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Since the first issue of Electronic House back in the early 1980s, we’ve harped on the importance of prewiring. With the right low-voltage wiring in all the right places, your home will be ready for any cool electronics or home systems you want installed—now or in the future. It’s always good to be prepared, right? How Much Does It Cost? Prewiring a home for a 6-zone music system costs between $700 and $1,000. Prices go up from there, depending on the number of systems you… View this story
Audio Cables • Speaker Wire • Structured Wiring • Video Cables • Info and Answers

If you’re adding a surround-sound system to a family room, or even transforming a basement into a theater, you’re not always going to have perfect conditions for hiding wires. When you’re connecting your receiver to two or four surround speakers, or maybe front LCR speakers, on the other side of the room depending on where your equipment rack is, it can be tough to conceal all of that wiring. Especially if you don’t have the luxury, or tools, to route everything inside walls or within… View this story
Cables, Wires and Tools • Cable Organizers • Speaker Wire • Info and Answers

When I first saw the FlatWire box and advertising materials at a summer preview in NYC and later in Denver, I thought this might be the be-all-and-end-all way that gets my family off my back for the clutter of wires stretching throughout our home. My wife, who has complained on these pages about our home’s CE clutter, was also enthused to install wires that are so flat that they are virtually invisible. And it sounded easy, so easy, in fact that maybe, just maybe this… View this story
Speaker Wire • Audio • Info and Answers • Slideshows

Q. If I moved into a home which is pre-wired for home theater and I want to install my own speakers, what device can I purchase to detect the wires? - Kevin A. Finding cables in ceilings and walls is a common, yet relatively simple problem to overcome. First, you need a tone generator. My company uses ones made by Tempo. You can also find cheaper versions on eBay. However, they might not be as reliable which means you could end up with more holes… View this story
Speaker Wire • Audio • Ask a Pro

Maybe your head started hurting the last time you went to RadioShack and gazed upon its walls of wires and cables. The choices can be daunting. A professional electronics installer can certainly help, but if you’re looking to do the job yourself or want to know what your installer is talking about, here’s a quick guide to relevant cables and connection types. Cat5/6 - Category 5, 5e and 6 cables are high-speed data cables used for Internet connections and home networking, specifically with IP (Internet… View this story
Audio Cables • Speaker Wire • Video Cables • Home Theater • Audio • Info and Answers • Slideshows

A basic knowledge of wiring and cabling connections can still leave you scratching your head when it comes to figuring out what your entertainment system needs or deserves. Steven Hill of manufacturer Straight Wire shares five tips. 1. Leave room in the budget. For a system with a $2,000 LCD TV and moderate components and speakers, budget 6 percent to 12 percent for wires and cables. For a high-end system, figure 8 percent to 14 percent for average lengths. We urge consumers to keep their… View this story
Audio Cables • Connectors • Speaker Wire • Video Cables • Home Theater • Audio • Info and Answers

We’ve been hearing a lot more lately about manufacturers embracing green initiatives and greener products. It seems pretty fitting that a recent one was brought to our attention from a company based in Colorado. Colorado Springs-based Liberty Wire & Cable has announced that more than 90 percent of its 6,000-plus products comply with the Restriction on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive. The company’s green manufacturing practices comply by using reduced lead, mercury, cadmium, hexevalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) in electronic and… View this story
Cables, Wires and Tools • Audio Cables • Connectors • Speaker Wire • Structured Wiring • Video Cables • Miscellaneous • Green Technology • Enhancements • Product News

Someday in the not-too-distant future, we may have one neat wire connecting everything in our home entertainment systems—or perhaps no wire at all! Ahhhhh … just imagine it. Fortunately, we are getting closer to that dream. You can now get all your digital audio and video through one HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface) cable. You just need the proper connections. And more and more new gear is coming with that connector. That eliminates one part of the typical rat’s nest of wires and cables lurking in… View this story
Audio Cables • Speaker Wire • Video Cables • Home Theater • Info and Answers • Slideshows

Converting an unfinished room into a home theater can be an extremely rewarding project. Your dark and dreary basement, for example, can become a cozy entertainment spot the whole family can enjoy. Plus, it’ll add value to your home. Transforming an area into a comfortable, enjoyable home theater takes vision, a solid design plan, a budget and at least a few months—yes, months—of labor to complete. The design, construction and installation time can seem like an eternity, but as the pros at The Home Theater… View this story
Video Projectors • Video Screen • Audio Cables • Speaker Wire • Structured Wiring • Video Cables • Acoustics • Equipment Racks • Home Theater Accessories • Basement • Media Room • Installers • Home Theater • Info and Answers

A wire is a wire, right? Well, not exactly. Some wire and connectors simply aren’t very good, and won’t provide you with high-quality audio and video. For example, you wouldn’t want to get that nice new HDTV, and then connect the DVD player with the same wires used for your low-resolution VCR. There are definitely better wires and cable you should use to connect your audio/video components and speakers—and it’s often worth paying a little extra to get them. That doesn’t mean you have to… View this story
Cables, Wires and Tools • Audio Cables • Speaker Wire • Video Cables • How To • Home Theater • Audio • Multiroom AV • Info and Answers