On Speaker Wires
A recent discussion on surround sound speakers reminded me of one of my "pet peeves" with these systems. It's that there are simply too many wires.
I had an Altec Lansing 4.1 speaker setup. While the audio quality was adequate (and not much more than that), it always was a tangled mess. I'm not sure where these designers are, but the wires for the rear speakers are never really long enough to do anything sensible with them. I though about mounting them up on the ceiling, but they were too short. Even on the ground, the rears barely made it behind the chair. Additionally, I do most of my computing when the sun goes down, and multiple wires are a definite safety hazard. Let's not even get into the vacuum cleaner getting tangled up in the wires.
While Logitech makes one set of speakers that has rears that are wireless, this is not a perfect solution either. For one, they still need to be powered, so they need to be plugged in somewhere, and that still involves wires so this is only a minor improvement, assuming there is an electrical outlet in the vicinty of where the speakers need to go. Also, I've seen reports that there can be interference that effects the audio quality in the rear channels.
Is there any solution to this? Well, makers of stereos and speakers have dealt with this for years. By letting the end user supply the wire, either basic stereo cable, or RCA cable, we can choose any length required to get the job done. If we need a longer cable length for the right rear then the left rear, for example, this is no problem. Maybe this is just too simple in the end. Perhaps it needs a catchy phrase to make it sound new and interesting (preferably with too many capital letters). How about "New surround sound with CableSelect technology?" That sounds about right.
While the allure of a surround sound system is enticing, it's just not very practical with the current wiring situation. When it comes to speakers on a "short leash," be very aware of what the wires will look like. It's not by accident that in the product photos, there are no wires.
--Jonas
I had an Altec Lansing 4.1 speaker setup. While the audio quality was adequate (and not much more than that), it always was a tangled mess. I'm not sure where these designers are, but the wires for the rear speakers are never really long enough to do anything sensible with them. I though about mounting them up on the ceiling, but they were too short. Even on the ground, the rears barely made it behind the chair. Additionally, I do most of my computing when the sun goes down, and multiple wires are a definite safety hazard. Let's not even get into the vacuum cleaner getting tangled up in the wires.
While Logitech makes one set of speakers that has rears that are wireless, this is not a perfect solution either. For one, they still need to be powered, so they need to be plugged in somewhere, and that still involves wires so this is only a minor improvement, assuming there is an electrical outlet in the vicinty of where the speakers need to go. Also, I've seen reports that there can be interference that effects the audio quality in the rear channels.
Is there any solution to this? Well, makers of stereos and speakers have dealt with this for years. By letting the end user supply the wire, either basic stereo cable, or RCA cable, we can choose any length required to get the job done. If we need a longer cable length for the right rear then the left rear, for example, this is no problem. Maybe this is just too simple in the end. Perhaps it needs a catchy phrase to make it sound new and interesting (preferably with too many capital letters). How about "New surround sound with CableSelect technology?" That sounds about right.
While the allure of a surround sound system is enticing, it's just not very practical with the current wiring situation. When it comes to speakers on a "short leash," be very aware of what the wires will look like. It's not by accident that in the product photos, there are no wires.
--Jonas
posted by digitaldoc at 6:43 AM
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