more questions... setting up

[phillyrx]

so you guys (and gals?) have been extremely helpful so far. i think i'm onto the last question... how do you set this stuff up!?!?!?

so here is what i have:
46' aquos 1080p lcd (has hdmi)
onkyo sr605 a/v receiver (has 2 hdmi in and 1 out + all components)
verizon fios cable box (has hdmi)
crappy and cheap dvd player (components only)
nintendo wii (components only)
3 hdmi wires and a couple of component cables

will be getting:
svs sbs01 bookshelves pair
svs pb10 nsd sub

what do i need?
1 - wires: i hear the lower the better, is this true? can i go to monoprice and get the 12 awg? since its just a 2.1, i'm figuring 50ft will be enough. is 12 too much, should i go w/ 14 or 16 instead?
2 - what are banana plugs, and how do they work?
3 - i'm kinda okay with hooking things up, but is there anything special about running wires from one component to another or anything like that?

thanks so much all.... soon i will have a much better viewing experience, and its all b/c of y'all!

 

[mytzen]

You are right about the lower gauge wires being better. I think most of us use 12awg wires but if you are running them only a few feet then 14 or 16 would work fine. Look at the table near the bottom of this article, http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/speaker-cable-gauge

Banana plugs make it easier to connect/disconnect speaker wires from speakers and receivers. I'm not sure if there are any other advantages or disadvantages to using them.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

The 12 awg from monoprice is fine and you cant go too big...well you can just simply because a jumper cable for a car battery wont fit into the binding posts...

Banana plugs are nice to make an easy connection especially behind the AVR if you have bulky fingers. Bare wires are the best connection just be careful that there are no loose strands.

Nothing else special, just ask questions as they come along.

 

[laslabjohn73]

running wires

as for hooking up run you hdmi out from your receiver to your lcd and components hdmi outs too your receiver hdmi in and let it do your switching for you the onkyo seem too do this really well.

 

[Davemcc]

You will also need good RCA cables to feed digital/spdif OR toslink/optical cables to feed digital audio to the receiver when using the component video.

There will also be audio and video source assignments to be made in the receiver's menu. Pay close attention to which inputs you use and go through the menu carefully with the manual in hand. If you do this methodically, you should not have any trouble.

 

[phillyrx]

You are right about the lower gauge wires being better. I think most of us use 12awg wires but if you are running them only a few feet then 14 or 16 would work fine. Look at the table near the bottom of this article, http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/speaker-cable-gauge

Banana plugs make it easier to connect/disconnect speaker wires from speakers and receivers. I'm not sure if there are any other advantages or disadvantages to using them.

thanks mytzen - that article was insightful. i think i'm going to go with either the 14s or 16s

 

[phillyrx]

The 12 awg from monoprice is fine and you cant go too big...well you can just simply because a jumper cable for a car battery wont fit into the binding posts...

Banana plugs are nice to make an easy connection especially behind the AVR if you have bulky fingers. Bare wires are the best connection just be careful that there are no loose strands.

Nothing else special, just ask questions as they come along.

since i don't have bulky hands and manipulate that stuff easily, i'll probably forgo the bananas. i'm sure after i get the speakers and wires, i'll be firing away with more questions. oh yeah, is a pair of wire cutters all i'll need to install the wires? a flat head as well? if its like putting in electrical wires, i don't think i'd have too much of a problem... i had to do that this weekend for the wifey

 

[phillyrx]

as for hooking up run you hdmi out from your receiver to your lcd and components hdmi outs too your receiver hdmi in and let it do your switching for you the onkyo seem too do this really well.

good to know...

 

[phillyrx]

You will also need good RCA cables to feed digital/spdif OR toslink/optical cables to feed digital audio to the receiver when using the component video.

There will also be audio and video source assignments to be made in the receiver's menu. Pay close attention to which inputs you use and go through the menu carefully with the manual in hand. If you do this methodically, you should not have any trouble.

so what i'm taking from this is to get the audio from my dvd player which uses component cables, i'll need RCA cables? does monoprice sell these, any you recommend? thanks!

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Just cutters/strippers. No need for a flat head.

since i don't have bulky hands and manipulate that stuff easily, i'll probably forgo the bananas. i'm sure after i get the speakers and wires, i'll be firing away with more questions. oh yeah, is a pair of wire cutters all i'll need to install the wires? a flat head as well? if its like putting in electrical wires, i don't think i'd have too much of a problem... i had to do that this weekend for the wifey

 

[Davemcc]

so what i'm taking from this is to get the audio from my dvd player which uses component cables, i'll need RCA cables? does monoprice sell these, any you recommend? thanks!

RCA cables have the same ends as component. For digital audio, you only need one line into the output that might be labeled digital or spdif, should be orange or black. The subwoofer cable also uses this same connection, but you should get a decent shielded cable for the sub. Monoprice sells them, yes.

 

[phillyrx]

RCA cables have the same ends as component. For digital audio, you only need one line into the output that might be labeled digital or spdif, should be orange or black. The subwoofer cable also uses this same connection, but you should get a decent shielded cable for the sub. Monoprice sells them, yes.

so i guess i can get 2 rca cables - one for the sub, the other for the dvd player. then i'll get 50ft of 14awg speaker wire. anything else?

thanks so much!

 

[Davemcc]

so i guess i can get 2 rca cables - one for the sub, the other for the dvd player. then i'll get 50ft of 14awg speaker wire. anything else?

thanks so much!

One long shielded one to go to the sub, one short one for the DVD player and maybe another short one for the Wii. But I don't know anything about the Wii, whether it uses digital coax or toslink. You may want to double check your connections on the Wii before ordering.

 

[phillyrx]

One long shielded one to go to the sub, one short one for the DVD player and maybe another short one for the Wii. But I don't know anything about the Wii, whether it uses digital coax or toslink. You may want to double check your connections on the Wii before ordering.

when you say shielded one for the sub, what does that mean? would you be able to put a link for monoprice? thanks so much!

 

[Davemcc]

when you say shielded one for the sub, what does that mean? would you be able to put a link for monoprice? thanks so much!

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10236&cs_id=1023601&p_id=619&seq=1&format=2

Just measure for the length you need. This is also good for digital audio, again just measure for length.