I am currently setting up a home theatre system to both, watch movies and listen to music. The planned placement of the subwoofer is approx. 50 feet from the receiver (due to running through walls, around fireplace, etc...). I have been told that this length is not advisable due to the potential delay of signal from the receiver to the subwoofer and that the response of the sub may be delayed versus the response from the other speakers. Should I be concerned about this?
On the face of it, this doesn't make much sense. The sub will be approximately 50' away but the main speakers won't? Despite the fact that this really shouldn't create a delay problem (who told you it would and did they discuss the other problems this could create?) is this the best location for the sub? Or is the the location the sub must occupy? The two are seldom the same and merely choosing an arbitrary spot for the sub to work from could place it squarely in the center of a null point in the room - or just as bad - a point where room resonances are highly excitable. Are you wroking with a qualified installer on this project?
Thanks for your reply Jan and David. The planned placement of the sub is more due to the fact that is is really the only spot where the sub will be somewhat out of the way. It will have to be one of "life's little compromises", I suppose.
Jan, in response to your inquiry, my two front speakers are on either end of the same wall that my TV console and receiver is on. The sub will be placed an adjoining wall. Since I want to hide all wiring and have as "seamless" a look as possible, I will be running the subwoofer cable up a 12' wall, over approximately 15' and then back down the 12' wall the sub will reside against. As such, I am looking at a minimum of 40' for the cable if I place the sub at that spot.
You make a good point however, in that, I may be getting ahead of myself. It may be that I need to experiment with the sub location prior to running wiring/cables through the walls. Yet again, any alternate place would have as much, if not greater cable run.
I will probably have the Circuit City Firedog guys run the cables/wiring but this is the extent of professional installation that I am looking at. Any suggestions?
There's really no point in running cables until you know where the subwoofer needs to sit. If you run the cables and it sounds like crap, then you've wasted time and money.
Is this existing construction? If so, have the sub delivered before you decide where to run cables and experiment with placement. You need to do this right the first time or pay to have it redone or suffer with poor sound quality.
Are the CC guys OK? I don't know. If you get the guy who has been there long enough to just be ready to quit but hasn't decided yet, you might get a good install. If he's decided, then you're screwed. If he just signed on that afternoon and he doesn't know an "F" connector from a RCA plug, then you're certainly screwed. Just remember CC has twice fired all of the employees they thought were too good and were making too much money. They know they can get the same job done for less money by hiring some dumbsh!t off the day labor pool. The question should be - is that how you feel about the guys that are going to punch holes in your walls?
Jan, fair game and point. I probably do need to experiment with placement of the sub prior to getting the cable run in the walls.
I had a site reveiw done by a representative of CC and was impressed with his knowledge and professionalism. In all honesty, we did not discuss placement of the sub, specifically. And, there is no guarantee that this particular individual will be the one who would do the work on CC's behalf. They are bonded though, and if they tear my walls down they have deep enough pockets to build me another.
I recently had the opportunity to buy very cheaply a Yamaha YST SW-205 sub which I've added to my system which includes a Yamaha Sub YST SW-100. I placed the SW-205 in the rear of the living room connected to the components with 38 feet (around furniture, fireplace, etc) RCA cable with no adverse affect or db drop off from such a long hookup.
Todd, Thanks for your feedback. After considering the electronic signal from receiver to speaker would travel at the speed of light, any delay in response should be/would be undiscernable.