Radio shack , cut the mustard?? (1 Viewer)

[todd Michael]

I'm mentally tired, i read so much from this forum, and searched and bought receiver 696,dvd, dtv tivo,htd level 3 speakes. This was my first step into the relm. Connection decisions , wire , svidio,etc. I can't take it.Is there a one stop shop (acrosss the board grade)that i can get it all. Radio shack is close, nice and there top stuff is the most i want to pay. its easy , no pain, will i be happy

thanks

 

[Saurav]

If you're willing to buy online, try www.audioadvisor.com - they carry a wide range of stuff, in various price brackets.

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Todd: you are suffering from "HT Burnout". Take 1-2 days without TV/HT/Computer fourms so you can relax.
Then, when the thought of hooking things up strikes you as "fun", then tackle this project.
I do recommend Radio Shack brand cables for modest systems with tube-type televisions and ordinary (not progressive) DVD players. They have some nice bundles with L/R/Video or L/R/SVideo and even some SVideo/Toslink cables.
(If you have a HD TV/Progressive system, let us know. I would suggest some other brands.)
When you go to hook things up, make sure you have about a full hour of un-interupted time. DONT RUSH or you will make mistakes & get frustrated. (Some of us even find this fun ). Early afternoon is best because the stores are open and you can run out to buy/exchange cables. Follow this order:

• Install Receiver on bottom of rack.
• Install box's you dont touch (DSS/CATV box) in the middle shelves of the rack.
• Install devices you interact with (DVD/VCR) on top of rack.
  Now you can get an estimate for how many and what size wires you need.
• Connect speaker wires to all 5 speakers and use the built-in test-tone feature to make sure they all produce sound in the correct order. DO NOT try to make all wires the same length. You DO want to leave a foot or two of slack so you can move speakers around.
• Connect up "simple" devices like VCR, DSS, CD players next. Practice switching between them. (Did you forget batteries for the remote? Yes, this happened to me. )
• Hook up the DVD player last.

Take my advice and dont worry about exacting speaker positions, calibration, etc. Just pop in some favorite CD's or a DVD movie and sit-back and enjoy your equipment. (This IS a hobby after all)
After a few days to let you relax and the speakers to break in a bit, then you can spend another hour playing with the speaker positions and doing the level-adjustment.

 

[todd Michael]

thanks Bob,

that was just what i needed. i think i'll unbox some more things , clean up the tv(55"rptv no hdtv or pro dvd). It's usually fun for me to. While iv'e got you though. Might i bother you with the next step. This tuning the sub, using radio shack sound measuring, set up cd etc. Will this stuff be needed to get it sounding good?

thank you

Todd

 

[Terry McCann]

Todd,
I just bought a whole new set of interconnect cables from http://www.vsse.com after extensive searches on the internet for best price. The brands I bought were RCA, Recoton, and Acoustic Research, all of which I would consider to be the equivalent to what RS sells.
Terry

 

[Dan Hine]

I think for what you pay the quality of RS cables is good. But be careful with their gold series RCA cables. Just the other day I was disconnecting a cable and it was so tight that the RCA Jack came off! I was able to put it back on somewhat and cannot really hear a difference, but it is still unsettling. Their optical cable is pure cheese though. I like the prices of Dayton's interconnects available at Parts Express. They will probably be what I upgrade to.
Dan Hine

 

[Ted Lee]

radio shack cables will work fine - most of my components are wired with the gold series stuff. they are kind of tight though.
if i had to do it again, i'd probably recommend the AR series from best-buy. about the same price as rat-shack (i think) and i am happy with the performance. i like their connectors better.
bob makes a good point. this hobby should be fun. remember that first and foremost! if you're burning out, go goof off somewhere else for a while. you'll only drive yourself crazy if you're not in the mood to tweak.
good luck!