Please help me with my setup! (1 Viewer)

[Shana]

I'm moving my "entertainment" room into the living room from the den. I am going to have to have DirecTv put in there as I only have it in the den for now. I am purchasing a DVD player and speakers to go with my TV and receiver.

I'm having a lot of work done on my house including new flooring and there is an opening in the ceiling currently right above where the entertainment center will be (I'm assuming it goes up to the attic) due to mold issues. So I am needing advice on how to set up the speakers and all the wires, inc. the new directv receiver. I'm wondering if there are some things I need to tell the contractor to do while my house is in such a mess that would benefit my set-up.

I have no idea how to set up 6 speakers. Could the wires be put under the laminated flooring, could something go to the attick via a small hole where there is no ceiling right now?

Any advice would be very helpful. I feel that this would be the time to make any changes that would help later.

Thanks so much!!
Shana

 

[Ted Lee]

shana -
thinking about this stuff now (while undergoing construction) is absolutely the right thing to do. it'll save you a lot of hassle (and unsightly wires) down the line.
speakers
i'll assume you're going to have a standard 5.1 setup. that wouold be three speakers in front (left, center, right); two in back (left rear, right rear) and possibly a sub? be aware that an upcoming format 6.1 will utilize an additional center channel for the rear. so, you may want to "pre-wire" for that possibility too.
so you'll want to run speaker wires to each of those locations. make sure your contractor uses the appropriate in-wall wiring (i don't know specifically what kind you need though - someone else probably will) for your setup. also, try to use some thicker gauge wire -- i'd say at least 14g...12g would be better.
also, think about where you want your rear speakers to go. most people prefer them behind the listener, but another viable option is to put them to the sides of the listener - this is especially popular with (what are known as) dipole speakers.
hopefully i didn't confuse you...let me know if you have other questions.

 

[Shana]

Wires in the walls? The only opening I currently have is in the ceiling above where the entertainment center will be. The walls in that room are fine, it's in the bedrooms where there are walls out.

Are the speaker wires real thick? Is it not something I could run alongside the laminated flooring?

I'm totally clueless in this area. Thanks for your help.

Shana

 

[Ted Lee]

oops. i guess i mis-understood your post. i thought you were doing reconstruction in your living room.

anyway, the wires aren't too thick. it's about the thickness of a pencil. you can certainly run this alongisde (i assume you mean "on top of") the flooring.

i don't know about running wire *under* laminated flooring though. if this is a true hardwood floor, then i'd worry about the nails penetrating the wire. if it's a pergo-style floor, then i'd worry about the glue adhesive getting on the wire insulation.

 

[Mathew Shelby]

Do you have baseboards in your home. I know some people who have pulled up their baseboards and used a router to put a hole large enough to run the speakers to the back. I believe that this is a little more cost-effective. And it is fairly easy to do if you are into DIY.

 

[Shana]

This will be "locking" pergo-like laminated flooring on top of my concrete floors. There shouldn't be any glue but I think there needs to be a moisture barrier of some kind underneath it. I was thinking the wires could run along the circumference of the room.

Yeah, the only advantage I was looking at was the hole in the ceiling above where the EC will be.

I appreciate your help!

Shana

 

[Ted Lee]

if there's no nails and no glue, then you may be in luck.
they do make flat speaker wire - it's similar to this:
http://www.decorp.com/
i think i also saw something similar at best-buy.
or, as you suggested, you could run the wire along the edges of the room.

 

[Shana]

Great! I will speak to the contractor and see if they have ever done anything like that before.

Thanks!!!!

 

[Ted Lee]

no problem! good luck w/your project!

 

[Bill Kane]

Shana,

I remember when you came into the forum last summer and decided to go separates and got a Yamaha receiver, then got put on hold with your terrible mold problem.

Understandably, this contractor is just doing this particular job and may not be prepared for addl wiring work you might like for the HT system. BUT, since the house still seems to torn apart, what Ted Lee earlier suggested was installing in-wall, or permanent wiring for a professional, hide-the-wires approach.

I think you need some more on-scene advisors here, but ...

*DirectTV will require one or two coax cables coming to the entertainment center. The cable has to come from the outside dish into the house. If you can get all this done at once, you can have someone fish that cable from the attic down INSIDE the wall behind the ent. center. At the same time, speaker wires for the 2 rears and possibly a rear center speaker if the Yamaha supports 6.1, can be fished UP the wall behind the ent. center across the attic and down the rear or side walls where they can attach to the speakers if mounted with brackets on the wall. Or the wires still cud come up nearer the bottom of the back walls so that you can use rears on stands.

Think globally here if the house is still torn open and the HT install can dovetail with the main contractor's work. For any in-wall speaker wire runs, I wud get 1 or 2 100-foot hanks of CarolCable 12/2 (12-gauge, 2 conductors) in-wall wire which meets electrical code from partsexpress.com about $25 per roll.

Also, at some point, you will want to check what electrical circuit will serve the living room entertainment center. If the kitchen appliances are on that circuit, or a bathroom and hair dryers, this is not good. A powered subwoofer with its own built-in amp will need a wall outlet to plug in, too, if it's in a far, front corner. Ideally, as few other household things on the ent. center circuit the better. And are you thinking about a surge protector box there, too?

bill

 

[Shana]

Bill, wow, good memory. Yes I have been out of my house since August and will be out for another month approx. There was nothing done on my house for three months thanks to the insurance not giving a rats ass. :frowning:
Anyway, most of what you told me went pretty much over my head. I am going to print it out and go talk to the man doing the work tomorrow and see what he says. I spoke to Directv a little while back and told them I would need an addl. receiver and install and they said I could pay $14.95, like their "moving" program. I don;t know what all that would entail.
I'm glad for this forum so I can talk to informative people such as yourself since I am clueless, but I know I want a system that sounds and looks decent.
Thanks!
Shana