Speaker Wall Plates - Worth The Effort?

[Phaedrus68]

Hi,

I like thet idea of speaker wall plates, but is all the soldering & the expense really worth the hassle?

Is there any signal loss with these plates? Is there a preferred way to connect - banana plugs at every connection point, or just wrap the wire round good 'n' tight?

For a 5.1 set-up, I assume I'd need these (or similar from another brand)?

1 x NX-WP-024B 5.1 Dolpy Plate for the amp outputs:
http://www.nexxia.co.uk/Wall_plate_C...all_plates.htm

5 x NX-WP-005 binding post plate for the front, rear & centre speakers:
http://www.nexxia.co.uk/Wall_plate_C...all_plates.htm

1 x NX-WP-009 Phono plate for the sub:
http://www.nexxia.co.uk/Wall_plate_C...all_plates.htm

That's £82 delivered to me in Ireland, which I could swallow if they do tidy things up and don't affect signal.


Thanks for any replies,

Mark

[kumack]

Thanks Mark been wondering the exact same thing, also here in Ireland

[aggallim]

I was also wondering the same thing. About to chase the walls out to put speaker cables in and wondered if the plates would be to big to sit behind smaller satellite speakers.

come on people, give us a hand

[jro7563]

I used wall plates for my rear B&W's, at high level, makes things a lot more tidy, soldering the cable to the "tabs" is easy enough (im no expert with a soldering iron) see pics Living room/5.1 setup WIP

[tankrs]

Just for your info. I have my rears chased into wall with conduits and just a small hole left for where the cable exits. I found that this a much neater solution. Where they come out at the front they come out of a brush plate behind a unit.This way there is a direct connection from speakers to amp (no inter-connects and no signal loss).

Tankrs

[Phaedrus68]

Originally Posted by tankrs

...there is a direct connection from speakers to amp (no inter-connects and no signal loss).

That's really what I want to know - is there really any significant signal loss? If there is, then who uses these products if not AV enthusiasts, who you would assume know best when it comes to AV?

If you're chasing / routing cables in walls, they obviously have to enter & exit the walls somehow. Dedicated wall plates seem to be the neatest option, but if there is noticable loss, then wouldn't a blank plate with a hole drilled in it for the cable to pass through be "better"?


Mark

[Da_Rude_Baboon]

I originally had cables coming through a drilled face plate but it just looked a mess tbh and the girlfriend hated it. I swapped it for a face plate and it looks much tidier and to my ears there is no difference in the sound quality.

[jro7563]

Originally Posted by Da_Rude_Baboon

I originally had cables coming through a drilled face plate but it just looked a mess tbh and the girlfriend hated it. I swapped it for a face plate and it looks much tidier and to my ears there is no difference in the sound quality.

Have to agree regarding hearing no difference in sound quality either.

[andrewb150]

The least visible soloution is to just have the cable exiting the plastered wall through a small whole, mounting the speaker directly in front. As suggested by tankrs

Face plates are can be useful when there is a requirement for making and breaking the connection neatly. eg. in this case changing the location of the rear speakers or the ability to remove all the speakers from the room without wires hanging out of the wall.

They mainly provide protection for the cable in the wall whiich is the hardest to replace... after all who cares about the 1m of cable outside the wall plate. The 10m in the wall on the other hand!!

I just cant imagine there being any noticable difference at all, think how many solder connections there are inside your equipment and speakers already. I certainly have not noticed anything, when using plates in the past.

[Jiff Lemon]

Just one thought to consider; Whats your speaker wiring like?

See, If you just channeled and passed the wire through, in a couple of years time should you choose to upgrade / replace, its going to be easier to pull through the new cable and connect up, rather than desolder and resolder the new stuff in.

I plumped for some of the brush plates when doing mine.

[IanW]

Unless you really need to move your speakers, direct is best.

Ian.

[cybrey]

I used direct and plates.. basically I drilled a hole through a blank plate or used the brush plates behind the stand. Gives the finish I would like on the walls where visible without any ( perceived or otherwise) signal loss.