Hello everyone, first time poster here. I just bought my first HTIB (though I am a car audio "expert"), a Panasonic SC-HT40. I know it's entry level, but it's everything I needed and wanted for under $200, and I must say it sounds impressive for the price. Plus this is an actual receiver, and not a DVD HTIB (already had a good DVD player).

Ok, enough rambling on, getting to the point of the post. My one complaint about this system is that the speakers are pre-wired from the factory, and do not have detachable speaker wire. I wouldn't complain but the wire is only 22 AWG, and I'm wanting to run some 14 AWG that I have left over from a previous car audio install. I read that "all about wires website" or whatever it's called, and according to the table, with where I have everything located distance-wise, 22 AWG should be fine for the fronts, center, and sub. I'll actually probably just cut out the excess to decrease the resistance a bit. The rear wires that are wired all the way to the rear of the room are what I'm concerned about. According to the chart, I need at least 16 AWG. The sub and center speaker are 6-ohm, and the fronts and rears are 4-ohms.

I have already tried taking the speaker apart to solder new wires to the voicecoils, however it doesn't seem the speaker housing comes apart. If any of you have any suggestions on taking these speaker housings apart, now's the time to let me in on the convo, otherwise, would it be worth it to snip off the existing wiring that protrudes on the outside of the speaker housing, where only a couple of inches of small wire would be going to the speaker (inside the housing)?

Thanks for any and all help/suggestions!!!

Can you take off the front grille?
You may need to take out the driver to get inside the box.

If you can't get them open, then go ahead and snip and solder. Probably won't make a percievable sound difference, but it can't hurt and might make you feel better. As long as you plan to cut the wires to the fronts as well, might as well stick some 14 gauge in there as well. 22 awg is pretty small, but frankly that is probably all the receiver and speakers need. Who knows, maybe the system is tuned to the wires (OK not likely, but possible)

According to the spec sheet, here's the power output quoted directly from the manual:

RMS output power of each channel driven
10% THD
1kHz front CH 90 W per channel (4-ohms)
1kHz surround CH 90 W per channel (4-ohms)
1kHz center CH 220 W per channel (6-ohms)
100 Hz sub CH 220 W per channel (6-ohms)
Total RMS output power 800 W

Rated minimum sine wave RMS power output
1% THD (Dolby Digital Mode)
150 Hz to 20 kHz front CH 50 W per channel (4-ohms)
150 Hz to 20 kHz surround CH 50 W per channel (4-ohms)
150 Hz to 20 kHz center CH 150 W per channel (6-ohms)
45 Hz to 150 Hz sub CH 150 W per channel (6-ohms)
Total FTC output power 400 W

Rated minimum sine wave RMS power output
1% THD (Stereo Mode)
150 Hz to 20 kHz front CH 50 W per channel (4-ohms)
45 Hz to 150 Hz sub CH 150 W per channel (6-ohms)
Total FTC output power 200 W


So from this info, I'm assuming the first table is MAX output power (peak power), the second table is RMS (continuous) output power in 5.1 DD Surround mode, and the third table is RMS output power in Stereo mode, correct?

As for the speaker housing, the driver is on the inside, the "grille" is that "cotton-type" that completely covers the front, and the housing is one plastic piece. There are 6 screws on the back that I took out, but it didn't seem to do anything, nothing would pull apart. From what I can tell, there is no way to get inside this thing, which sucks. Once I have more posts, I'll be able to post a picture of the speaker housing, so you can all see what I'm working with.

I'll probably have to go ahead and snip/solder the wires, though it seems kind of pointless since there will still be that initial 22 AWG restriction going to the speaker, though I'm sure 30+ feet of 14 AWG with only a couple of inches of 22 AWG should be a definite improvement. I already have the solder/iron and the speaker wire, so I figure why not? I wouldn't bother if it were say 18 AWG, but 22 AWG is freaking tiny!

Any other suggestions? Thanks again for the responses!

Well, snip it outside the box and splice it.
The 6-12 inches of 22awg isn't gonna make any difference.

Happy Holidays

m

^^^ Excellent. Thanks for the response.

Leave it alone...

...down the road (when you'll sell it), it'll not look like crap to the next guy.

Those home-theater-in-a-box's use low powered amplifiers on efficient drivers anyway...

Whelp, I figured it out! The 6 screws on the back had to be removed, and then I took a really thin screwdriver and popped the front of the speaker housing/grille out. Perfect! I now have access to the wiring going directly to the speaker and can upgrade the wiring without it looking like crap (as mentioned by the poster above me). Not to mention if I wanted to upgrade my speakers in the future, I wouldn't have to run any new wire. However, the wire I have is 16 AWG NOT 14 AWG as previously thought. So my next question is...is it worth voiding the factory 1 year warranty?

Does it really make a significant difference, that I will hear and notice, or is it just for the sake of the upgrade? Because if it is just for the sake of upgrading for a small benefit, then I'll wait out the year and do it after the warranty is up. With a budget system as this, I'd figure ANY sort of upgrade is a plus, however having the 1 year warranty is definitely a plus considering this is a budget, sub-$200 HTIB that could potentially have problems later on down the line. Any thoughts?