Terminating whole house audio cables

[86turbodsl]

Ok, I need to figure out what to do with the whole house speaker wire. I am not immediately adding amps. I ran cat5e and speaker
to each zone. Should I just terminate the Cat5 into my patch panels like all other cat5? Should I terminate the speaker wire somehow?

I'd hate to leave it hanging while everything else is terminated.

Suggestions?

 

[beelzerob]

Personally, I would terminate the cat5 to a patch panel. Keypads are definitely something that could actually change in the future, so the most generic route to go is patch panel. From there, you can connect it any way needed. I HAD planned to terminate ALLLL of my cat5 to a patch panel (hence the 48 connector opening I got off ebay), but I finally relented and decided to wire the ALC/OnQ cat5 directly to the ALC panel.

As for the speakers....I haven't figured out how to terminate those either. You can always get one of those empty keystone rack mounts, and wire them to keystones, and then patch them with banana jacks...but I think that' gets into the $$$ high end, for lots of pretty organization.

 

[sic0048]

It's just personal preference. Obviously terminating the wire will make everything look nice, but add expense. It also adds another point of failure (or two).

Personally, I simply would not terminate those wires that are dedicated to the whole house audio system. If you terminate the cat5 into a patch panel, make sure it is a separate patch panel from the network runs, or at least CLEARLY mark those ports as whole house keypads. Otherwise it will be very easy to plug a network line into it by accident and potentially fry the keypads if they are connected. Also make sure the patch cords are flaming red color or something similar to distinguish it too. It is far too easy to plug that patch cord into the netword connections when you are trouble shooting something. I've done it myself with a usb extender - I was trying to trouble shoot it and in a hurry and accidentally plugged it back into the network switch rather than the other patch panel port that it should have been plugged into. That was a $50 mistake - I'd hate to do it on a $$$ keypad.

If you wanted to terminate the speaker runs, you could make your own patch panel by mounting some banana plugs (female) onto a blank network rack faceplate. Or perhaps using 1/4" or 1/2" phono plugs (or something similar) if you didn't want to use banana plugs. But if you go that route, then you'll have to make patch cords to connect everything to the amps when you get them. I've always simply connected the speaker wires directly to the amps.

 

[Neurorad]

Most people don't patch speaker cables - extra connections [theoretically] degrade sound, and they're rarely changed, but in realilty it's not going to affect the sound, and it's easy to change cables at the amp.

I've been looking into a DIN rail-mount terminal block setup, for my speakers. TonyNo and Steve have been very helpful. TonyNo convinced me that Wago is a good brand, though it's pricey. The double tier blocks from Wage are ~$150 minimum, for 50 (2 blocks/zone), minimum order 50.

Klindy said that he's using terminal blocks for speaker cable patching. Found them cheap on ebay.
http://www.cocoontech.com/forums/index.php...mp;#entry125895

I found a local Wago rep, and phoned them for a price quote. They take credit cards, which makes life easier.
http://www.automationcenter.com/statpages/indexstat.htm

The few people who patch speaker cables usually use banana plugs, from what I've read, though many people here at CT use Buchanan/terminal/barrier strips/blocks (HUGE price range, shop around). Various names include 'terminal strip', 'Buchanan', 'Eurostyle terminal strip', 'barrier block'.

I'm leaning toward DIN rail mount terminal blocks because I'm patching in an enclosure, where space is limited.

 

[86turbodsl]

Hmmm. Maybe I'll pickup a separate cat 5 wiring station for the six zones to keep it discrete, and just coil up the speaker wires until I'm ready to put amps in. I would hate to blow anything.

I gotta pickup something for the phone connection anyway. Just gives me an opportunity to stop and get it.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[charliebarns]

Here's how I terminated my speakers into the enclosures, then ran patches to my stack:

 

[Neurorad]

rail mount barrier blocks, slotted wiring duct - that's awesome!

so that's 6 zones/row

 

[charliebarns]

rail mount barrier blocks, slotted wiring duct - that's awesome!

so that's 6 zones/row

yup 6 zones. I have one more vertical strip with 3 more zones but I think it's a great way to terminate audio. Audio was the only one I struggled to find a solution...

 

[Neurorad]

I figured out that with the two tier, double row, 2 potential terminal block setup, I can do 20 zones in a row.

But currently, with the Wago terminal blocks I have spec'd, it will be $150.

Increased efficiency, but at a cost.

I need to find cheaper terminal blocks.

 

[86turbodsl]

Hey I like that terminal block idea. I'm going to a separate cat5 block for the keypads, and i just might do terminal strips for the audio cable. Nice. Thanks.

 

[pkoslow]

Here's how I terminated my speakers into the enclosures, then ran patches to my stack:

View attachment 2834

Charlie,

Good work! The terminal strips worked out well...

Cheers,
Paul

 

[dfeller]

The terminal block as shown above is how I've done most homes - although I put a spade lug on the wire to insure the best connection on the terminal block.

But I do a lot of Churches, and the typical patch panel there uses Speakon connectors. In the old days it was 1/4" plugs, but those tend to corrode and give connection issues over time. The Speakons are push/twist connectors with broad connections that have a much longer life. Overkill for a home system, but for a few hundred dollars, they look extremely cool.

DF

 

[FaderJockey]

The terminal block as shown above is how I've done most homes - although I put a spade lug on the wire to insure the best connection on the terminal block.

But I do a lot of Churches, and the typical patch panel there uses Speakon connectors. In the old days it was 1/4" plugs, but those tend to corrode and give connection issues over time. The Speakons are push/twist connectors with broad connections that have a much longer life. Overkill for a home system, but for a few hundred dollars, they look extremely cool.

DF

One nice thing about these is, being a 4 pole connector, you could set them up as 'stereo' patches.

The NL4 connectors can be found for less than 10 bucks.