Opinions Please

[WaRe]

Hey guys i'm about to move into my new house. My basement is unfinish. So I will be doing the basement with a friend of mine.
Here are a few questions:
I currently have a LG 60" TV. I am thinking of installing a projector with a motorize screen. Should I stick with my 60" or go bigger? I always wanted a projector for my hometheater.

For inwall wiring.
Speaker wires what AWG should I go with?

HDMI cable, safe to say i can go with something that's about 25' long? I won't lose any pic/sound quality assuming I go with a higher rating?

I am planning on putting my avr compoments at the back behind my seatings hence the long wirings.

Thanks

[blujacket]

My advice is to run conduit for all of your wire runs, including where you would mount a projector. You would be all set for any future upgrades.

[sterryo]

pre-wire everything with future changes in mind, use conduit and make sure to put 2 pull strings in each conduit.

on my HT i use both a projector and a flat screen, i generally use the flat screen for tv and the projector for blu's and very special televised events

[Beta Man]

Use speaker wires and cables that are rated for in-wall use..... and don't do ANYTHING until you know for a fact that the basement is going to stay dry.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

Use speaker wires and cables that are rated for in-wall use..... and don't do ANYTHING until you know for a fact that the basement is going to stay dry.

Excellent advice. It breaks my heart to read stories of basement HTs being flooded.

To answer your question, I would definitely go with a projector if I could. I would probably mount the TV on the wall for regular TV viewing and then have a motorized screen that could drop in front of it for movie time.

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by Steve

Excellent advice. It breaks my heart to read stories of basement HTs being flooded.

To answer your question, I would definitely go with a projector if I could. I would probably mount the TV on the wall for regular TV viewing and then have a motorized screen that could drop in front of it for movie time.

+1 on the dry thing...I had to spend $10,000 just to keep our basement dry first.

Also, definitely run conduit for all of your wire runs. As a matter of fact, I sometimes suggest running 2 lines just in case you ever have an issue with one run down the road...this eliminates the headache of having to re-run the wires at that time...a real time and hassle saver.

[WaRe]

Thanks guys. I got quote a Panasonic PT-AE3000 for $3k demo unit. Comes with an extra bulb, professionally calibrated and with the ceiling mount.
Although I will be shopping around.

[Gunny]

you can get the panasonic ae4000 for 2000 new, add an extra bulb for i think 400, plus a ceiling mount and youre still under 3000 minus the calibration.

[tiger_qc]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

Use speaker wires and cables that are rated for in-wall use..... and don't do ANYTHING until you know for a fact that the basement is going to stay dry.

It will take a few years, the first year it's far from dry.

I'm about wire my new house as well, upstair, what kind of in wall cables should I get for my speakers?
Does regular 12 ga wires are okay, I see some on eBay and they don't look different than regular cable.
I've spotted cheap component and HDMI cables but I'm still on the fence for my 11 speakers 3 zone system. I need a lot maybe 500 ft. for outside, in the living room and dinner room.

Any suggestion is apreciated.

[roar]

Originally Posted by Gunny

you can get the panasonic ae4000 for 2000 new, add an extra bulb for i think 400, plus a ceiling mount and youre still under 3000 minus the calibration.

I don't think you can get a 4000 for 2k in Canada and the op is in Canada. Our projector prices are considerably higher than the US.

If I'm mistaken and you know of a place that sells the 4000 for 2k please let me know because I would be seriously interested in upgrading for that price.

[roar]

Originally Posted by tiger_qc

It will take a few years, the first year it's far from dry.

I'm about wire my new house as well, upstair, what kind of in wall cables should I get for my speakers?
Does regular 12 ga wires are okay, I see some on eBay and they don't look different than regular cable.
I've spotted cheap component and HDMI cables but I'm still on the fence for my 11 speakers 3 zone system. I need a lot maybe 500 ft. for outside, in the living room and dinner room.

Any suggestion is apreciated.

12 guage is a pretty hefty wire and would be great for almost any application I think. Check Monoprice out for bulk cable, even after shipping I've found it cheaper to have monoprice cable shipped to Canada. Just make sure it is the in-wall rated stuff, it will have an extra layer of sheilding on it usually. Something like this:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

I'd do a little more looking into the speakers your running and the distances before you committed to 12 gauge because more than likely you won't need that thick to get the same sound quality and you could save yourself a bundle going with a higher gauge.

[tiger_qc]

Originally Posted by roar

12 guage is a pretty hefty wire and would be great for almost any application I think. Check Monoprice out for bulk cable, even after shipping I've found it cheaper to have monoprice cable shipped to Canada. Just make sure it is the in-wall rated stuff, it will have an extra layer of sheilding on it usually. Something like this:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

I'd do a little more looking into the speakers your running and the distances before you committed to 12 gauge because more than likely you won't need that thick to get the same sound quality and you could save yourself a bundle going with a higher gauge.

So 12 AWG is a little extreme?
I'm actually using 16 gauge (not inwall) and it.s pretty thin...

I will have two runs of over 50 ft which gauge do you suggest?
I just want to make sure I don't have any issues because it will be permanent wiring just like my switches and outlets, I have to go true outside walls and I can't mess with the insulation of the house.

Thanks,
Gui.

[laie_techie]

I just purchased a house with an unfinished basement as well. Currently it has my furnace / AC unit and water hookups for a bathroom.

Checking out the local hardware stores (Home Depot, Lowe's, etc) I found bulk (500 feet) 14 gauge in-wall speaker wire. I didn't see 12 awg or 16 awg. I'm confident 14 will be good enough for my uses.

To the OP, you should also run cat-6 (or cat-7) cables; they are much cheaper than in-wall HDMI (you'll need 2 network cables per HDMI cable). Network cable will also come in handy because much of our equipment wants to connect to the network (if not the internet).

[roar]

Originally Posted by tiger_qc

So 12 AWG is a little extreme?
I'm actually using 16 gauge (not inwall) and it.s pretty thin...

I will have two runs of over 50 ft which gauge do you suggest?
I just want to make sure I don't have any issues because it will be permanent wiring just like my switches and outlets, I have to go true outside walls and I can't mess with the insulation of the house.

Thanks,
Gui.

To me 12 gauge for even 50 feet is beefy... if you are running some hard core speakers to highend amp, then ya, I think 12 gauge is great, but if you are running a moddest set of speakers then I really think 14 would be fine, 14 is certainly easier to terminate in my experience, but if you want to 100% certain you won't lose any quality, by all means go 12... here is a great article from audioholics which goes into great detail about speaker gauge and why thicker is needed in some application. The author recommends 12 gauge for 60ft+ runs at 8 ohms, but if you read their conclusion he states that in his opinion the recommendation is for a real audiophile, which I do not consider myself one. Have a read and know if you go 12 gauge you are in really really good shape. If you are looking for an area to save a little money, I'd suggest going to 14 and I personally couldn't hear a difference.

http://www.audioholics.com/education...er-cable-gauge

[tiger_qc]

Originally Posted by roar

To me 12 gauge for even 50 feet is beefy... if you are running some hard core speakers to highend amp, then ya, I think 12 gauge is great, but if you are running a moddest set of speakers then I really think 14 would be fine, 14 is certainly easier to terminate in my experience, but if you want to 100% certain you won't lose any quality, by all means go 12... here is a great article from audioholics which goes into great detail about speaker gauge and why thicker is needed in some application. The author recommends 12 gauge for 60ft+ runs at 8 ohms, but if you read their conclusion he states that in his opinion the recommendation is for a real audiophile, which I do not consider myself one. Have a read and know if you go 12 gauge you are in really really good shape. If you are looking for an area to save a little money, I'd suggest going to 14 and I personally couldn't hear a difference.

http://www.audioholics.com/education...er-cable-gauge

I have a modest Yamaha amp, 7 paradigm and 5 Energy speakers, I guess 14 AWG will do just great. I'm far from an audiophile, I'm not going to set my speakers on some footing or use lead and liege to get a cleaner sound on my 10 watts $20,000 amp.
Thanks for the great article.