Looking for help on wiring configurations on 5.1 system to soundcard, an receiver?

[ceta99]

Hello all who read this
Bought the take classic 5.1 and a receiver AVRS920W Denon 7.2
After building my pc and desk, im ready to setup the speakers. already know how to position them.
problem is dont know for sure the options on how to wire them together positive goes to positive an same with negative that much i know. less wires equals cleaner look

Is it possible to bypass "not use" receiver and go direct to soundblaster z? if so whats correct configuration or way to do it? here is my thought.. each pair of speakers negative go together same with positive, ending with only one positive lead for each pair of speakers. like i said, i dont know.
If receiver is needed its self explanatory to certain point. im wondering instead of two leads from each speaker can i wire each pair together leaving two leads instead of four? having four wires per 2 pair of speakers is alot of wire to manage and make look neat!
on receiver it has 3 connection points that says monitor, im assuming go from there to sound card?
where on subwoofer to connect an go to receiver? subwoofer has 2 positive an negative connections an line in/sub in, left is white right is red. got my own wire I'm using 14awg clear
appreciate any help on this

 

[smorizio]

if the mb has a digital audio port use that to the receiver. if not use a sound card that has that port. for 5.1 you use two front speakers the center and two rear audio. each speaker would go on one port of the revicer. 7.1 use 7 speakers. and use the two ports in blue.

 

[boju]

Speaker level in is for avrs or stereos that don't have a low level output which your avr has two. Speaker wire is doubled up so both fronts would have 4 wires with 2 of those leading to the sub.

https/www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-hook-up-a-subwoofer-to-a-stereo-system/

With the avr you got, you don't need to do that. A simple rca cable, Y split 1 to 2 ends or just a single rca cable will suffice to use the line in/sub in.

Left and right together for a subwoofer can be used to improve auto-on circuit response so if the subwoofer goes on standby while theres no sound playing will hasten the response and start playing quicker. Either left or right with a mono/single rca cable will work too, just not as responsive.

You will want to connect to your Denon directly. Wiring 3.5m to speaker wire will be a nightmare and you wouldn't use speaker wire since the gauge will be too thick for the 3.5mm wire holes and not touch each other. Could use 3 or 4 strand cat cable for L / R and earth for each 3.5mm terminal, 3 wires mind you for each speaker if you did that direct to the sound card, also you'll have to earth at the speaker end with a metal screw or something. Pc speaker jacks have left right and earth, so to combine will end up with more wires.

The space to work in on those 3.5mm plugs too is awfully tiny.

Don't be deceived by the size, its been blown up lol. I've worked on one before to wire headphones with a long cord, had to get the larger 6.5mm jack to have space to work on, my fingers aren't fat ;P Even though you can get 6.5mm to 3.5mm adapters, that wouldn't be very practical but could work.

I agree with smorizio, run the Classics from the Denon and use either optical (motherboard or sound card) or use hdmi from your graphics card.

 

[madmatt30]

As said already.

1. You need a twinned cable (+/-) to every satellite speaker - there is no shortcut here , 5.1 setups means a lot of cabling.

2. You want the sub output from the amp to the sub, a single.to twin rca cable like the one pictured is exactly what you want.

3. You should bypass the sound blaster completely , if you have an hdmi output then that is what you should use from pc to receiver - by far the best quality connection & the one capable of carrying the biggest range of dolby audio formats.

You don't spend a fairly large sum on a good quality speaker set & receiver & then degrade performance by taking shortcuts - or you may aswell just have bought a $100 all in one logitech setup.

You didn't need 14awg for those speakers btw , 18awg would have been fine.

 

[ceta99]

On thick wire being a nightmare or impossible to insert into 3.5mm jacks I was planning on using banana plugs on receiver side watched a turtorial by sewell an they have some that works with 8gauge to 18gauge wire. on the speakers side a 3.5mm jack would work or spade connecter. I'm just going with bare wire stick it through hole an screw post cap down tight onto it. Boju I love your clear precise hand drawing on 3.5mm jack it really helped me to understand the layout and how connecters like it work, and your clear answers an pictures thanks a lot!

ill pass going direct to sound card seems like to much rigging id have to do which nothing wrong with that in my opinion, its just I'm not 100% sure what id be doing. And my receiver has 8 or 4 total analog connections for souncard. 4 white on top row, 4 red on bottom row. labeled 1CB/SAT 2DVD 3Blu-ray 4CD

was led to believe 14awg is a good default certain to work wire gauge, longest run will be 18-21 ft' to subwoofer. if I cant find some kind of jack which fits sub an that will fit 14awg wire ill buy one of those RCA cables if they have them in long runs, if not ill just go with smaller wire from sub to receiver.

HDMI to my GPU makes it work harder from what ive been reading anyway, and don't like that idea at all. sec reason for not wanting to go with optical or HDMI have seen 3-4 posts ppl talking how those 2 do not give correct sound positions. one post was of gunshots ingame that should be coming from behind, always come from front speakers although surround sound still worked fine. receiver has 8 hdmi connections 7 in 2 out. 2 optical labeled tv an cd which one of them will work going optical to soundcard I guess?...

At least I'm feeling confident an ready to go ahead with this project, knowing what to do on all 3 options!

 

[madmatt30]

Its not that 14awg cable isn't good .
Its just that its unnecessary for satellite & subwoofer setups when the surround speakers will not be running the full frequency range.

Re - hdmi - what you've heard is rubbish, it will give the best audio quality & the beat range of format compatibility by an absolute country mile

Youve bought a very good quality digital amp with hdmi inputs , you should use them !

Re sub - ignore the fact you have 14awg cable , you don't want to be using this for the sub & you don't want to be using the speaker level inputs.
You'll be creating a massive headache for yourself trying to setup the low frequency crossover between the sub & surround speakers .

For that kind of distance to sub buy a screened digital coax single rca cable (you can use either left or right line input on the sub , using both is not necessary)

https/www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002J2BA6/ref=mp_s_a_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1519145275&sr=8-10&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=7m+rca+cable

 

[ceta99]

Its not that 14awg cable isn't good .
Its just that its unnecessary for satellite & subwoofer setups when the surround speakers will not be running the full frequency range.

Re - hdmi - what you've heard is rubbish, it will give the best audio quality & the beat range of format compatibility by an absolute country mile

Youve bought a very good quality digital amp with hdmi inputs , you should use them !

Re sub - ignore the fact you have 14awg cable , you don't want to be using this for the sub & you don't want to be using the speaker level inputs.
You'll be creating a massive headache for yourself trying to setup the low frequency crossover between the sub & surround speakers .

For that kind of distance to sub buy a screened digital coax single rca cable (you can use either left or right line input on the sub , using both is not necessary)

https/www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002J2BA6/ref=mp_s_a_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1519145275&sr=8-10&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=7m+rca+cable

okay ill try the hdmi, id hate to not use the best option. ill grab a hdmi cable from some store unless somebody here has a suggestion on a certain one. is it okay to use 14awg on the other speakers since I have it on hand anyway? or should I go with 16 or 18gauge?
planning to use Audyessy auto calibration "bronze" once I'm ready to turn it on for first time.
ill be away for 3 days so ill plan to do this on coming wkend. thanks for the link/info.

 

[boju]

Thick speaker wire is useful for long runs but for within the lounge not necessary but since you have it already and if it fits then use it.

Trouble with using speaker wire with subs is usually the low range is higher, meaning crossover probably wont be as low as 20hz with an rca connection. You'll see in your amp frequency setup how much base you want passed to your front speakers, so crossover might only start from 40hz so your sub will be missing even deeper base it's designed to handle if were to use speaker wire.

As said Hdmi is fine to use, nothing wrong, no hidden compromises.

That drawing i got was from the internet, thanks though but should have made that clear. Ive used that diagram before so thought to share it.

 

[boju]

Well actually, I've had another look at your sub, it's lowest is 40hz so looks like youll still get the range to it using speaker wire. But again will depend if your amp can crossover 40hz to your speakers.

 

[ceta99]

Thick speaker wire is useful for long runs but for within the lounge not necessary but since you have it already and if it fits then use it.

Trouble with using speaker wire with subs is usually the low range is higher, meaning crossover probably wont be as low as 20hz with an rca connection. You'll see in your amp frequency setup how much base you want passed to your front speakers, so crossover might only start from 40hz so your sub will be missing even deeper base it's designed to handle if were to use speaker wire.

As said Hdmi is fine to use, nothing wrong, no hidden compromises.

That drawing i got was from the internet, thanks though but should have made that clear. Ive used that diagram before so thought to share it.

after doing some more reading ill go with RCA cables seems they have better shielding from electric wiring, I like mediabridge they have nice black or white colors. and will use 14awg on rest of speakers then. yes the take classic sub specs says 40hz to 150hz

I only need one hdmi cable,"out" on receiver to graphics card correct?
no problem on the drawing everybody gets there knowledge from somebody else down the line pretty much lol

 

[boju]

Yeah, 1 hdmi into avr from pc and 1 hdmi from avr hdmi out to tv

 

[boju]

If you decide to get a second sub one day get one that can go as low as the avr will allow. 40hz is still awesome base but if you want to feel it too, get one that can do 20hz or lower. Check your avr first i think i read it can output 20hz low level.

 

[ceta99]

If you decide to get a second sub one day get one that can go as low as the avr will allow. 40hz is still awesome base but if you want to feel it too, get one that can do 20hz or lower. Check your avr first i think i read it can output 20hz low level.

Oh, didn't occur to me I could use a different brand sub lol. nice to know very good chance I will get one that can do 20hz or lower.

 

[boju]

Oh, didn't occur to me I could use a different brand sub

Component AVRs rock! Set them up how you want with whatever you want within spec.

 

[madmatt30]

Specs on the energy sub state 40htz but a few reviews scattered about show it actually getting down below 30htz.
I dont think you'll have any need to change it out in the near future.

 

[boju]

I wouldn't either. If got a second, run both