SXI - Matt
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Another wire question this time not an over prices HDMI! Now my surround sound system came with some very thin silver speaker wire, when my house was being built i asked them to lay it under the carpet so it's all hidden. I hadn't bought the system at this point so went to maplins and got some midrange thickish standard speaker wire, £20 for a massive roll stuff so nothing fancy.
Question is does different thickness / plated wire make any difference? I know no HDMI cable is all the same but is this area different and if so how?
[Edited on 24-05-2013 by SXI - Matt]
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Kyle T
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Speaker Wire can impact the quality of the signal, unlike the digital signals sent down something like HDMI.
I've got fairly decent cable, but I still get interference off of my fridge/freezer. Due to the messed up layout of my open-plan kitchen/living area, I need to route the cable for my Sub and rears around the back of my kitchen cabinets
Every time the fridge switches "on" I hear a slight pop through the rear speakers. I initially blamed it on fluctuations in the mains power in the house - but I borrowed a UPS for my AV gear and it made naff all difference.
The gauge of the wire is normally only relevant if you're running long distances.
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
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Balling
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I run Supra wire because I'm a moron that feel brand names improve my life.
In reality you need some pretty shitty wire to make any audible difference to a basic setup.
Unless you're running silly lengths, I'd expect the generic wire you've got is more than sufficient.
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Dom
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As Kyle mentions, it isn't as black and white as with digital so it's wholly opinion based - some say they can hear the difference when spending 100/1000's on a few metres worth of cabling, others can't.
Personally i'd only really consider spending a 'bit' on the fronts, the rears i wouldn't really worry about it.
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Nismo
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One thing i was always told now I'm not sure if this is correct or not but the cable to each speak should be cut to the same lengths
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3CorsaMeal
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is that so the sound gets there at the same time?
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Gary
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It's correct although the delay would be so minute you'd never notice. Moving your head a few mm would make more difference.
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SXI - Matt
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I'm not that worried about making it the same lengths.
Just I temporarily moved the sub as I was painting the rear wall in my living room. As I had no spare cable I used the spare stuff that came with the system. Now to me the sub sounded less deep and punchy, playing around between the two wires I can (well I think I can) tell the difference.
Was interested if it was me or it actually was different between the two.
[Edited on 24-05-2013 by SXI - Matt]
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Dom
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quote: Originally posted by Nismo
One thing i was always told now I'm not sure if this is correct or not but the cable to each speak should be cut to the same lengths
I've always been told the same as you can end up with a mismatch in resistance between cables and can induce delays - so potentially volume/sensitivity and phasing issues. But it depends wholly on the cabling used, speakers and the rest of your gear; plus i suspect you'd need 100ft+ difference for it to remotely create an audible difference (you'd probably see it on a oscilloscope though).
Edit - http://www.trueaudio.com/post_007.htm
[Edited on 24-05-2013 by Dom]
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whitter45
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quote: Originally posted by SXI - Matt
I'm not that worried about making it the same lengths.
Just I temporarily moved the sub as I was painting the rear wall in my living room. As I had no spare cable I used the spare stuff that came with the system. Now to me the sub sounded less deep and punchy, playing around between the two wires I can (well I think I can) tell the difference.
Was interested if it was me or it actually was different between the two.
[Edited on 24-05-2013 by SXI - Matt]
was the difference not down to re-positioning of the sub
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Dom
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quote: Originally posted by SXI - Matt
I'm not that worried about making it the same lengths.
Just I temporarily moved the sub as I was painting the rear wall in my living room. As I had no spare cable I used the spare stuff that came with the system. Now to me the sub sounded less deep and punchy, playing around between the two wires I can (well I think I can) tell the difference.
Was interested if it was me or it actually was different between the two.
Likely to be placebo; you'd really need to do a blind A/B test to confirm the difference.
An oldie but well worth a read - http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/general-av-discussions/2512-speakers%3B-when-good-enough-enough-3.html#post15412
[Edited on 24-05-2013 by Dom]
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SXI - Matt
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quote: Originally posted by whitter45
quote: Originally posted by SXI - Matt
I'm not that worried about making it the same lengths.
Just I temporarily moved the sub as I was painting the rear wall in my living room. As I had no spare cable I used the spare stuff that came with the system. Now to me the sub sounded less deep and punchy, playing around between the two wires I can (well I think I can) tell the difference.
Was interested if it was me or it actually was different between the two.
[Edited on 24-05-2013 by SXI - Matt]
was the difference not down to re-positioning of the sub
Some of it will be as it's now at the front of the room facing me, were as before it was between the sofa and a wall (it had around a couple of inches either side) but if I switch wires there is a difference (again I think there is) playing the same scene over and I think it sounds different with the normal wire instead of the one I got with it.
Brings me on to my second question where in the room is best to position it? As I say I normally have it down the side of the sofa as its hidden and out the way. But is it better facing the audience?
[Edited on 24-05-2013 by SXI - Matt]
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Gary
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Dnt matter for sub i don't think
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SXI - Matt
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Ok I've moved it back to where it was now, I'll add a picture to show how it sits. Now its noticeably different must of been in my head before.
This is different I have to turn it down now as it's to much, but now it's droney, can only describe it as like when you have a sub in the boot of your car
Before it was here were the XBOX is, it's definitely a lot more deeper now and noticeable, excuse the messy wires SKY is being installed tomorrow then the rest of the wires will be put behind the plaster and all plugs hidden, sockets moved ect so its all invisible cant wait
[Edited on 24-05-2013 by SXI - Matt]
[Edited on 24-05-2013 by SXI - Matt]
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Robin
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Never understood why you'd put the TV on the wall and have a unit below it and speakers sat each side :boggle
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Gary
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Looks really good when there are no cables on show.
I'd be moving those sockets if it was me
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andy_mk3
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That messes with my OCD, TV isn't in the middle of the wall and the unit isn't symmetrical
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SXI - Matt
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quote: Originally posted by Robin
Never understood why you'd put the TV on the wall and have a unit below it and speakers sat each side :boggle
Unit is to store the SKY box and DVD system, and for decorative purposes matches the rest of the units and if it wasn't there the wall looked really plain and the TV looked lost.
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SXI - Matt
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quote: Originally posted by Gary
Looks really good when there are no cables on show.
I'd be moving those sockets if it was me
Yeah I've hidden the power cable and aerial lead when the HDMI isn't hanging out the side it looks good, cant wait for SKY to come and go so I can hide it all properly and move the TV and unit back to how I like it
Sockets will be getting moved to
[Edited on 24-05-2013 by SXI - Matt]
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SXI - Matt
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quote: Originally posted by andy_mk3
That messes with my OCD, TV isn't in the middle of the wall and the unit isn't symmetrical
I know it's all over the place as I've been moving bits around ready for tomorrow then it can all go back in line ect, took me ages last time then I had to move it all today
[Edited on 24-05-2013 by SXI - Matt]
[Edited on 24-05-2013 by SXI - Matt]
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baza31
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quote: Originally posted by andy_mk3
That messes with my OCD, TV isn't in the middle of the wall and the unit isn't symmetrical
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Balling
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quote: Originally posted by Robin
Never understood why you'd put the TV on the wall and have a unit below it and speakers sat each side :boggle
Would you have the TV on the wall, DVD player on the floor and both speakers on the same side?
We had our TV sat on the unit previously and getting it on the wall just made a huge difference on how much room it seemed to take up.
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Robin
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No, I'd just not have the TV on the wall, the only reason I would have one wall mounted would be if I needed the floor space, in which case I'd have to find an alrernnative location for the other bits.
With a TV stand, I just don't see the point in having something hanging above it, hidden cables or not.
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VrsTurbo
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quote: Originally posted by Robin
No, I'd just not have the TV on the wall, the only reason I would have one wall mounted would be if I needed the floor space, in which case I'd have to find an alrernnative location for the other bits.
With a TV stand, I just don't see the point in having something hanging above it, hidden cables or not.
Because it looks i have a floating TV with a unit underneath
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Gary
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plus you can stick a decent ctr speaker on the unit without it being dumped in front of the telly
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