Advice on wiring

[sinzargi]

Hey,

Sorry if this sounds really stupid to a lot of you but I am confused on what to do in the way of speaker wire. I am in the process of buying the Acoustic Energy Aegis Evo 3B 5.1 speaker set which will be used for surround sound on my pc, lcd tv and ps3.

I will also be buying the yamaha RX-v1700 receiver as this has hdmi slots with it unlike the alternatives i was looking at. My question is about wiring. I don't know wether I am meant to be buying biwirable wire or not as I know the front and center speakers are biwirable but the rear are not. Do I need biwirable cable (will it make the sound better) or do I use standard speaker cable?

Sinzargi

[russ.will]

Bi-wiring will not make your speakers sound better.

Instead of buying two runs of speaker cable, buy single runs at double the price and cut back enough of the insulation so you can pass the cable through both sets of binding posts on the back of the speakers. Be very careful that no stray strands are left wandering when you do this. By double the cost, I mean £2.50/m.

You do not need to spend much on speaker cable. I had the de riguer QED Silver Anniversary (£5/m) and replaced it with the Van Damme Blue Series (£2.50/m) and have never looked back. Far smoother, more real detail, with weightier bass.

Look for the 2x2.5mm cable in this powerbuy in the cables forum. Unless you have very long runs (10m+), that is as big as you need to go. Anybody who suggests you need to spend more for this level of speakers and amp, is probably trying to justify to themselves why they over spent on cables.

At the Bristol Show, PMC were demoing the EB1s (£6k) on the end of a combined £18k of Bryston amplification. They used a single run of bog stock, no name, stranded copper cable that cost and I quote "about £2 off the reel". Nuff said.

Russell

[sinzargi]

Thanks for the advice. I will pick up the wire you suggested and do as you said.

Also I don't know if I should move this question to the receiver section but would you recommend the yamaha Rx-v1700 over the sony STR-DA5200ES using the speakers mentioned or opt for the sony? I have had conflicting opinions due to the sony not been out so long but have been told the yamaha whereas as the sony looks better on paper with these speakers.

[russ.will]

Whoa! Don't act on any one persons advice alone. If a few people agree, then my opinion is worthy, until then I could be some sort of single minded crackpot.

I have no idea which of those two receivers is more suited. I have heard neither. That is one for the receivers forum, although I would suggest that the AEs plus either of those two receivers should be easy enough to hear at most high street dealers.

I take it you bought the AEs because you liked the sound. What receiver were they demoed with, as it would seem a match that you liked enough to buy the speakers? That would seem to be a good receiver to start with.

Russell

[sinzargi]

Lol. Yeah I heard the speakers at a local store in stoke. I tried a fair few different systems and liked them the best. They were using a denon but I can't remember which model but i think it was either 1707, 2807 or 3806. I'll have to go back to check out their receivers and move over to the receiver forum.

Thanks for your advice on wiring it saves me sitting their when the speakers arive wondering what wire to buy.

[russ.will]

FWIW, I ran a pair of AE Aegis 2s on my Denon for a couple of days. I picked them up real cheap due to a poor listing on Ebay. They were very, very nice and were yet another speaker that gelled better than the then resident £600 Kef Q5s.

Yam 1700 or Denon 2807 would be the desirable minimum in my eyes. If you're prepared to learn how Audyssey works, I'd get the Denon.

Russell