Optimize Home Theatre System? Denon Avr-788, Polk R50s, M50s, CS2, and PSW10

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CLKeenan

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I'm hoping to get some feedback on the system I'm about to setup. Here are the main components:

TV: Sony Rear Projection Non-HD KP-48S75 (definitely the weak link in the system, was left with the house that I rented. Probably will replace soon)
Cable: Comcast Digital Cable Box (Non-HD... will upgrade if we get a better TV)
DVD Player: Phillips DVD Player with HDMI port
Receiver: Denon AVR-788
Fronts: Polk M50s
Rears: Polk R50s
Center: Polk CS2
Subwoofer: Polk PSW10

Wire: Monster Standard 16 gauge THX-Certified Speaker Cable (wasn't much more than the non-brand names)
Banana Plugs: Nakamichi Speaker banana plug connector 24K (got good feedback from previous buyers, and it was the best price I found)

So I have a few questions:

-What is the best way to connect the subwoofer to the receiver? I've heard something along the lines of connecting the subwoofer to the front left and right jack. If that's the case, where do I connect the front speakers to then? Sorry for the stupid question haha.

-Am I correct in putting my M50s in the front and R50s in the rear?

-Are the banana plugs/speaker wire good enough for this setup? I won't be running cable longer than 25'

-Another stupid question, I couldn't find the positive or negative marking on the cables. I read in their FAQ:

What is Multi-Twist construction?
Multi-Twist construction is a design where the positive and negative conductors within a cable are tightly twisted together causing any external noise or interference to cancel itself out. This design was originally used by Bell Labs during its infancy to run long lengths of cable throughout the country to cancel out noise.
Click to expand...
Could that be the reason? This is a link to the wire's product page

So if you haven't picked up on it already, I'm completely new to this so I'd appreciate any help you can give me.

Thanks a lot in advance!
-Chris
 


I'm not big into audio, but I've built an amplifier or two in my time, so I'll give you a hand.

Firstly, past a certain point (and that point is very, very low) the quality of the speaker cable doesn't change shit. I've seen people suggest lamp cord (which is what they call it in the states) is fine. I now use power cable - as in the same stuff that you would find in your wall running 240v (or 110 as the case may be).

Which side you use for the polarity won't matter, just make sure you write all speakers up the same (ie. + on the amp to + on the speaker) otherwise your speakers will be out of phase and it can cause problems.

The subwoofer depends on your amp. Assuming it's a powered sub, you should only have to run a single line level RCA (or equivalent) from the sub output of the amp to the sub. If your amp hasn't got a line level output you need to use speaker outputs to the speaker inputs of the sub. This is the case where you would plug two additional wires (at the same time) into the front speaker output of the amplifier. One set of cables would go to the front left speaker, another to the front right and the final to the sub.

Diagram is here. It's based on a car amp, but the setup should be the same. Note that this should only be done if it is a powered subwoofer! If it isn't powered (and I'm pretty sure most are in home audio) then you will put too much stress on your amp which probably doesn't support tri-mode.

You may also have to set a switch on the sub to which input you are using.

Anyway, good luck I'm going to bed.

Edit: That bit you copy/pasted off the website just goes to show how shady those cable manufacturers are. Bell labs used to run long lengths of telephone cable through a balanced connection which requires 3 wires and has nothing to do with how many twists you put into each cable. They are full of shit.
 
I used to install home theatre systems for monies so here it goes

-What is the best way to connect the subwoofer to the receiver? I've heard something along the lines of connecting the subwoofer to the front left and right jack. If that's the case, where do I connect the front speakers to then? Sorry for the stupid question haha.
This is a powered subwoofer... you connect it with an rca to where the reciever says subwoofer

-Am I correct in putting my M50s in the front and R50s in the rear?
Yes
-Are the banana plugs/speaker wire good enough for this setup? I won't be running cable longer than 25'
Yes... truthfully wire makes little difference... but whatever people believe the hype... and ofcourse i always sold the most expensive shit

-Another stupid question, I couldn't find the positive or negative marking on the cables. I read in their FAQ:
this is funny but... there is no positive and negative ... when you hook up the receiver just match it up... i like to use the silver looking at the ground (black terminals) and the gold as postive (red terminals).

best of luck.. any questions pm me

and get a new tv
 
jsphfcll said:
-Another stupid question, I couldn't find the positive or negative marking on the cables. I read in their FAQ:
this is funny but... there is no positive and negative ... when you hook up the receiver just match it up... i like to use the silver looking at the ground (black terminals) and the gold as postive (red terminals).
Click to expand...

Not 100% sure Im following you here. There are gold and silver wires intertwined into one wire. Are you saying to split them apart and use one for positive and one for negative?
 
Speaker wire most definitely has 2 wires usually running parallel to each other. I've never seen it intertwined before. Here's a picture of some basic speaker wire, minus any banana plugs...

COL202.jpg


Standard Monster THX looks like this ( I see what you mean by intertwined I think)...

THX_SP16.jpg


The silver side or the marked wire (stripe, printing or +++ usually) is considered positive for easy identification (left wire in the photo above), attach your red banana plugs to those marked ends. Attach the black to the other unmarked sides.
 
The tubing does have marked arrows for direction to where the signal should be going, e.g. receiver -> speakers

And just be be sure Im clear, should I be separating the silver wire from the gold wire and plugging that into (silver wire) the banana plug for positive?

Sorry, I'm lost lol

edit: can I just pick one side of the whole intertwined wire and 'assign' that to be positive and then the other intertwined wire will be negative? As long as I line up the side I determined to be positive at the speaker input the same way at the receiver input, I should be fine, correct?
 
CLKeenan said:
And just be be sure Im clear, should I be separating the silver wire from the gold wire and plugging that into (silver wire) the banana plug for positive?

Sorry, I'm lost lol
Click to expand...

Yes, yes you are lost :)

That's ok though, we'll get you through this. In your case, don't worry about the gold and silver discussion. He was referring to wire like that in the 1st, 3rd, and 4th examples above where one wire is definitely silver and the other gold (copper).

In your case you have two main wires running parallel with gold and silver strands mixed into both of them. You don't need to separate those individual strands. Cleanly cut the ends of the wire if it is messy and split the plastic sheathing down the middle about an inch and a half (like all the examples in the first pic). Strip the wire so about a half an inch of bare strands are visible and give each end a little twist so the strands are neat and tidy and aren't sticking out. Attach your banana plugs cleanly, again so there aren't any stray strands poking out (like the bottom wire of the monster cable in the pic above), you don't want the two wires to touch in any way.

Plug the positively marked side into the red sockets on your amp and speakers, and the other into the black sockets and you should be good to go.

Yes to your edit... pick the marked side of the wire and make that positive.
 
Fatbat said:
Plug the positively marked side into the red sockets on your amp and speakers, and the other into the black sockets and you should be good to go.
Click to expand...

Ok, this is where Im having the problem. I didn't see anything marked on the wires to determine if the speakers are positive or negative. I'll have to check again when I get home, but I just remember seeing some writing on the plastic tubing (nothing specifying positive or negative).

Does it matter if I use one side or another for the positive wire as long as im consistent? i.e. the side with the writing will always be positive at both the speaker and receiver inputs and the side without the writing will always be negative at both the speaker and receiver inputs?
 
CLKeenan said:
Ok, this is where Im having the problem. I didn't see anything marked on the wires to determine if the speakers are positive or negative. I'll have to check again when I get home, but I just remember seeing some writing on the plastic tubing (nothing specifying positive or negative).

Does it matter if I use one side or another for the positive wire as long as im consistent? i.e. the side with the writing will always be positive at both the speaker and receiver inputs and the side without the writing will always be negative at both the speaker and receiver inputs?
Click to expand...

Like buddy said earlier, there isn't really a positive or negative side, it's all the same wire. They just mark one side, with a stripe, or writing or +++, so that identifying which side is which is made easier. If it's marked in any way, call that side positive.
 
Fatbat said:
Like buddy said earlier, there isn't really a positive or negative side, it's all the same wire. They just mark one side, with a stripe, or writing or +++, so that identifying which side is which is made easier. If it's marked in any way, call that side positive.
Click to expand...

Word. Just checked the tracking number... looks like my banana plugs should be delivered today which should tidy things up a decent bit behind the receiver.

P.S. Without hearing the system yet, I've wondered whether the the sub will be underpowered in comparison to the rest of the system. It's a 50 watt RMS while everything else is either double or triple that. The receiver puts out 90 watts per channel. Do I need to worry about the receiver overpowering the woofer?

Thanks for your patience and help!
 
CLKeenan said:
Word. Just checked the tracking number... looks like my banana plugs should be delivered today which should tidy things up a decent bit behind the receiver.

P.S. Without hearing the system yet, I've wondered whether the the sub will be underpowered in comparison to the rest of the system. It's a 50 watt RMS while everything else is either double or triple that. The receiver puts out 90 watts per channel. Do I need to worry about the receiver overpowering the woofer?

Thanks for your patience and help!
Click to expand...

The sub is self powered.. it has an amplifier built into it, so all you are taking from the receiver is the audio signal. It should be fine, the receiver can't overpower it.

You'll probably spend a bit of time fine tuning the speaker settings to your liking. The sub has it's own volume control and crossover. The one thing I don't understand though, is why does the sub have it's own full set of speaker hooks ups on the back of it? I've never seen such a thing before. I'm guessing since it's self powered you can use it an amplifier for other speakers too, not that you would want to.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/B0002KVQBA/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_0?ie=UTF8&index=0"]Customer Image Gallery for Polk Audio PSW10 10-Inch Monitor Series Powered Subwoofer (Single, Black)[/ame]
 
Fatbat said:
The sub is self powered.. it has an amplifier built into it, so all you are taking from the receiver is the audio signal. It should be fine, the receiver can't overpower it.

You'll probably spend a bit of time fine tuning the speaker settings to your liking. The sub has it's own volume control and crossover. The one thing I don't understand though, is why does the sub have it's own full set of speaker hooks ups on the back of it? I've never seen such a thing before. I'm guessing since it's self powered you can use it an amplifier for other speakers too, not that you would want to.

Customer Image Gallery for Polk Audio PSW10 10-Inch Monitor Series Powered Subwoofer (Single, Black)
Click to expand...

Great- so I should just go pick up a digital coaxial cable and use that to plug the sub into my receiver?
 
Do they make single connector RCA cables? (stupid question #7) I've only seen them with White/Red or White/Red/Yellow tips on both ends.
 
OK, things are easier when you can see the back of the sub & amp.

Take the single black RCA labelled Subwoofer Pre-Out and plug it into either one (doesn't matter which) of the "Line-In" RCA's on the sub and you're done.

Forget everything I wrote above about tri-mode, because you have a subwoofer out on the amp.

Also, it looks like your sub has a pass-through for the front speakers so you could wire the front speaker outputs of the amp up to the inputs of the sub, then from the outputs of the sub to the front speakers. You shouldn't need to do this, because the RCA will work.
 
CLKeenan said:
Do they make single connector RCA cables? (stupid question #7) I've only seen them with White/Red or White/Red/Yellow tips on both ends.
Click to expand...

Yes they make singles. Or you can use a double and only use the white one. Or if you're really worried about it you can buy a 1-2 with one on one end and 2 on the other! Just use whatever you have around.
 
Banana plugs came in yesterday... got the 2 fronts, rears, and center speaker hooked up and sounding great! Just waiting for the sub to come in. Ended up grabbing a Monster sub cable on the cheap on amazon with 1 day shipping. Amazon Prime free trial for the win :)

Thanks for all the help guys! I'll be sure to post back here when I sub gets in
 
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