Building a new house - need help with internal wiring for my speakers

[Maiden_Trooper]

Hello folks!

I am finally building a new house whose living room will house my yet-to-arrive home theater setup (I can't afford the luxury of a separate home theater room).

This is how the living room will be setup:

1. The room dimensions are (LxWxH) 14x12x11 feet respectively. My sofas/recliners will eventually end-up being placed very close to or fully against the rear wall.
2. I have no plans to install a projector. I will end-up using some sort of TV.
3. I hope to buy the Wharfedale Diamond 10.7 package or some such speaker set some time soon.
4. Although I will start-off with a single subwoofer, I will eventually upgrade to a second sub-woofer once my financial situation is back in the black.
5. I have read the Dolby guides for speaker placements and will place my speakers according to them.

It is now time for the electrician to make provisions for the electrical wiring and I need help from all you experts.
I know nothing about speaker wires, so please answer the following questions so that I can tell my electrician what he should do:

1. I will run separate pipes/conduits for the speaker cables. Taking bi-wiring into account what should be the maximum thickness of the pipes to run speaker wires (only) through them? From what I have read, about 2.5 inches should be adequate. Please tell me whether this is true.
2. Should I make provisions for a 7.1 setup although I have my seat backs lined up against the wall? Is there scope for an upgrade to a 7.1 system given these seating constraints?
3. I plan to connect all the equipment to some decent power stabilizers like this one. Does this sound like a good idea?
   If not, will a standard APC UPS connected to the entire house provide adequate protection to these expensive devices?

Answers to these questions and any additional expert comments from you will tremendously help me setup my HT system.

Thank you for everything!

 

[baijuxavior]

1. 2.5 inch pipes are more than enough for running cables. For your usage a 16 or 18AWG cable is sufficient as the distances are not much. It is recommended to lay the pipes and some false wiring or rope now and replace the wires later when you purchase the HT.

2.With your seating position, no need to go for 7.1 setup. 7.1 movies are rare too.

3. Stabilizer is enough if your place is free from severe voltage fluctuations.Instead of the v-guard stabilizer, a servo controlled stabilizer is recommended. Servo stabilizers will give accurate output voltage. However an online UPS will be the best option, but they are very expensive.

 

[edge111hussain]

For a room size like yours, aint a 10.7 package an overkill? I would rather buy better quality bookshelves and a good quality sub.

 

[Thtpro]

For a room like yours I would suggest a 5.1 system

Spend the extra money on the front- Left, Center and Right Speakers

2 inch conduit should be more than enough for any type of speaker wire

Prewire for 7.2 -- you can always try out some rear speakers

Also prewire (run a 2 inch conduit) from the Projector to the equipment rack-- You may change your mind

Run wires for control--
Screen or TV to equipment rack
Projector location to equipment rack
Seating area to equipment rack

 

[Shivam]

Wharfedale 10.7 speakers need to be placed away from rear wall so they may not suit your requirement.

Apart from the suggestions above, think of an alternative way to run a HDMI cable from your equipment to projector if you happen to buy one.