Hi Guys-

I,m doing an HT install for a customer who had an electrician pre wire. Nedless to say, the layout is wrong. I've pretty much figured out how to get the necessary sources to their destinations, except the center channel speaker line. Do to the construction of the home, there is just no way to run a line. I need to find a good quality system for transmitting the center channel audio from the amp to the display location. The Sound Processor is located approximatly 40' away in another room.
Any ideas?

You'll be happier running the surround receiver in the phantom center channel mode.

It's a Bose Lifestyle System, I don't know that it has a Phantom mode.

George,

Since it's a Bose Lifestyle System... The center channel bleads through into all the other speakers with abandon anyway. By default you have a Phantom mode!

Seriously... I am serious with the above comment. The Bose Lifestyles I've heard had so much center channel on the other speakers, that I'm not sure losing the center channel will hurt. It's worth a try.

Since they have such a discearning ear, and chose the lifestyle system, I'm not sure they'll think this is bad without the center.

Let's just say for a moment that the Bose sounds good. (I understand this is a fantasy.)

Since no speakers on the market sound like the Bose, and just read the Bose literature for confirmation of that, no wireless center channel speaker can possibly sound right. The left, center and right need to have the same character of sound so that if something goes across the "stage" it goes hoo-hoo-hoo as it goes from one speaker to the next, not whee-hoo-whee ("hoo" indicates good frequency response, "whee" indicates Bose)(sound it out yourself).

And you can't very well take the signal that should go to the center speaker and somehow get it to go to a wireless device that would then let you pick up the signal and feed it to the Bose speaker in the center. That means that you need to find a wireless speaker to use in the center, and there are rears out there that will do this, and then choose other non-Bose speakers that sound similar to use for the other four channels.

Or do as bcf says.

I'm no Bose fan either, but the customer has it already and swallowed all the hype.
So, lets just say for arguement I'm able to sell her out of the Bose. How does that help? I still have the issue of the center channel.
Thanks again guys, great dialogue.
GP

There's ALWAYS SOME way of getting wire to a location. You just need to be creative.

There are several tools on the market to aid in the art of retrofitting wire.

Good luck.


JJP

Like John says, where there is a will, there IS a way...

Post the specifics of the application, and of the construction and materials of this wall. Also include the spaces above, behind, and below the wall you're on.

Is this a wall mount with a plasma, or is there some sort of furniture that the center cube/pod will be sitting on??

If there is furniture, run a line down behind the furniture and tuck the line under the edge of the base trim into a closet or another room, or possibly down into an exposed basement ceiling or crawlspace (wishful thinking).

If there is a basement below this space, but it's finished, look for can lights as possible access. Sometimes they are the self contained style and you can remove the trim rings and tilt the fixture up a little to get a fishtape by them. Obviously you want to keep the LV cable away from where the lights will sit one you reassemble them.

If it is a plasma, and the wall is open or insulated w/ fiberglass bats or blown in cellulose, you can go inside the wall and come out behind the baseboard...

It might be a little bit hacked by the time you're done, but just make sure it's safe.
It is, after all, a reflection on the guy that stuck him in that position... If you come up with a solution AT ALL, you should be able to come out like the hero.

Worse case scenario, figure out how to get the wire pulled with the fewest cuts and tell the client his use of a cheaper contractor is now going to result in a drywall patch and a paint touch up, hopefully there aren't any fancy paper jobs or mahogany or walnut panels where you need access.

Trust me, this is common practice and you aren't the first or last to ask someone to pay $300-1000 in wall repair for a $100-200 wire run...

Now, if this is an exterior wall of a concrete-filled structural insulated panel (SIP) house, or a house with sprayed in icynene foam insulation, then your solution gets tougher...

You could also suggest using the flat wire that's thin enough to hide with paint, or at least mud and paint, both of which would be required with patching anyway.




Are you sure it's not hoo-whee-hoo? I remember hearing that in The Wizard of Oz.

Yeah man - your lucky it's a bose speaker , you dont need heavy gauge wire to run that. , use the supplied wire , or the skinniest 18 gauge wire you can find,,,,,, also how far off did the electrician place the center --- the super dooper -calafrgalistic (sp?) magic bose automatic setup will surley compensate. -- For real! I was at a bose store and heard the sales guy say the sub module diddnt even hafta be in the same room ! :P

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

That electrician must have taken the Wesly Mullings course.

...the sound of it is something quite atrocious...

Come on--I can't beleive your name is reall Larry Fine.

The room is unique heres a litney of the construction
* 2X4 Rock
* The west wall has the speaker lines coming out of a 2 gang mud ring.
* The configuration is for 5.1, 2 lines eye level e and w walls
* The client wants the Direct View SD TV on the east wall.
* The electrician strung an RG-6 coax line between the 2 locations.
* I will be using that line for the composite video from the west wall component area to the TV
* The room is on a slab. No access underneith
* The south wall is lined with sliding glass doors recessed into 10" coves with no molding. Again no access
* The west wall backs up into a bedroom
* The second floor is living space
* The exterior of the house is stucco
* The north section of the room opens up into the foyer. No walls, no access.
* The TV is located in the south west corner near the sliding glass doors
* To the right is a fire place.

I can't wait until the client wants to move up to HD. I can't get a speaker line there, imagine an HDMI or DVI line.

I agree, never say die. but so far I'm stumped.

Dum deedle um diddle um diddle I