Speaker Wires

[assy74]

Mar 22, 2016 23:19:33 GMT -5 Jace said:

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 


I dont care what the sceptics say..... There is a difference! But not nessaserely the most expensive are the best..... The better system you have the easier to hear the difference.
I have not heard emotivas connection cabels, I was going to buy the xlr cabels once, but they were sold out, and didnt wanna wait 2 months..... But all the emotiva connections looks okay if you ask me and the price is good, and not least the look nice. Which I think is okey, If it shows and it is in your living room. Then it should look nice!
I just heard audioquest (speaker cable) with the new bw804d3 and it just sounded like Magic but didnt compare with anyone else.....
But I agree that cabels are not the first big investment in a system, speakers first, then amp, then pre and cabels last if you ask me  

[yves]

Profigold PROA-series RCA interconnects and inakustik Reference LS-1002 (bi-wiring) speaker cables is what I use. While I agree that more expensive isn't always better, and that a lot also depends on synergy between all components (including the acoustic properties of the room, the recordings / source material used for playback, etc. etc.) as well as personal preferences, if someone tells you that "nobody can hear a difference", just point this someone to the article linked below.

www.audiostream.com/content/blind-testing-golden-ears-and-envy-oh-my

Should this someone give you a lecture about the scientific method and about "double-blind testing is the gold standard", then ask this someone, "which ABXer do you know who follows the ITU-recommendations explained in section 6 of the document linked below?"
https://www.itu.int/dms_pubrec/itu-r/rec/bs/R-REC-BS.1116-3-201502-I!!PDF-E.pdf

This will help this someone go away. And if it still doesn't, use some troll spray!

[Deleted]

Jace, Sorry, now I see that is a rug (good), before it looked like a flat wood/vinyl flooring with a pattern to me.   The front setup looks pretty good with one exception.  If possible move all just to the left slightly, even inches, the only reason is to keep that right speaker not too close to the right wall, although it is not too bad now.  My calc. show the side of the R speaker about 13.25" away from the right wall. 2 ft or more would be better but not practical in your room.   More importantly is to move the LCR speakers if possible farther away from the wall behind them which will provide cleaner sound.  Now the rear of the L&R are about 3.25" away from the wall.  It is difficult to see how far away the rear of the center is away from the wall.  I don't really care how far forward the TV is as the center speakers dialog sound will be fine in relation to the position of the TV.  If possible I would try to move them, the LCR (and the cabinet if necessary) all out maybe 6-15" more away from the wall.   The center should again be slightly back from the L&R maybe 3-6".  The L&R would ideally be slightly ahead of the cabinet, 3-6".  A gentle arc with each of the LCR speakers equal distance to the sweat spot and perhaps/maybe the L&R toed in very slightly, but not necessary.  The sub might fit in nicely if the sound is OK either between the cabinet and the Left or Right speaker.  The components you need to fit in as they can.  You'll find that the XPA-5 usually runs quite cool compared to most monster amps.

I have shown with an "S-1" where you might approximately place the surround speakers/stands.  Try not to have them pointed directly at your ears.  Maybe slightly behind the sofa and out sideways a bit and maybe facing parallel with the back of the sofa facing straight at the each other or even facing straight forward towards the front of the room (as tall a stand as possible).

I know she said no, but only let her know I always consult with my wife about equipment looks and placement.  She highly prefers the surround speakers up on the wall (it sounds better too).  The self adhesive tube is paintable if desired and for her is far better than a speaker on a stand that can be knocked over.  The SR700V surround might have been more subtle against the wall.   I included some info on the Wiremold speaker wire tubing and a poor/quick photo of our surrounds just for your info.  The tube color matches the wall paint much better than the photo shows.  I have shown with a "W-1" and "W-2" two alternative placements for the surround speaker for on the wall mounting, one pair on the rear wall and the alternative choice on the side walls.

Hope this all helps.  



















Wiremold C10 cordmate ..... white and ivory, etc, paintable, self stick, elbows and straight extenders ..... Home Depot, Lowes, Amazon, etc.  Wiremold has other products for running and hiding wires.

www.legrand.us/wiremold/at-home/cord-organizers-and-covers/cordmate-cord-channel/c1-c10cordmate-cord-channel.aspx#.VvjSf9UrLnA

www.legrand.us/organize-cords.aspx#.Vvjr-9UrLnA

[tsalter9]

I have found a great guy that sells them on Ebay , he makes them , legend audio , really great wires single ended or bi wired , a 10 foot set of bi wires for a $ 100 bucks and quality also !!!!!!!!!!!!

[tsalter9]

I have found a great guy that sells them on Ebay , he makes them , legend audio , really great wires single ended or bi wired , a 10 foot set of bi wires for a $ 100 bucks and quality also !!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jace]

Chuckie........I apologize for not getting back sooner.  Center channel arrived the other day, HSU sub had been ordered.  Rear surrounds, better positioned to the left and right of the couch facing each other and sightly behind the couch or being or against the back wall facing forward towards the mains as high a I can get them?

[eclypse]

For a 5.1 setup it's generally mentioned to have them to the sides of the couch and slightly behind it with the tweeters about 1 foot or 2 above the ear level at seating position.

No idea what kind of speakers you have but if the tweeters are pointed off to the side thrn you would want that tweeter pointed at the main listening position (mlp).

Mine are like that and I could only mount them on the back wall behind the couch so I have them spread out wide enough so the tweeters point to the mlp just like a v shape just as your front speakers toed in should be like. And a foot and a half above ear level. Sound awesome.

[eclypse]

If the tweeters point straight ahead and you need to mount them on the back wall you can also get wall mounts to point them to the mlp.

Also to hide your wire you can put them in the wall. Easy to remove the floor molding and cut a small square at the bottom of the floor as the molding will hide it afterwards. Then once you know the exact possition of where your hanging the speaker cut out a small hole where the speaker wire connect on the speaker and use a wire snake to feed the wire up to hole. Plug in your speaker and and put the molding back on and all done.

Just use a stud finder first and plan it all out.

[Jace]

Thank you Eclypse.  I also need to apologize to Chuckie for reasking a question he had already answered in his previous post regarding surround placement.  Two more weeks and the XPA-5 should be here.  As was with the military, hurry up and wait!

[Jace]

I ordered one of the subs Chuckie suggested, HSU VTF-15H MK2.  It arrived yesterday.  My jaw dropped when I unpacked it!  I was not expecting the massive size of this unit.  My wife, she rolled her eyes and asked, "where are you going to put that?"  I gently moved the sofa table, behind the couch, to one side and slid this massive sub into the newly found space.  She appeared to approve of this.

-Jace