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Wiring problem??

post #1 of 26
7/8/11 at 7:16am
Thread Starter 
So the guy who wired my theatre room during construction took pictures/measurements of the locations of the wire. Well he's not wanting to give that information to me since he knows I will do it myself. On top of that he said he doesn't think there is enough speaker wire for the mains to actually do free standing speakers (originally wife wanted in wall so he planned for that)

My question is if I splice and add an extra couple of feet to that speaker wire how much is it going to degrade my sound quality?
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post #2 of 26
7/8/11 at 7:24am
It will have little or no impact on your sound if you add wire. Try and use wire at least the same gauge of the wire already in place
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post #3 of 26
7/8/11 at 7:32am
Thread Starter 
Awesome... so just use a wire nut to tie into the existing wire?

Any ideas on how to FIND the wire now..>I have a general idea of where it is... just the wifey doesn't want holes in the new walls!!
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post #4 of 26
7/8/11 at 7:50am
Solder it.
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post #5 of 26
7/8/11 at 7:51am
Thread Starter 
I assume the wire covering will tell me what gauge it is.

Anything special w/ the soldering to watch out for?
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post #6 of 26
7/8/11 at 8:11am
You can just twist the wire and tape. It will work. If you want to solder it is a better connection. Take the bare leads and tin them (a small covering of solder). Twist and solder together and tape.

Regarding the wires in the wall that is a tough one. If you have a rough idea where the wires are you can cut the wall board away and then plan to install a box and faceplate later. Use the wall opening to look with a light and mirror for the wire.

Regarding your installer I would approach him again asking for the information since he has been paid for the install. He has made some money. If he will not give it to you ask how much he wants for the information. Make an offer you believe is reasonable in light of the time and effort you will have to employ to fix this. Anything you are willing to pay is upside from zero for him.

Before you speak with the installer visualize how you might rerun the wires possibly removing baseboard or in the attic and how much effort and cost that will be for you.
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post #7 of 26
7/8/11 at 8:35am
Probably the easiest thing to do would be to install one of these in each of the proposed areas for the speakers...

http://www.amazon.com/GLS-Audio-Bind...0139271&sr=8-7
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post #8 of 26
7/8/11 at 8:48am
Do you have access to one end of the wire? Put a tone generator on it and chase it with a probe in the area you believe it to be terminated at. Just a thought....
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post #9 of 26
7/8/11 at 8:50am
Thread Starter 
Yeah I had planned on installing those binding posts after I got the wire dropped down.

Note to self... take pictures and measurements myself next time.
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post #10 of 26
7/8/11 at 8:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by schan1269 View Post

Probably the easiest thing to do would be to install one of these in each of the proposed areas for the speakers...

http://www.amazon.com/GLS-Audio-Bind...0139271&sr=8-7

Cheaper here http://www.automatedoutlet.com/Home/Keystone-Wallplates then add binding post keystone inserts at $1.78 each. Even cheaper through worthington if you can convince them to give you dealer account access
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post #11 of 26
7/8/11 at 9:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jskibo View Post

Do you have access to one end of the wire? Put a tone generator on it and chase it with a probe in the area you believe it to be terminated at. Just a thought....

I second this... You can find them for rent if you hunt around, ymmv. Work great... quick and easy.

Use it for the speaker wire as well... I'm having a hard time believing that the original installer didn't run enough to at least reach the floor.

good luck
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post #12 of 26
7/8/11 at 9:03am
Thread Starter 
Well i found where the wires are in our living room for the future... I had a picture I took and know they are 4 feet above the electrical outlet and about 3 feet either side of mantle....

And I found a picture of the theatre room before it was insulated so I atleast know where the wires aren't... He'd mentioned they were about 5.5 feet above floor and outside where the 100" screen would be...
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post #13 of 26
7/8/11 at 9:06am
Thread Starter 
I do have the ends that would be in the AV closet. So I would connect the tone generator to that end and what happens? It sends a signal to the other end that the probe would indicate as I got near? I assume sort of like a Stud Finder?
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post #14 of 26
7/8/11 at 9:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sok454 View Post

I do have the ends that would be in the AV closet. So I would connect the tone generator to that end and what happens? It sends a signal to the other end that the probe would indicate as I got near? I assume sort of like a Stud Finder?

You got it. Tone gets louder the closer you get. It will range you right to the cavity at least.
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post #15 of 26
7/8/11 at 9:10am
Thread Starter 
Just found a video on how to use one of the tone generators...now I just need to find one!
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post #16 of 26
7/8/11 at 9:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sok454 View Post

Just found a video on how to use one of the tone generators...now I just need to find one!

Just a quick tip. Since you don't know which wire goes to what location, you may want to tie them all together first and tone the batch. Mark the general locations for all tones, then go back and tone one at a time searching only in the areas you marked. Then again, if you're just chasing two it really won't matter.
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post #17 of 26
7/8/11 at 9:16am
Thread Starter 
I'd assume mono price would have these too... i'm excited to get this little part of the project out of the way!
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post #18 of 26
7/8/11 at 9:17am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jskibo View Post

Just a quick tip. Since you don't know which wire goes to what location, you may want to tie them all together first and tone the batch. Mark the general locations for all tones, then go back and tone one at a time searching only in the areas you marked. Then again, if you're just chasing two it really won't matter.

Its really going to be 2 speaker wires for the mains...so they should be far enough apart that i don't pick up interference from the others I'd hope. Is there a binder clip of some sort that is used for speaker wire?
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post #19 of 26
7/8/11 at 9:24am
Thread Starter 
So for the each speaker i need 1 keystone plate and I should do a 2 hole and then get 2 inserts right?
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post #20 of 26
7/8/11 at 10:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sok454 View Post
So for the each speaker i need 1 keystone plate and I should do a 2 hole and then get 2 inserts right?


Yes, the tone generator will have an aligator clip anlong with some other connection (RJ45, etc)

Two hole and two insert for your binding posts.
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post #21 of 26
7/8/11 at 10:30am
Thread Starter 
Awesome! Thanks man I appreciate the help... save me about 1000 if I can get all this wire seperated and install the projector amp etc myself.
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post #22 of 26
7/8/11 at 10:33am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jskibo View Post
Yes, the tone generator will have an aligator clip anlong with some other connection (RJ45, etc)

Two hole and two insert for your binding posts.
Ok... one more... for the sub port and the center channel box would I use the same?
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post #23 of 26
7/8/11 at 10:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sok454 View Post
Ok... one more... for the sub port and the center channel box would I use the same?
Center yes. Sub? Depends on if he ran RJ59 coax or speaker wire
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post #24 of 26
7/8/11 at 10:49am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jskibo View Post
Center yes. Sub? Depends on if he ran RJ59 coax or speaker wire
It looked like thicker cable last time I looked at it. you know I think where that center speaker goes there is cat5e and maybe an HDMI in there as well. I might just order a 4 jack on for that one to be safe. HDMI was for Xbox I think...

I am now wishing I would have just ran the wire myself!!!
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post #25 of 26
7/8/11 at 10:56am
Thread Starter 
Behind here are the wires i'm looking for... bottom left corner is sub wire and in the middle is the hdmi, cat5e and speaker wire.
LL
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post #26 of 26
7/8/11 at 6:58pm
Thread Starter 
I started stripping wires tonight so i could the tone gen. To find locations. Not as easy as id hoped to locate the speaker wire... Seem to get a lot of false positives... And im sure all the drywall and insulation dont help w locating!
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