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How to buy new speakers? - Page 4

post #91 of 167
3/1/10 at 4:56pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Doersen View Post

Okay, so I talked to Ed.  Here's our deal...
 


Other part of the deal:  I will pick up everything and deliver it to your place, so no shipping costs.  All I ask for is a place to stay for the night and some food and beer (you know, typical "thanks for giving me a hand" stuff ).  Ed said he would love to join us for setup and listening.

What do you think?

Chris, let me think on it. I wasn't planning on going B Stock. And I do have some (reasonable) concerns about entrusting $3k of new speakers to someone I've never actually met :)
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post #92 of 167
3/1/10 at 5:11pm

Entirely reasonable, indeed...I don't trust myself sometimes...mostly when it comes to cars and speakers

If it helps, you can check out my eBay account...user name = loltermer
http://members.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=loltermer

Also, the dual NSDs I bought were B-stock (the pair was the same price as a single PC12-Plus), and they perform wonderfully.

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post #93 of 167
3/1/10 at 5:18pm
Okay, so my last post was "held for moderation" because I am new to the forum, and very likely because of the link to my eBay account.  Will here it is again in pure text.  (I originally posted it to offer some reassurance that I'm actually a descent human being who just happens to love cars and music...probably bankrupt me eventually, but it will be fun!):

http://members.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=loltermer
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post #94 of 167
3/1/10 at 5:21pm
Okay, I am obviously new to this.  Because I'm new, the link to my eBay account keeps getting rejected.  Here it is without the "http://"

members.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=loltermer

P.S. - If this one doesn't go through, I'm calling it quits and waiting for the Forum Masters to do their thing.
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post #95 of 167
3/1/10 at 5:37pm
Okay, so that's a bit embarassing...and now I know 
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post #96 of 167
3/2/10 at 1:11pm
Thread Starter 
Chris,
Please email or PM me so we chat outside of the thread :) (I'm unable to PM you within HTF)
Edited by DaveF - 3/3/10 at 4:44am
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post #97 of 167
3/3/10 at 7:13pm
Thread Starter 
If you're reading my little saga, here's an interim update :)

I'm pretty much made my decision to buy an SVS kit. However, layoffs were announced at work and I've put the purchase on hold until that takes place. I'm not worried, but I don't want to be foolishly hurried either in a big discretionary purchase.

Just now I've been figuring out what speaker wire to buy. Decided on 14 gauge, in-wall rated, from Monoprice. I will run under the floor (basement ceiling) so I want in-wall to be closer to code. And at a max run of ~25', running 4 ohm speakers, I'm on the edge between 14 g and 16 g so I'll be conservative.
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post #98 of 167
3/3/10 at 8:27pm
Good luck, Dave. 
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post #99 of 167
3/3/10 at 9:14pm
Quote:
I'm on the edge between 14 g and 16 g so I'll be conservative.
 


$3000 worth of speakers deserve at least 14g and I strongly suggest the 12g. I've bought both from Monoprice. The 12g is worth the little extra $$.
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post #100 of 167
3/4/10 at 3:34am
Thread Starter 
The extra $$ don't matter much. Rather, I'd rather go as thin as reasonable for ease of installation.
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post #101 of 167
3/4/10 at 5:56am
I've always used zip cord at 14g or 16g.  But for $3k speakers, you might find this interesting:

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_10_2/ultralink-CL414-cable-5-2003.html

From what I could understand it seems to say that using two strands of 14g (connected together) was actually better than a single lower guage connection.
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post #102 of 167
3/4/10 at 8:27am
Thread Starter 
In my reading, speaker wire is speaker wire. Everyone recommends ~14g for a 4-ohm connection running over 25 feet. And by everyone, I mean Monoprice, Crutchfield, Belkin, About.com, random speaker-wire analysts online and most everyone in the forums. I'd probably be fine with 16g, but my longest run might push over the 25' max advised for that gauge.
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post #103 of 167
3/4/10 at 4:00pm
I use 14 gauge for all my speakers, 4 ohm and 8 ohm. I got a 100 ft. spool at Lowe's for around $25. Been using it for about 8-10 years.
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post #104 of 167
3/4/10 at 4:40pm
Thread Starter 
I've got a mishmash of speaker wire from the past decade of apartments and now this house. Since I'm running wire through and under the floor, and possibly in wall, I thought I'd buy a 100' foot of in-wall rated and use it all around. The 14 ga matches my max run length; it's cheaper to buy 100' run of in-wall than two 50' spools.

And like your wire, this 100' spool will last the next 50 years or so :)
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post #105 of 167
3/4/10 at 6:31pm
Quote:
The extra $$ don't matter much. Rather, I'd rather go as thin as reasonable for ease of installation.
 

Quote:
And like your wire, this 100' spool will last the next 50 years or so :)
 

All the more reason to do it once and do it right. I still say 12g but it's your decision.
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post #106 of 167
3/5/10 at 5:51am
I used 12 gauge once before and thought it to be a bit too thick and unweildy.  I've stuck with 14 since then and haven't noticed any difference at all.
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post #107 of 167
3/6/10 at 7:38am
In reality, I'm sure 14g would be just fine. I just prefer to go a step higher on these things just to be safe. When I bought my Swans a few years ago I bought some Royal brand 14g speaker wire from the automotive dept at Walmart. It was $9.99 for a 50" roll at the time. Seemed like very good wire. It used a lot of very thin strands of wire and a thick but soft jacket making it very flexable. But when I finally ran the wire under the house I went with Monoprice 12g CL-2.

Also, for those of you who are not familiar with monoprices CL-2 rated wire, it is wound a little tighter than most wire and the jacket is made from harder rubber/plastic than what you might be used to. This makes the speaker wire itself a bit smaller than other 12g wire but it is also much less flexible than you might have hoped for. I'd also bet that the outer white jacket around the two wires is the same one used for all gauges so the actual total thickness of the wire as a whole isn't much different regardless of the gauge. I've never compared their 14g directly with the 12g but I bet there isn't much difference in the size of the outer jacket.

It also looks like their website is down until Tuesday!  Maintenance

And that link Al gave to the Secrets dual 14g wire was interesting. I remember hearing something like that before but didn't give it much thought. Even though most of the technical jargon went way over my head, it did seem to make sence, at least when compared to bi-wiring. But it would almost double the cost of the wire and it would be quite a bit thicker. Monoprice (and others, I'm sure) sell two sets of wire in a single jacket for bi-wiring/amping which would do the trick. But I don't know....
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post #108 of 167
3/6/10 at 11:11am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the description of the Monoprice CL2. I'd prefer to buy normal wire for the front speakers, but they don't sell less than 50 ft reels. And I'm trying to do things "right" with home improvements :), so I'll have to deal with the CL2 wire.

I'm amazing that Monoprice is offline 'til Tuesday. That's a heck of a maintenance process, to shut the store down for four days!

I still have to figure out how to attractively and neatly wall mount my surrounds.
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post #109 of 167
3/10/10 at 6:12am
Thread Starter 
Purchase is planned. Intend to buy Apr 1 with an Apr 9 delivery. Expect to have fun details after the event :)

Hmm...need a camera, but my wife is out of town that weekend and will take the camera with her. Need to borrow a camera from a friend.
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post #110 of 167
3/10/10 at 3:49pm
Glad to hear the end is in sight. I hope we didn't make things more confusing than they already were.

And I don't think you'll have any trouble finding friends that weekend. With or without a camera  .
 
I bet you're glad this whole receiver/speaker purchase process is almost over. Now you can sit back and enjoy your new HT system.

Of course, there is the whole issue of varying theories on HT setup and calibration to discuss and decide upon, not to mention speaker positioning and break-in...  

Good luck with it and I hope it exceeds your wildest dreams.
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post #111 of 167
3/10/10 at 3:51pm
Ah yes...

Quote:
Of course, there is the whole issue of varying theories on ... break-in...

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post #112 of 167
3/10/10 at 4:34pm
Thread Starter 

Of course, there is the whole issue of varying theories on HT setup and calibration to discuss and decide upon, not to mention speaker positioning and break-in...  
 

In Audyssey We Trust! :)

I broke in my Plasma, having read it will ultimately help prevent burn-in. And it was a silent process I could do at night. I understand speaker break-in is to accelerate the process of getting the speakers to their nominal operating state. Since by definition, it can't be done silently and as they'll get there eventually through normal use, I won't be doing accelerated burn in.


Quote:
Originally Posted by gene c View Post

Glad to hear the end is in sight. I hope we didn't make things more confusing than they already were.

And I don't think you'll have any trouble finding friends that weekend. With or without a camera  .

 This has been an unusually odd shopping experience. I was "this close" to buying a Paradigm Monitor 9 system a month ago. I'm ready to place the SVS order right tonight, but there are some external factors that postpone it. So April 9 is scheduled to be Speaker Day!

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post #113 of 167
4/1/10 at 6:08pm
Thread Starter 
Ordered: MTS 5.0 + PC12-Plus :) Take delivery next Friday.
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post #114 of 167
4/1/10 at 7:55pm
I believe a "woo hoo!" is in order  ; )
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post #115 of 167
4/1/10 at 8:10pm
Woohoo! 
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post #116 of 167
4/2/10 at 4:56am
WOO HOO!
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post #117 of 167
4/2/10 at 5:50am
Thread Starter 
Woo hoo, Indeed

I need to see if my Blockbuster account still exists, and rent some Blu Rays for that weekend. :) Unfortunately, due to some recent challenges, I'm behind schedule on wall-mounting the TV and getting new speaker wire run. Ah well.
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post #118 of 167
4/2/10 at 7:05am
And you may still need to see if your Blockbuster stores are still open! 

Many of those near me (Albany-area) are closing.  Same thing near my daughter (in Fairfax, VA). 
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post #119 of 167
4/12/10 at 1:48pm
Well................?

Need some pics too.
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post #120 of 167
4/12/10 at 2:13pm
Maybe Dave's wife freaked when she saw the subwoofer crate and decked him with the frying pan? 


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