For a powered subwoofer, does the wire guage make a difference?
The wire needs to run 50 ft theough walls and ceiling to conceal it.
Maxtech made me a custome wire for the job, with rca connects, but I'm worried the guage is inadequate, and will loose low hz detail, but if the subwoof is powered, would that matter? Since even if the signal reaching the woofer is weak, it will get amplified anyway?
The cable does matter, but thickness isn't everything. For a powered sub, you aren't driving much current down the line, so you don't need something fat enough to actually drive the speaker current. Parasitic capacitance matters less since you're only sending bass anyway, so losing high frequencies isn't such a big deal. You do want it to have decent shielding though or you'll pick up mains hum. You want decent quality signal cable, but you don't have to worry about power handling or high-frequency falloff too much.
>Parasitic capacitance matters less since you're only sending bass anyway
That's what I was guessing, but I didn't really know, and I wasn't able to find a good tutorial on it. Thanks for the reassurance. I didn't want to spring for a decent woofer and then cripple it with an anemic signal.
> You do want it to have decent shielding though or you'll pick up mains hum
Yeah, the guy who I ordered the cable from insisted I pay extra to use shielded cable... so seems he knew what I needed and what he was talking about. Probably 70 bucks well spent... I won't know until I get it all hooked up and start testing the sound.
I'm really excited about the way my home theater is coming along. It's taking way longer than I planned (was supposed to be done end of January), but it's taking extra time to do it right. Waiting for these custom cables, for example.
So far I've got the walls painted, screen hung, neon sconces wired in, the speakers hung, projector hung, and the walls fished with string to pull hidden speaker cables through the walls next weekend (I would have just pulled actual cable through, but I was waiting for the order of cables to arrive, and was ants-in-the-pants to get the paths figured out, so I did it all with string for now).
Climbing around the attic to fish the strings was a major pain, and took the entire weekend. Nine speaker wires in all to fish. Lots of unforeseen obstacles. Now I just hope no one says "what's this string sticking out of the wall for *yank*".
Also found a sweet mirror that looks like a box office window to hang outside the theater room, adding to the experience.
Hanging this will require me re-positioning the neon sign I had there, raising it so now the entryway looks boss. My kids want to "sell" tickets and collect and tear them as people enter now.
I looked into adding a display case of candy to one of the back walls, but holy cow are display cases expensive. Like a grand and more. I can build one in for next to nothing... more time, more delay, but will round out the whole theatrical feel.
Curtains for around the screen are coming along nice too. Other than wiring up the speakers, the curtains are the last big thing to do, and then it should be ready for its grand premier.
> The cable does matter, but thickness isn't everything.
Actually, what I've heard from the horse's mouth (HAH) is that thickness is important, often desired, but length is not oftenly. But it was a great hi-jack. Ah, that's what she said!
> Curtains for around the screen are coming along nice too. Other than wiring up the speakers, the curtains are the last big thing to do, and then it should be ready for its grand premier.
Pics are forthcoming. I figure WIP pics aren't as interesting in a home theater project since it is just walls and paint. WooOOooo. Speakers, wires, hardware, etc.... not so photogenic either. Once the curtain and screen are up, that'll make for a nice pic.
Good luck with the project, sounds like it's going to be schweet...
As to the candy case, have you checked on CL or just around at local stores? Around here people/stores are often giving away display cases & such for free. Usually just a matter of timing & finding something that'll work how you want it to.
Pessimist: Oh, this can't get any worse!
Optimist: Yes, it can!
I replied late in your last HT thread. Too lazy to look if you responded. How far are you going. Are you acoustically tuning the room? Dimensions? Dolby ATMOS?
My regret when building my house was not thinking of room design/acoustics. You can have relatively cheap equipment in a well designed room and it will sound great.
I was going to suggest getting popcorn butter scented (wax cubes or candles), but if you're going to have one of those machines that pops popcorn... Heck, even a microwave, then I guess you could do that too.
> I was going to suggest getting popcorn butter scented (wax cubes or candles), but if > you're going to have one of those machines that pops popcorn... Heck, even a > microwave, then I guess you could do that too.
Popcorn is the best source of popcorn smell. Anything else is cruelty. Especially as I sit here with my snacks running low.
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