800 or PB12-Plus, $1400 www.svsound.com/collections/ported-subwoofers (PB-2000, very good sub ..... PB12-Plus, exc-super sub) We are similar to your situation for movies/music/TV in our living room. For movies thru our OPPO (all Blu-Ray if possible) we use the 5.1 system (5 speakers/one sub). For music usually from 2ch CD or SACD (multi-channel CD) we use the system in 2.1 or in 5.1. For TV watching we have fairly decent speakers in our Panny Plasma. My wife doesn't care for the high end sound so the sound from the TV speaker is simpler for her and no need to use the fancy 5.1 remote. For TV I use the TV remote and TV speakers for regular programming like news, etc. but might switch to the 5.1 system for football game, for TV movies, TV concerts, etc. For you, if the TV speakers are that bad then the choices are the sound bar or the 5.1 system. If your remote or add-on remote makes setting up and operating the TV thru your 5.1 system easy that might be the best sound and most convenient. Or you might try setting up the TV playback for stereo only 2.0 (no sub) or 2.1. One other option is to play back the TV sound thru three channels the LCR speakers only. Those could all be separate menu's on your remote like ..... play movie ..... music 2ch .... music multi-channel ..... TV 2ch ..... TV 5.1 . If none of these are convenient for you then the sound bar might be a TV sound option. I presume the L&R speaker will be next to the screen and the center above of below the screen so the TV sound should be fine thru the 5.1 HT or in stereo. The setup might be slightly complicated but worth the time to do it right. Good luck. Here are links about subs and also check out Audioholics.com library and look for articles on how to select and set up a sub. www.soundandvision.com/content/dr-poh-hsu-founder-hsu-research#zHf28mUQuQUVdHMH.97emotivalounge.proboards.com/thread/46380/set-small-subwooferPS: I don't understand your comment in the first post: I was shopping for a pair of 50' Type 4's for my surrounds. If Type 4 is some kind of AudioQuest sales BS then disregard.  |
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Post by Cogito on Mar 25, 2016 6:30:13 GMT -5
All you need is right here. It's super flexible, looks awesome, sounds as good as the best out there regardless of price and it's inexpensive. Lookie Here |
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