Arry74 Posted October 18, 2008 Posted October 18, 2008 Hi I have just taken delivery of some Paradigm Monitor 11 front speakers, the cc290 centre, rears and a sub. I know where I am going to get my HDMI cables from when I get my receiver, either the Marantz SR7002 or Denon 3808 however what speaker cable do I need. Can you buy speaker cable online anywhere? What type of speaker cable do I need or is it all pretty much the same? The rears will be in the ceiling and I guess I will need say 5 metres to each rear. I also have outdoor speakers and to each one, may need approx 10 metres of cable. If anyone can help that would be great. Sorry for the seemingly basic question but I have never had to buy cables before and don't want to be ripped off in the store.
Juicester Posted October 18, 2008 Posted October 18, 2008 read this thread a few links posted in the thread above. Plenty of advice on this type of thing if you do a search on the forums. It also depends on the type of cable you're after. If you want more high end stuff than the cables linked in that thread - you will have to buy from a specialist dealer. I use cheapo stuff on my rears, and then have some Chord Silver Screen on the fronts - rrp$20 a metre, but if you're interested in that, i can get it sourced for $13 a metre. Cheers.
Guest EZYHD Posted October 18, 2008 Posted October 18, 2008 I've used 12g Olex speaker cable from Lawrence and Hanson stores (OZ WIDE) on 3 occasions, excellent quality and price was great, its made in Aust too.
Brendon Posted October 18, 2008 Posted October 18, 2008 Hi , The selby acoustics mob who are advertising at the top of the page are very good to deal with and have a 20% discount for forum members.Used them a couple of times now very impressed. Personally I dont belive in high end cable wire onless you have money to burn and are looking for that last 0.0001 percent that you think might be missing. And of course Foxy's the man for HDMI I hear. Brendon
Arry74 Posted October 19, 2008 Author Posted October 19, 2008 Many thanks for the advice guys. I had a look through the Selby Site, but it is so confusing regarding speaker cable, ie so much to choose from, I have absolutely no idea. I want to bi-wire my speakers so do I need to buy special cable for that?
Shonky* Posted October 19, 2008 Posted October 19, 2008 (edited) Many thanks for the advice guys.I had a look through the Selby Site, but it is so confusing regarding speaker cable, ie so much to choose from, I have absolutely no idea. I want to bi-wire my speakers so do I need to buy special cable for that? IMO, there's probably not a lot of point in biwiring particularly if the cable is already fairly decent. Biamping however is probably worth doing. The cable doesn't need to be anything special - you just need two lengths (i.e. 4 conductors total) per speaker. There are some "biwire/biamp" specific cables which simply have 4 conductors all tied together e.g. http://www.selbyacoustics.com.au/storefron...amp;i=243654810 Also have a read of this: http://www.audioholics.com/education/frequ...ing-vs-biwiring http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bi-wiring http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bi-amping Edited October 19, 2008 by Shonky*
mquin1503560492 Posted October 19, 2008 Posted October 19, 2008 Hi arry, as you are in Perth (like me) I would recommend that you go into Altronics (Northbridge). The sell a range of speaker cables and connectors. They also have a web site so you can peruse before you enter. From memory it is www.altronics.com.au I bought a 50m roll of audio cable and a handfull of gold plated banana plus from them a couple of week ago. Cheers Matt
Arry74 Posted November 1, 2008 Author Posted November 1, 2008 I have just come back from o/s and am ready to buy cables. I have again looked through Selby's site but it is confusing to me: ie which sub cable to get? - there are heaps? Also there are lots of speaker cables to choose from which say OFC?, how many strands they have etc? What would you use for the fronts and centre and what to use for the rears? What banana plugs would anyone recommend? thanks
lufc001 Posted November 1, 2008 Posted November 1, 2008 For HDMI Cables i bought them off eBay of this seller. Got a lot of good reviews from buyers. http://cgi.ebay.com.au/AuSuperDeal-1-8M-HD...A1%7C240%3A1318 Not received them yet but they look pretty good and all the feedback cant be wrong, were much cheaper than EzyHD too.
Guest EZYHD Posted November 1, 2008 Posted November 1, 2008 For HDMI Cables i bought them off eBay of this seller. Got a lot of good reviews from buyers.Not received them yet but they look pretty good and all the feedback cant be wrong, were much cheaper than EzyHD too. Cheaper than many others but what is the real quality like, its been said a thousand times over the cheapies either work or they don't, some do 1080p others don't, some have sparkles others don't, its a lottery. I can supply cables just like this but iI won't, in the early days I did, had far to many problems to my liking. Please compare apples with apples.
lufc001 Posted November 1, 2008 Posted November 1, 2008 Cheaper than many others but what is the real quality like, its been said a thousand times over the cheapies either work or they don't, some do 1080p others don't, some have sparkles others don't, its a lottery. I can supply cables just like this but iI won't, in the early days I did, had far to many problems to my liking. Please compare apples with apples. Well I won't know until i get them, any problems and I will be sending them back for a refund and ordering your ones but hopefully I saved myself some money with these ones If not I'll not be going down that path again! What's the best way to test the cables? Just plug them into ps3 and play movies at 1080p etc and some games and look for any inconsitancies?
lufc001 Posted November 1, 2008 Posted November 1, 2008 (edited) HiI have just taken delivery of some Paradigm Monitor 11 front speakers, the cc290 centre, rears and a sub. I know where I am going to get my HDMI cables from when I get my receiver, either the Marantz SR7002 or Denon 3808 however what speaker cable do I need. Can you buy speaker cable online anywhere? What type of speaker cable do I need or is it all pretty much the same? The rears will be in the ceiling and I guess I will need say 5 metres to each rear. I also have outdoor speakers and to each one, may need approx 10 metres of cable. If anyone can help that would be great. Sorry for the seemingly basic question but I have never had to buy cables before and don't want to be ripped off in the store. I just bought 2 x 25m rolls of 12AWG Neotech Speaker Wire from Selby and a 7.1 Surround Sound Wall Plate for $182. I then got all of my other wall plates for each speaker inc sub and 2 x box of 20 Duallock Banana Plugs from PSR Audio for $120 i think (might be wrong on the price though) I am running a Focal Chorus 700v 5.1 Setup with 2 x Outdoor Speakers, only reason I went for 12AWG was because it was cheaper for me to do that than mix and match between 12AWG for fronts and 16AWG for the rears. I have also got a Denon AVR-3808 as well, although not plugged it into the speakers yet at home as we get keys on Friday!! Can't wait Hope that this helps... Edited November 1, 2008 by rkid001
Saturated Posted November 1, 2008 Posted November 1, 2008 What's the best way to test the cables? Just plug them into ps3 and play movies at 1080p etc and some games and look for any inconsitancies? No, you need to get a 9 litre bucket of water on a kitchen bench full of room temp water and an empty bucket on the floor. dip one end into the bucket of water to a depth of 150mm. Time how long the capillary action takes to drain 1 litre of water from bucket to bucket. Anything over 1 hour to transfer 1 litre of room temperature water and you will be flat out getting more than 720p with audio. I prefer the above method. The other method is to fix a medium sized milo tin to each end of the HDMI cable. Whispering into one end and measuring with a sound pressure level meter is much too subjective. Cheers,
lufc001 Posted November 1, 2008 Posted November 1, 2008 No, you need to get a 9 litre bucket of water on a kitchen bench full of room temp water and an empty bucket on the floor. dip one end into the bucket of water to a depth of 150mm. Time how long the capillary action takes to drain 1 litre of water from bucket to bucket. Anything over 1 hour to transfer 1 litre of room temperature water and you will be flat out getting more than 720p with audio.I prefer the above method. The other method is to fix a medium sized milo tin to each end of the HDMI cable. Whispering into one end and measuring with a sound pressure level meter is much too subjective. Cheers, Haha thanks for that, was gonna look through them with a microscope but wasn't having much luck, will give those a try Ask a stupid question........
lufc001 Posted November 1, 2008 Posted November 1, 2008 No, you need to get a 9 litre bucket of water on a kitchen bench full of room temp water and an empty bucket on the floor. dip one end into the bucket of water to a depth of 150mm. Time how long the capillary action takes to drain 1 litre of water from bucket to bucket. Anything over 1 hour to transfer 1 litre of room temperature water and you will be flat out getting more than 720p with audio.I prefer the above method. The other method is to fix a medium sized milo tin to each end of the HDMI cable. Whispering into one end and measuring with a sound pressure level meter is much too subjective. Cheers, Haha thanks for that, was gonna look through them with a microscope but wasn't having much luck, will give those a try Ask a stupid question........
Saturated Posted November 1, 2008 Posted November 1, 2008 Haha thanks for that, was gonna look through them with a microscope but wasn't having much luck, will give those a try Ask a stupid question........ T'was all in good fun ... Enjoy your new setup.
lufc001 Posted November 1, 2008 Posted November 1, 2008 T'was all in good fun ... Enjoy your new setup. Yeah np Can 't wait to set it all up! However only down side is looks like my money has run out for this pay so will be unable to pay for the Denon 3808 Audyssey Upgrade Anyway, back to the original thread topic now, sorry OP
Guest EZYHD Posted November 1, 2008 Posted November 1, 2008 (edited) If not I'll not be going down that path again! What's the best way to test the cables? Just plug them into ps3 and play movies at 1080p etc and some games and look for any inconsitancies? Exactly. If the HDMI cables don't work you'll have trouble getting a refund as bought off eBay, Paypal gives you some protection though but it wont be a speedy dispute process. Edited November 1, 2008 by EZYHD
Rudy24 Posted November 1, 2008 Posted November 1, 2008 (edited) Hi I have a Samsung LA40F81BD HDTV and a DAV-DZ570 Sony Home Theatre. I have them connected via HDMI for DVD to TV and the picture and sound is fantastic! Got to love Black Hawk Down!!! However when I try to run the TV sound through the Sony via an Optical Cable there is close to a 1 second delay in the sound. This is evident when both sound controls are up at the same level (I hear an echo) or if I just use the home theatre it is out of sync with the picture. I have tested the systems using an older home theatre (also Sony) with optical input and it works fine. To me this proves that it is not the settings on the TV or the optical cable itself. I need to do more research... however it looks like the problem starts when I change channels?? And/or when I 'play' with the sound settings on the Home Theatre. What am I doing wrong. I could just use RCA plugs - but I want to take advantage of 5.1 sound when broadcast from HDTV. Any help would be great. Thanks Edited November 2, 2008 by Rudy24
Arry74 Posted November 2, 2008 Author Posted November 2, 2008 Hi Going on from what I have read would the following be decent enough cable: NEOTECH 25m lot OFC Speaker Cable 420 STRANDS 12 AWG KS1015b.25m What sub cable do most of you have? My set up will consist of: Denon 3808 Front Speakers - Paradigm Monitor 11 v6 Centre Speaker - Paradigm Monitor CC 290 Rear Speakers - Speakercraft Aim 8 Two Subwoofer - Velodyne CHT-10R Outdoor Speakers - Omni Mirage 6 The choice of banana plugs is doing my head in. Does anyone have any recommendations? Thankyou :-)
Cooksta59 Posted November 2, 2008 Posted November 2, 2008 HiGoing on from what I have read would the following be decent enough cable: NEOTECH 25m lot OFC Speaker Cable 420 STRANDS 12 AWG KS1015b.25m What sub cable do most of you have? The choice of banana plugs is doing my head in. Does anyone have any recommendations? Thankyou :-) Hi Arry congratulations on the new setup. Banana plugs.....I bought these from Selby, went for the Neotech plastic covered ones Neotech Banana plugs. bit safer electrically with plastic sheaths imo. Subwoofer Cable, pays to buy a sub cable with 1 rca in (and splits) to 2 rca out imo, there have been people report problems if using auto switchon of sub with 1 rca to 1 rca from memory. This 1 is just for reference to illustrate the cable I'm talking about. Subwoofer cable 1rca to 2 rca.
Arry74 Posted November 2, 2008 Author Posted November 2, 2008 Thanks Coosta and others :-) I don't really understand what you mean with the RCA cable but thanks for the advice. Would I need to run cable like this inside my cavity and ceiling? Home Theatre in Wall Speaker Cable 2 Core 16 AWG 50m LMC2VL50Our Price: AU $74.95 I have a double brick home ta
Shonky* Posted November 2, 2008 Posted November 2, 2008 Many subwoofers have "stereo inputs" even though the sub channel is mono (and the output from the AVR is mono). The sub amplifiers often have an auto standby mode to turn off if no audio is received. It seems some have problems detecting this properly when only using one of the inputs. My sub specifically says use the left channel if only using a mono cable. So the suggestion is to get a 1RCA (AVR) to 2RCA (sub) cable to prevent the possibility of that happening. You don't specifically need double insulated cable to run in the ceiling if that's what you're asking. That should be fairly good enough for the surround speakers.
Arry74 Posted November 2, 2008 Author Posted November 2, 2008 I was just wondering as it is very expensive
Shonky* Posted November 2, 2008 Posted November 2, 2008 Actually that's the cheapest 16AWG the Selby has at about $1.50/metre. The Neotech stuff is $2/m in 100m lots.
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