First HT need some input

[butchb]

First time HT noobie looking for some input on speaker connections and constructive criticism. HT set up in living room. Room size is 20x16x8.
Trying to keep budget under control cause i don't know if residence will change in near future. I'm making final selection on 46" LCD (most likely samsung) and I want to insulate and sheet rock last wall without forgetting anything!
-A/V receiver Onkyo Tx-sr 705
-Speakers Boston Horizon MSC-130 5.1
-Gaming PS3
-Cable Comcast HD
- A/V Rack Mid Atlantic in-wall pull out/rotating.

Here are some pic's of rough in, pass through plate, and speaker rear mount and terminals.

Questions:
1. I'm using pass through plates behind front 3 speakers and subwoofer to minimize connections and to mount speakers directly to the wall , terminals won't accept banana plugs but receiver will, in wall wiring is 14 AWG, should I terminate to speaker terminals with a quality ring / spade connector , receiver with banana plugs(solder or solderless?) or use bare wire for all?
2. I need to stud TV wall above A/V rack and install 3 single gang boxes along with TV mount (1) 120v (1)Center Speaker below TV (1) HDMI with a flex conduit run to box behind a/v rack, can i purchase the TV mount before final selection just on TV size or should i buy them together and finish?
3. Surge Protection and power conditioner, any suggestions on unit that will give me protection for all 120v connections, cable, and receiver antenna?

Any input is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[vm8444]

hi my first post

Hey guy your ht construction looks good and I love the way boston spk sound for the money,,
and they do sound good with onkyo just use a denon or decent sounding dvd..
also audioquest 14/2 speaker wire kicks *** for less then a buck a foot and
use audioquest vdm1 coaxial at least..
decent quality rca is my point.

now your questions
1.bare wire to speaker and I like banana[deltron] to reciever or bare too.
2.buy mount anytime just tell them the size and type of tv..
3.panamax surge protector,,cleans up your audio and video nicely..
later maybe a couple of acoustic panels and your set.
enjoy

theaudioguy.ca

 

[jcPanny]

HT Wiring

Looks like you are putting together a nice room.
If you remove the plastic caps, you can use banana connectors with those speakers, but consider bare wire for a simple, secure connection for the flush mount speakers.

14 AWG or 12 AWG speaker wire should work well, but don't pay $1/foot. I picked up all my Belden A/V and speaker cable from westlake electronics.
http://www.westlake-electronic.com/item_detail/WES15036/index.htm
Monoprice also has some good deals on bulk cable.

For video, run multiple RG6 quad shield coax from the rack to the display along with cat5 and HDMI. The coax could be used for analog audio, composite video or component video if necessary. Cat 5 might be necessary for a networking or pay per view feature on the TV. Alternately, one of the Rapid Run video cables could handle mltiple A/V cable options in a single runner.

The onkyo should work fine, but they just came out with new models, so look for good deals on the 805 and 705.

For your dedicated HT room, save some funds for DIY acoustic panels to treat the room.

 

[butchb]

Thanks for the heads up....

I appreciate the input Audioguy and jcPanny.

Speaker wire is run. It is comparable to the Belden 14 AWG at westlake.
Got the wire through vendor I deal with at work ( I do mostly industrial compressor assembly, instrumentation, and PLC's) and got an unbeatable price. Thanks for the heads up on the the other lines that I may need for TV and cable provider.

I"ll probably up the flex conduit run from rack to TV to a double gang box and 1.5" to 2" flex for the extra cable and possible future changes. It's not a long run but the extra room can't hurt.

I looked into the Panamax M8HT-Pro and seems to be enough for the size of my setup, covers what I'll need to protect, and will give me alittle room to expand.

Acoustic panels would be nice but i have to work on them in the future and get an ok from the decorating and budget analyst (my lovely wife) and see what i can do. I'll post final pic's in the near future to see what u guys think.

Thanks again.