Speaker Installation Tips

How to wire your speaker installation tips
I suggest you run your in-wall wiring first as it can be one of the more difficult aspects of your install -- particularly if you are retrofitting existing construction. Wall composition and attic or floor access will determine the difficulty level. If you have attic access -- opting for hanging your speakers from the ceiling will greatly ease your install but will compromise your soundfield. Ear level speaker placement is more acoustically desirable but will require running wires either up or down your walls. If you opt for ceiling height placement place your speaker on the wall near the ceiling and run your wiring the short distance to the speaker.

Wiring your home theater in a new home construction is a great magnitude easier if you pre-wire prior to enclosing your walls.

Prior to running any in-wall audio wiring a very important step is to label or color code your wiring for easy identification. Measure and cut your speaker wire to length (remembering to add at least a foot for insurance) and lay the wires out on the floor running parallel to each other to keep them separate during labeling. You can either attach a printed label or use different colored tape or even use fingernail polish to code which speaker wire correlates to which its associated speaker. If you opt for different colored polish (you could also buy small bottles of model car/airplane paint if you don't have a wife like mine with a bajillion different colors of polish) an "idiot-proof" idea is to put a dot on the speaker terminal that matches the colored wiring.

Note -- be sure to keep your + and - speaker connections aligned with your + and - on your receiver for proper phase relationship.

TOOL TIP A fish tape is invaluable for fishing wires through external, insulated walls. If you're working with an interior un-insulated wall you may possibly get away with dropping a weighted pull string down the wall -- but you will have to drop it exactly vertical and use a wall box termination in order to sight and be able to pull the string through the box opening. Note - If you'd like to avoid purchasing a fish-tape for just one project you could use a metal tape measure - it's not nearly as flexible but it may work for you. In either case be sure to secure your wiring to it with a strong wrap of tape (black electricians tape works just fine) to hold your wires while "fishing".

If you like these speaker installation tips come back tomorrow for tips on how to install your new TV.

Speaker Installation Tips

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