looking to see how some of you guys terminate speaker wiring (and other wiring) at wall connections.


thanks!

Behind the screen ontop of linacoustic :

http://www.stargateunofficial.com/Gallery/pic/HTWallplate01.jpg

Did you paint those Powers? Or did they come in black?

Mine look very similar to that picture.

I had black decora plates, but I painted the speaker terminals black. I covered the gold binding posts with blue tape and gave them a quick shot of black spray paint.

I had trouble finding them in black, so I painted some. I found a "special" black paint for plastic. It had some different volatiles in it than other spray paints, so I figured it must react with the plastic better to get a good bond. It said "No Priming Required." They were right. I washed the plastic with naptha, sprayed them with the special paint, and then covered them with a "normal" flat black spray paint. I can't even scratch the paint off.

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii250/Sands_at_Pier147/The%20Rouge%20Theater/IMG_1696.jpg

I mounted my custom plates in the bronze-colored metal boxes from HD, and ran the speaker wire right into it.

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii250/Sands_at_Pier147/The%20Rouge%20Theater/IMG_1698.jpg

Did you paint those Powers? Or did they come in black?

Inserts were painted with Krylon Fusion for Plastic.

Here's what I put recently in my living room. This picture reminds me that I still need to repair the drywall.

I used monoprice in-wall speaker cable and in hindsight should have run it far enough to reach the receiver. I didn't and already was on my way to fill up a double gang keystone plate. It would have taken another double gang plate just for the 6 speakers connected via keystone jacks. Instead I soldered and used heat-shrink to join regular speaker cable to the inwall cable and ran it through holes I drilled in a blank keystone jack. The rubber grommets finish it off. Just behind those plates are the splice.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a114/D-Train78/LivingRoomPlate.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a114/D-Train78/LivingRoomPlate2.jpg

Mine are standard binding posts on wall plates. Some unusual things I did (and possibly overkilled) were:

1. The binding posts and wall plates were purchased separately and holes drilled and everything screwed together. Unlike the pre-assembled wall plates shown above.

2. The wall plates weren't the right color so they had to be (spray) painted.

3. I soldered the in-wall speaker wires directly to the binding post studs in back rather than screw the wires on or use spade lugs back there. Took a lot of care to not melt the binding post bushings or the wall plate. This way there will never be oxidation problems requiring troubleshooting inside the wall.

4. I used blue outlet boxes in the wall at each location. These were actually cheaper than the orange drywall trim rings used for low voltage circuits.

5. Mostly four binding posts (two double conductor cables) per wall plate.

6. Cables are Romex, with ground wires. Ground wires were curled up in the box and left unconnected but could be resurrected at a later date for biwiring, etc. Ground wires are not connected to the house electrical system.

7. Although the binding posts accept banana plugs, due to my inaccuracy drilling holes, the spacing is not right for double banana plugs.

Video hints: http://www.cockam.com/theater.htm

I use these all the time on my installs that require wallplates (many use a rack and wire directly into the speaker cables):

http://speakercraft.com/#Products:257:Hook%20Upz%20Decora%20Style%20Connector%20Inse rts

Available in several colors (including black) and with from 1 to 8 holes. Great thing about them is you can assemble a 7.2 wallplate in a 2-gang box.

6. Cables are Romex, with ground wires. Ground wires were curled up in the box and left unconnected but could be resurrected at a later date for biwiring, etc. Ground wires are not connected to the house electrical system.

You are using Romex (ex. solid copper 14/2) for your speaker runs? This seems like a potential life/equipment safety issue should you ever sell the house. Someone (not knowing what the wires were) could mistake them for high voltage wires and make the fatal mistake of branching them with a high voltage circuit. Goodbye equipement, hello fire department.

Should have read that... FOR SURE that's a code voilation! Not only that, but it would be even more confusing by using the bule boxes. It's fine to use the blue boxes if you want- I choose not to because i like having the extra room in the back for the cables but ROMEX as speaker cable?!? That's really bad for the reasons stated above plus the fact that it's just not a good audio conductor.

Have fun when you sell you house if a home inspector sees any of that!

Should have read that... FOR SURE that's a code voilation! Not only that, but it would be even more confusing by using the bule boxes. It's fine to use the blue boxes if you want- I choose not to because i like having the extra room in the back for the cables but ROMEX as speaker cable?!? That's really bad for the reasons stated above plus the fact that it's just not a good audio conductor.

Have fun when you sell you house if a home inspector sees any of that!
I'm in the process of remodeling my basement and used 14/2 romex for my rear speakers as well. As far as having issues when I sell the house by a home inspector that's easy. Just trim the wires back and tuck them behind the box so you can't see them. Also my speakers are mounted inside the ceiling about 4 feet from my projector which has 4 3/4" flexible conduit runs to it in a ceiling soffit. Worst come to worst I could always run new speaker wire through one of those and from there run them to each left and right rear speaker with minimal drywall damage and repair. I know solid electrical wire is not supposed to be the best for audio, but from what I read small runs normally will be fine using it. Besides they're rear speakers; I would never use it for my mains.
I was just being cheap and had extra wire from wiring the basement up so I decided to use it. I've spent so much already and there's a lot more to be spent I'm trying to save money wherever I can.

... plus the fact that it's just not a good audio conductor.



Can you explain why ? I'm aware of the code issues created when using ROMEX, but why cant 12/2 ROMEX conduct the same as 12/2 CL2 rated speaker wire ? Data to back up the claim would be good too. :confused:

Can you explain why ? I'm aware of the code issues created when using ROMEX, but why cant 12/2 ROMEX conduct the same as 12/2 CL2 rated speaker wire ? Data to back up the claim would be good too. :confused:

I would like to see a NEC reference that says ROMEX cannot be used for low voltage, because I don't recall ever seeing that stated by NEC.

I don't buy the "ROMEX is bad for audio" one either.
Wire reference: http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm

In the equipment closet, I doubled up all of the wiring for future use, but only deployed enough keystone jacks for one of each for the time being........

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o306/YW84U/IMG_3276x.jpg

Cat5 jack is currently connected for IR repeater duties

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o306/YW84U/IMG_3313.jpg

I left the majority of my plates white, except for the ones that are 'seen' within the room.

Sidewall inputs for Composite, L/R Audio and two network cables (for when someone brings a laptop or other game console etc..). All line level inputs were RG6, then converted to RCA with an adapter behind the box. Wish I would have run an HDMI to there though :o. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20!

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o306/YW84U/IMG_3627.jpg

And, for the speakers, Riser outputs to Bass Shakers etc:

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o306/YW84U/IMG_3625.jpg

They are all Leviton Quickport Decora Inserts, painted satin black with Mar-Hyde (from the proud makers of Bondo!), and stainless covers.

Cheers,

thanks Tom, can always count on you for detailed indepth explanations :D

I took a few new pics of my screen wall which also happen to show some of my terminations...

http://www.mostlyharmless.org/theater/bb2.jpg

And one of my not so finished some somewhat messy closet...

http://www.mostlyharmless.org/theater/closet.jpg

I would like to see a NEC reference that says ROMEX cannot be used for low voltage, because I don't recall ever seeing that stated by NEC.


Agreed. As far as I know, as long as it is rated for in wall use, it can be used for low voltage. The biggest issue is to keep them separated from line voltage in boxes, etc. But I would be interested to see real evidence to the contrary.

As for somebody just wiring up a mysterious, loose wire they find sticking out of the wall… …well, kinda deserve what you get for acting dumb. If it makes you sleep better though, you could always mark the ends with “LV” (either directly on the outer jacket or taped to one of the actual wires.


I don't buy the "ROMEX is bad for audio" one either.
Wire reference: http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm

Again, I agree. It’s not like the electrons care if they are going down solid or stranded wire.

-Suntan

As for somebody just wiring up a mysterious, loose wire they find sticking out of the wall…

We actually had a thread about that a few months back ... Except it was in the attic, I think,

Found it much easer to use a patch panel in the equipment closet.

http://www.stargateunofficial.com/Gallery/pic/HT_patch_panel_v2.jpg

Solid wire is actually better for higher frequencies, even in the audio range (up to 20 kHz). Higher frequencies tend to roll off more dramatically from stranded wire than they do from solid wire. But the roll off would be negligible at the distances we are talking about. You would need to run hundreds of feet of speaker cable for each speaker to make an audible difference. My longest run is about 75 feet, so I'm not concerned about audio effects of stranded wire. The stranded wire is easier to work with, too.

But assuming you can terminate the wires the way you want to, there is nothing wrong with using solid wire to hook up speakers.

And I can't think of any NEC Code reason you couldn't just use romex.

I went with this for all speakers except the subs. For the subs I also used RG6 coax. I currently have the subs connected to the coax with F-connectors and RCA cables.
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l138/crossroads_04/2-28-08-Paint009.jpg