Wall Plates vs. "Hole in the Wall" (1 Viewer)

[Davey_T]

I'm debating between using wall plates attached to standard plastic boxes nailed to studs, and the "hole in the wall" method for my surrounds and rear surrounds. (I.e., just have the spaker wire coming directly out of the wall.)

The tricky part for me is envisioning what the box method will look like, since I can't mount the boxes in exactly the correct location. I'm concerned that the wire going from the plate to the speaker will look strange.

Does anyone have any photos they can share of either option? And/or, do you have an opinion on the subject? I'm in the wiring mode right now, and this one question has been bugging me!

Thanks!

Dave

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

What you could do is use so-called old work boxes. They secure to the sheetrock, not to a stud, so you can put them in anywhere you want.

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Every lamp and electrical appliance has a power cord going to a wall-plate. Your speaker wires will look fine.

Try this: run to plastic electrical outlet box's. (Your hardware store will show you how to install them into pre-existing sheatrock like Wayne suggested.)

Now- buy blank outlet covers. Drill your own holes and thread the speaker wires through. This will look very "Custom" and you can always install plates with binding posts later.

The only way I would recommend just having wires come out of a hole in the sheatrock is if you want the wires to come out right behind a 6 foot high speaker on the back wall. Here a outlet cover would look funny.

But be warned: it's hard enough to thread wire through a hole the size of an electrical outlet box. It's even tricker to do do it through a tiny hole in the sheatrock.

 

[Davey_T]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I didn't even think about the idea of using the old work boxes to get "exact" placement of the boxes. I'll keep that in mind for the future.

In the meantime, I've decided to avoid the problem altogether and buy in-walls for my surrounds. I have a pretty small room I'm building (13x14ish) and I've decided I want all of the interior space I can get! Also, the surrounds I have right now aren't the same brand as my front floor-standing models, so I have wanted to purchase voice-matched speakers for a while anyway. (I bought Polk RC55i's for anyone who's interested. $150/pr at jandr.com - great deal.)

Anyway, a long-winded message where just "thank you" would have been fine!

Dave

 

[Rick_Brown]

You'll love the Polk's. I have 65's and 85's and they sound great - aimable tweeters, too.

 

[Chris Hovanic]

My surrounds speaker wire comes out of a blank wall plate cover through a hole. I went and bought some black Tech-Flex and some heat shrink to cover the speaker wire. I did the same for my front speakers.

Really dersses up the wire on its short trip to the speaker.

 

[BrianML]

Another option is to use a low voltage mounting bracket. This will secure the faceplate with out a box in the back that you have to route wire thru. You can stick your whole hand in the wall to fish wire. There are many brands, one is at erico.com model# mpls. I use these and a blank faceplate that i drill a small hole thru, and it looks neat.

 

[Bob McElfresh]

So you guys like the Polk speakers for in-walls?

I have a new room to deal with and it only has 1 wall that can fit the TV. When I add the TV, DefTech towers and the SVS sub - the wall is filled up and the equipment really sticks into the room.

Since this is my only wall, I was thinking I might take the plunge for some in-wall speakers.

I would have to do in-walls for the fronts and in-ceiling for the rears as the back wall has a fireplace and windows on either side. (Trust me - it's better than the last room I tried to install my HT into.)

Do you guys have your in-walls in a straight row or put the center up above out of line?

 

[Rick_Brown]

I don't use a center speaker - gas fireplace takes up all the space. My useage is 50% TV, 45% music and 5% DVD and phantom center suits me fine.

My L/R fronts and surrounds are Polk 85's with 8" woofers, mounted so that the tops are about 44" high, which is about right for listening while seated.

 

[Davey_T]

Dolby recommends having the center channel at the same height as the ront speakers. Since the localizable sound is at the high end, I always try (as closely as possible!) to have the center channel around the same height as the front tweeters.

See www_dolby_com/ht/Guide.HomeTheater.0110.html#s3.1

(Can't post URLs yet, which in my opinion is a rather silly rule, since all that means is that I'll still post URLs, but with special characters. OK. Sorry. Just had to get that out.)

Dave