What do I need (1 Viewer)

[ZachW]

I have my system already picked out which includes:
HT
Yamaha RX-V1300
NSP-1 for surrounds and center
JBL N28's for Mains
SVS 20-39PCi

Music
Onkyo 8211
JBL N26 AW
JVC 5 disc cd changer

Now what exactly do I need to hook everything up? I know I need wire, so I'm going to get some 12 gauge from Partexpress.com. But what other connections do I need? What wires/cables to hook up the DVD player to the receiver? How about the T.V. to the receiver, and the CD player to the receiver? Can I hook up the cd player to both receivers? Can I hook up both receivers to the sattalite receiver? How exactly do i do this? thanks

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Ok, lets take this one at a time:
Receiver: That receiver has 2 coaxial-digital connections, and 5 optical connections. Very nice.
But: you need to see what labels the inputs have. You DO want the "CD" button on the remote to give you one of the CD players - right? Does the receiver CD input support optical or coaxial? And does both your CD players have optical or coaxial outputs?
And your DSS receiver: does it have an optical/coaxial output, or just analog? (you did not even tell us what make/model dss receiver you have.)
So we cannot give you the cable-by-cable description .. yet.
Let me tell you some basics:
The Coaxial-Digital connection is simply a VIDEO cable. Yes, I am telling you to use a video cable for digital audio. But thats what the designers had in mind when they required this. This should run you about $15 each.
The optical cable is sometimes called "TosLink" and typically runs you about $30 each.
I have used both and prefer the coaxial connection as it is less expensive and is a lot sturdier.
So my guess is you are going to get your equipment, place it all in the rack and then make a trip to your local Radio Shack or Best Buy store for cables.
My advice would be to:
- Put the receiver on the bottom shelf. This lets the speaker wires flow out without hiding the other components, keeps the speaker wires away from the other interconnects, and reduces the weight/strain on the speaker plugs.
- Put the DSS receiver and any other device you never touch above the receiver.
- Put the DVD player/CD players on the top/upper shelves. These are the devices you touch to use so dont put them where you need to bend over to use them.
Now you can take measurments to buy the correct length cables to hook everything up.
Wire Management:
Plan to have 3 loose groups of wires -
- Power cords. Pick a side of your rack and pull the power cords all to this side.
- Speaker Wires. Let these flow out with some slack in gentle bends. Do not make loops and try and keep these away from all power cords and interconnects.
- Interconnects. Let these flow down the middle of your rack or to the side of the rack opposite the power cords. You can loosly bundle them with split-loom tubing, or velcro strips. Do not use zip-ties as these need wire-cutters to remove and will dig into the soft rubber insulation on most interconnects.
Go to Radio shack and get a package of their "Cable Labels" and a perminent marker pen. Then do this: -
- Put A/B/C labels on every power cord. (put the same letter on both ends). I did not do this and one day I called for tech support and they told me to un-plug the DSS receiver for a minute. My power cords were all in split-loom tubing and I had a choice of 6 plugs to pull. Not a happy situation.
- Put A/B/C... labels on each end of every interconnect. Do not try to put codes to indicate: "The coaxial-digital feed from CD player number 1" and "The SVideo feed from DVD player". This gets too complex. You just need to identify what cables come out of each device and where it plugs into the receiver. A simple A/B/C... label works really well for this.
- Put LF/CE/RF/RR/LR/CR lables on the ends of the speaker wires.
Video Issues:
I suggest you plan to run SVideo from the DSS and DVD player to the receiver, then a SVideo cable from the receiver to the TV. If you have a low-quality source like a VCR or CATV box that does not have SVideo output, Radio Shack sells a cheap converter for $20. The quality is not great, but to be honest VCR watching is on the decline (at least in my house).
The AR Pro brand from Best Buy is quite good for various cables.
Good Luck.

 

[ZachW]

Sorry I didn't give more info, but my sattalite receiver is dish Network, and it only has S-video. The cd player can be found http://www.etronics.com/product.asp?...e=jvcxlfz258bk I already have a couple of component cables that my dad was suckered into buying from best Buy. What else would I need again? Thanks

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Component video cables are actually the BEST type of video connection. Plan to run them straight from the DVD player to the TV.

But in addition, plan to run SVideo cables from the DVD player & Dish receiver to the Yamaha, then a SVideo cable from the Yamaha to the TV.

Yes, you are feeding the DVD signal twice, but running the video through the receiver makes the system simpler to use.

Subwoofer: You can use ANY long RCA cable to drive this. You can even go to Radio Shack and buy pre-terminated CATV coax and buy some "F-to-RCA" adaptors to make your own 25' long cable. This is ugly, but it will work to start and only costs about $13.


You need to tell me each of these data items before I can advise you what to buy:

JVC 5 disc cd changer : Has an optical output
Onkyo 8211: Optical/coaxial/both ?
JBL N26 AW : Optical/coaxial/both ?

 

[ZachW]

I was just reading through this thread again after a couple of months. Can I just run componant cables from the dvd player to the receiver, from the sattalite receiver to the receiver, and than another componant cable from the receiver to the tv? Or would a coaxial and S-video be better than that? thanks

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Well Component cables do give you the highest possible signal.

Yes, you can run component through the receiver, but as you said you must then also run cables from the receiver to the TV.

And as I suggested, run SVideo from everything else through the receiver, then a SVideo to the TV.

 

[ZachW]

Do I need to run componant and S-video from each componant to the receiver? Do i need a componant from the dvd player and a s-video? Which would be better what you suggested, or running componant cables from everything

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Do I need to run componant and S-video from each componant to the receiver?

No. Just SVideo.

In addition, run 1 set of component cables straight from the DVD player to the TV so you can take advantage of the higher quality feed for serious movie watching.

But for day-to-day use, just use the SVideo signal through the receiver.