Letters - September 2006
Wiring a home theater
September 22, 2006
To Randall Smith,
I have a surround system. I don't understand all of the
technical terms. It has four small speakers, a center-channel speaker and a large
subwoofer. I know that right now it is not set up properly. I would like to set it up
properly without having wires exposed throughout the living room. I also know that
splicing the wires will cause some of the sound quality to diminish. Is there any type of
hub or routing system that all of my wiring can go into at the back of the home-theater
system and go into my basement? Once it would be in the basement, then I would like to run
the wires in the wall and use wall jacks. To the novice and uninformed like me this sounds
like a possibility. Does something like this exist anywhere?
Eric
What a good question. A home-theater system can be a
very unattractive sight. In situations where you cannot pre-wire a room or you cannot
simply hide the wires behind furniture or even under the carpet, compromises must be made.
In your particular situation, you mention installing wall jacks that would generate a
number of "splices" and your concern over your sound quality
"diminishing." Here are a few tips to keep all signal loss to a minimum.
First, buy good, heavy-gauge speaker wire. An increase in
the gauge of speaker wire will make things easier for the wire and your amplifier.
Second, buy wall plates for your various speakers depending on how many speakers
and where they are in the room. You’ll run individual wires to each plate, not
splicing anything.
Finally, buy a soldering kit to solder the various connections to the terminations of
the wall plates. By soldering your connections, you make as secure a joint as possible. If
you are not experienced in the process of soldering, ask a friend for help. This, combined
with some hard work, will provide you a home theater that will look neat but still sound
great....Randall Smith
Paradigm center-channel speakers?
September 20, 2006
To Doug Schneider,
What is your opinion of Paradigm’s center-channel
speakers? I have Studio 60s, and I’m thinking about adding the center and surrounds.
I read that you don’t like most center-channel speakers.
Trevor O’Brien
It’s true -- I don’t like most center-channel
speakers. This is because most of them don’t match the sound of the left and right
channels. Some people aren't bothered by this, but I am.
Most of Paradigm’s current models are exceptions
to my personal rule. In particular, the Studio- and Signature-series centers seem
exceptional, providing a left-to-right soundstage that’s quite seamless. Therefore,
if you already have the Studio 60s, then completing a full Paradigm home-theater system
appears to be a good way to go….Doug Schneider
Alternative to SVS and Hsu?
September 11, 2006
Editor,
Are there any factory-direct alternatives to
SVS and Hsu for subwoofers? I may end up with one of those brands, but I want to keep my
options open. Thank you for the great website.
Randy
The brands you mention
offer some of the best bang for the buck around, but there are a few others worth noting.
Axiom Audio (www.axiomaudio.com)
is one alternative. They offer a number of subs -- several of which we’ve reviewed
quite highly -- at various price points. Another good one is AV123 (www.av123.com); some of their prices, for
really good products, just defy belief. Lastly, we just received an e-mail from Elemental
Designs (www.edesignaudio.com).
We have not reviewed any products from this company yet, but hope to in the near future.
Hope these suggestions help in your search….Jeff Fritz |
