wall mounting surrounds

gshisme

Guys, I have my RT25i surrounds mounted to the wall via the keyhole slot. Question is should I put some dampening material between the speaker cabinet and the wall to eliminate any possible vibration or would it be better to set them on stands very close to the wall. Their present position gives me the best surround stage. Want to eliminate all possible causes for unwanted noise and vibration.

Greg

Will do something with the speaker wire. Maybe run it down from the ceiling through the wall. Looks hideous the way it is now.

gshisme

Here is a pic

dorokusai

Here is my review on Dynamat with speaker mounts, maybe it will give you some info.

http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9277

gshisme

dorokusai,

Interesting stuff..thanks




Colt Defender......"never leave home without it"

jkratzer

The speakers appear to be mounted too low on the wall. Try mounting them about 6 feet up on the wall. Otherwise, nice setup you have there. The speaker wires do need to be hidden though.

gshisme

jkratzer,

thanks for the advice. i have been moving them around some since the pic but haven't placed them quite that high. will try that and see how they soundl. right now playing with sub placement...off to cc to purchase longer sub cable.

mantis

Agreed.....
to low.Yes I also perfer about 6 feet or 74 inches to the key hole slot.I would run the wire in the wall.If you don't know how,I can Instruct you how to do so.

By the looks of your coffee table,you are in need of a Philips Pronto.

gshisme

Mantis, Would appreciate any tips as to running my speaker wire in the walls. Just keep in mind they are plaster. By the way my PSW has to go. Just to boomy..loose..however you want to phrase it. Lookin at the SVS 25-31 to replace it. It is supposed to be much tighter.

MichaelJ

Move the surround speakers to at least six feet above the floor and be sure to calibrate your system (use the Radio Shack meter). I did both for my HT system and it made a really big difference (listen to the planes in Pearl Harbor, starting at about track 21).

MikeJ

VR3

Mantis, I too would like to know how to run speaker wire up in the wall. Thanx also.

mantis

gshisme and Vr3MxStyler2k3,
I'm going to give you 2 different ways to get wires inside the wall.And I'm going to talk about plaster and drywall.

1)With a basement/attic or crawl space.
a)You need to locate the studs inside the wall.This is done by knocking on the wall and listening for hollow or solid.A stud finder is another way.
b)Use a pencil and mark out the suds near the location you want to hang the speaker.I like to use 72 inches to80 max to the keyhole.Use a quality drywall anchor that will support the weight of the speaker,if Plaster walls,then use a Zinc wall anchor.
c)If you have carpet floors,you can drill a very small hole directly infront of the wall where you need to get your wire up.This will give you a reference point.Stick a wire hanger end in the hole you drilled to find it in the basement/crawlspace/attic.Now drill a 1/2 to 3/4 inch hole in the bottom/top of the wall.Most walls are built with 2x4's,you have 4 inches of footer of depth and 2 inches to drill threw.Where your wire hanger is sticking down,you wanna go back 1 to 2 inches from it to put you inside the wall.
d)now you can fish your wire up/down to the speaker location.You need some type of stiff rod to get it up there.If the wall is hollow meaning a inside wall or non outside wall with no insulation in it,you'll have a easy time getting your wire out.If it is an outside wall with insulation in it,you'll be there for awhile.If your coming down from the attic,most of the time you can just drop the wire in the wall all by itself and get it out with a small hook.
e)at the speaker side,cut a small hole in the wall behind where the speaker will be.Use a small hook to pull out the wire and fish rod.
f)hook the wire to the speaker,allow about 1 to 2 feet of extra wire for easy removal.

2) On a slab,no basement or crawlspace/attic.
You will need 2 cable wall plate and 2 phone drywall P-rings.
This is still doable.Carpet running we will be doing here.If hardwood floors or tiles,first you should reconsider using a differnt room or buying wire molding from home Depot to get the wires from one end of the room to the other.
a)First lets assume you have a carpeted room.Pull back the carpet and runs wires to the locations where the speaker will be.Make sure you leave enough wire to reach the speaker and have a couple feet extra.
TIP ON CARPET RUNNING WIRES:
run wires behind the tack strip meaning inbetween the padding and tack strip,not the tack strip and the baseboard molding.You need not to take up the space where the rug tacks and goes under the baseboard molding.If you need to trim the padding,do so.This will aloos the wires to lay underneath without causing rug problems down the road.Also I suggest you use duct tape to hold down the wires.When you exit the carpet and get ready to put the wires in the wall from this point,you should cut a small channel in the tack strip to prevent a short.Those tack strip tacks are extremely sharpe.You'll find out while your carpet running as chances are you'll **** your fingers a couple times and swear...
After wires are all ran to the locations of the speakers.Decide if you want to make a small hole in the rug or just cut the edge about 1/4 of an inch so the carpet will lay nicee;y back down.
Now for the fun part....
Find your studs first.
Using a level,above the baseboard molding,trace out your P-ring and cut out for the P-ring to fit in. I normally don't put these at outlet height,but you can if you want,it looks good both ways, other way is cutting the P-ring above the molding and horizonal.
Cut out your hole behind the speaker location.Remove the cable barrel on the plate.Install the P-ring in the wall.Run your wire threw the plate,bakc sure you start in the front and go out the back,then tape your wire on your fishing device to fish the wire up the wall.Pull out and leave a couple feet extra.
Install the speaker and install the cable plate.You can staple the wire to the molding if you choose.leave extra wire in the wall.

I'm sure you guys will have tons of questions.This is a basic overview on how to get it done.It makes for a clean install.Nobody wants to see wires running down the wall.That looks terrible.

Plaster is much harder to deal with as it has chicken wire inside the wall and all kinds of ways to snag the wire on.Sucks bad I know.But still doable.Plaster is also not easy to fix.If you have plaster walls and never ran wires in the wall before,I suggest you hire an Installer to come out and run the wires up the wall.
If you live near a Tweeter store,see a sales man.It will cost you depending where you live around 210.00 plus tax and materials.Price may differ state to state.
Well worth the cost as your wife will love you more for not junking up her room completely....

gshisme

Mantis, and there lies my problem with plaster. All that crap in between the studs. Was thinking of taking my routor with a bit just a bit wider than the speaker cable and cut a channel up to the ceiling just a bit deeper than the cable is thick. Lay the cable than plaster and sand over the cable. Don't know how that would work on plaster though..I suspect the routor cutter would rip rather than cut. Might try a small cut inside one of the closets first in case it gets really ugly. The theater room is on the second floor so I will be running everthing down to the speakers from the attic. All my speaker cables are run up to the attic via a closet..no biggie there.

dorokusai

Try a Dremel or Roto-Zip tool, if you really want to carve your wall open. They will cut a nice channel, no ripping.

danger boy

as several others have pointed out.. yes move them 25's up the wall to about 6 ft high or higher. it will improve the surround effects.

good luck. Al

MichaelJ

Wire your speakers the easy way ... buy ribbon cable, glue it to the wall, and paint over it.

Tour2ma

Michael,
You've had good experience with flat wire?

gshisme

Also what is the performance level of that flat stuff?

burdette

Per your picture, you might be able to remove the trim around the door and hide the 'left' wire under it - even if you had to route a channel on the back of the trim. Also, if you're willing to go to Lowe's or wherever and buy large gauge (oh my god) white zip cord, that would go a long way in helping hide it. Painting wire doesn't work very well, in my opinion.

As for the 'right' surround... looks like it is right near the corner.. you could easily run white cord up behind the blinds and bring it over to the speaker. Even if the final few inches were visible, I doubt it would be an eyesore.

I agree with your hesitation to cut a channel into plaster.. not only would the channel be ragged, it would take you a lot of work to try to patch it so it wouldn't be seen again.. and honestly, with plaster, I don't think you could do it. I have some plaster walls, I know of which I speak.

MichaelJ

I have not used ribbon speaker wire, but I have had experience with plaster walls and they are soooo difficult to work with. Keep in mind that these are surrounds, so you can get by with lighter gauge wire than you would use on your mains. Ribbon wire is probably not a first choice, but it is an option.