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[kubus]

Hate to open a thread just for this, but I couldn't find a general audio thread or something to ask

I'm trying to compile a brand new 5.1 home cinema set after our HTIB died, but since it's the first time I'm building something like this, I was hoping someone with more know-how could give me a rundown if this is gonna work. Obviously mainly using it for gaming and some movies, in the living room. Our budget is limited to €800-900, and I found this:

Receiver: Yamaha HTR-3069 (RX-V381) - €219
Front/rear speakers: Dali Spektor 1 (x4) - €99x4
Center: Dali Spektor Vokal - €189
Subwoofer: Yamaha YST-SW012 - €85
TOTAL: €889

My main concern is whether this receiver can power the speakers. The receiver supports an impedance of 6 ohm, and the speakers are all 6 ohm, so does that mean it's gonna work no problems? And I can actually connect all the components to the receiver, there's no compatibility problems there?

And uhh, is this setup logical? The subwoofer is the cheapest component in this set, but the reviews are glowing. Would you say that buying a subwoofer that's cheaper than your speakers is a waste of money?

Really excited to finally be able to game in 5.1 surround, but don't wanna order some stuff and find out it doesn't play well with each other. If someone has better ideas for components, I'd love to hear it! Just keep in mind that I'm based in Europe (The Netherlands) where sadly not everything is available (or way more expensive) .

Thanks gaf!

 

[Thraktor]

The DALI speakers should be a solid choice. I haven't heard the new Spektors, but their Zensor range has been my standard recommendation for both stereo and surround for the last few years, so I don't doubt that the Spektors will be a good option too.

The AVR seems like a solid choice, so long as it has the feature set you need. It'll have no problem with the speakers, almost all AVRs are designed for speakers between 4 and 8 Ohm, so a set of 6 Ohm speakers like the DALIs won't be an issue. Generally speaking there's almost no difference in sound quality between the RX-V series of AVRs, you just get more inputs, more amplification channels and more power as you go up the line. Usually you're best off getting the one with the features you need and not going overboard, as it's the component you're most likely to replace as new HDMI standards, etc., get introduced. Speakers have a much longer useful life, so if in doubt focus your money there.

I'm not so sure about the subwoofer, but I haven't heard it myself, so I can't really say one way or the other. The difficult thing about subs is that there are a lot of good options at about €400+, (such as DALI's E-9-F) but it gets a lot more difficult to find good recommendations below that. I remember the Wharfedale SW-150 being a good option on a budget, although it'll be more than the Yamaha, depending on what you might have to spend locally for it.

 

[kubus]

Thank you so much for weighing in! That's exactly the kind of advice I was looking for

A lot of Dali reviews mention that they perform really well without needing a subwoofer, so we think we might just drop the sub (for now), and perhaps invest in a slightly better set of Dali's for the fronts instead, so perhaps the Dali Zensor 1 like you mentioned. And then keep the Spektors for the back to stay within the budget .

I checked out that subwoofer you mentioned but it doesn't seem available anymore in my region . But I think you're right, might be better to wait with that and then perhaps get a good one in the 400-range, like the Dali sub, if we ever decide we want the extra bass.

Probably gonna order the components later today then so thanks again!

 

[Thraktor]

Thank you so much for weighing in! That's exactly the kind of advice I was looking for

A lot of Dali reviews mention that they perform really well without needing a subwoofer, so we think we might just drop the sub (for now), and perhaps invest in a slightly better set of Dali's for the fronts instead, so perhaps the Dali Zensor 1 like you mentioned. And then keep the Spektors for the back to stay within the budget .

I checked out that subwoofer you mentioned but it doesn't seem available anymore in my region . But I think you're right, might be better to wait with that and then perhaps get a good one in the 400-range, like the Dali sub, if we ever decide we want the extra bass.

Probably gonna order the components later today then so thanks again!

I'd recommend sticking with the same speakers all around if at all possible, rather than mixing and matching between different lines. For a surround sound system you want the sound field to be as uniform as possible in every direction, so ideally identical speakers all around, or at least part of the same line.

I'd definitely recommend getting some kind of sub, even if it's a reasonably cheap one. The Yamaha does seem to get pretty good reviews at that price point, so there's not much harm in going with it. Worst case scenario you upgrade in a year or so and sell it on for about €50. You won't really have lost much, and it adds quite a lot to the surround sound system for the time that you're using it.

 

[Unicorn]

I'm working on my own budget set up of completely thrift store pieces. Currently dealing with a short or something throwing my receiver into protect mode. Probably why it was donated in the first place.

 

[boredandlazy]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001202C44/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Buy it, love it.

 

[Stiler]

I can't directly suggest a setup, but I'd suggest you check out a site like http://www.avsforum.com/ or such.

It was invaluable when I put together my HT this past summer and finding everything I needed.

I can tell you one un-expected charge I didn't budget for and wish I did, CABLES.

You are going to need 6 speaker cables and it can run you over $100 out of your budget depending on how long you plan to run the speakers from your a/v receiver.

For decent short'ish cables (10 ft) these are the ones I went with:
https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=102&cp_id=10239&cs_id=1023906&p_id=13913&seq=1&format=2

Which are better priced then a lot of other speaker cables you'll come across, especially going into your over-priced "monster" branding style speaker cables that are absurdly expensive.

Problem was I needed longer ones for my rear speakers, luckily I found a guy on the avsforums that makes speaker wires and he sold me some for a reasonable price. I can pm you his info if you want it, just lmk.

 

[dcassell]

I can't directly suggest a setup, but I'd suggest you check out a site like http://www.avsforum.com/ or such.

It was invaluable when I put together my HT this past summer and finding everything I needed.

I can tell you one un-expected charge I didn't budget for and wish I did, CABLES.

You are going to need 6 speaker cables and it can run you over $100 out of your budget depending on how long you plan to run the speakers from your a/v receiver.

For decent short'ish cables (10 ft) these are the ones I went with:
https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=102&cp_id=10239&cs_id=1023906&p_id=13913&seq=1&format=2

Which are better priced then a lot of other speaker cables you'll come across, especially going into your over-priced "monster" branding style speaker cables that are absurdly expensive.

Problem was I needed longer ones for my rear speakers, luckily I found a guy on the avsforums that makes speaker wires and he sold me some for a reasonable price. I can pm you his info if you want it, just lmk.

Is there a downside to just using raw speaker wire and adding on the banana plugs yourself? It's extremely easy, and way cheaper than buying them. 100 ft of 16 gauge speaker wire is like $11 on Amazon, and mine has lasted years with no difference between it and the fancy cables I use for the front speakers in my setup.

I was just about to link some stuff for you, OP, but a lot of it was sadly not available in UK Amazon . I built my set with Polk speakers: 4 bookshelf speakers at $70 a pair, A center channel ($120) and a 12" sub ($200) with that same receiver. Blows my parents' home-theater-in-a-box out of the water easily, and I haven't found myself wanting to upgrade any more. Altogether that cost me ~$700, and I'm very happy, though I'm certainly no expert on speakers.

 

[Stiler]

Is there a downside to just using raw speaker wire and adding on the banana plugs yourself? It's extremely easy, and way cheaper than buying them. 100 ft of 16 gauge speaker wire is like $11 on Amazon, and mine has lasted years with no difference between it and the fancy cables I use for the front speakers in my setup.

I was just about to link some stuff for you, OP, but a lot of it was sadly not available in UK Amazon . I built my set with Polk speakers: 4 bookshelf speakers at $70 a pair, A center channel ($120) and a 12" sub ($200) with that same receiver. Blows my parents' home-theater-in-a-box out of the water easily, and I haven't found myself wanting to upgrade any more. Altogether that cost me ~$700, and I'm very happy, though I'm certainly no expert on speakers.

Of course you can do it yourself if you know how to or want to learn.

In terms of speaker cable though you'll probably want to use braiding or sleeves of some kind for the wire over the clear plastic covering most bulk spools come with. Then you have four plugs per wire and some rubber boots at each end usually where they split and go before the plugs.

Some of that is just cosmetic though, if you don't mind the bare-cable look or don't want to use banana plugs (imo they are worth it though for ease of getting in/out of connections).

 

[pooptest]

Is there a downside to just using raw speaker wire and adding on the banana plugs yourself? It's extremely easy, and way cheaper than buying them. 100 ft of 16 gauge speaker wire is like $11 on Amazon, and mine has lasted years with no difference between it and the fancy cables I use for the front speakers in my setup.

I was just about to link some stuff for you, OP, but a lot of it was sadly not available in UK Amazon . I built my set with Polk speakers: 4 bookshelf speakers at $70 a pair, A center channel ($120) and a 12" sub ($200) with that same receiver. Blows my parents' home-theater-in-a-box out of the water easily, and I haven't found myself wanting to upgrade any more. Altogether that cost me ~$700, and I'm very happy, though I'm certainly no expert on speakers.

The debate goes back and forth, but there's really no difference between direct and banana. I prefer direct, personally, but banana is super convenient. So convenient, in fact, I just switched.

I did this cable:
https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=102&cp_id=10239&cs_id=1023902&p_id=2817&seq=1&format=2

And these plugs: Sewell Direct SW-29863-6 Deadbolt 6-Pairs Banana Plugs https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007QUYQSY/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Super easy to do yourself, just need a wire stripper. There's instructions / video (I think) how do these plugs, but it's really just strip some wire, pull it through a bit, told it over the sticks, tighten plug down. That easy!

Sounds great and cheap!

 

[DemonCleaner]

save yourself the bannanna plugs, it's just added resistance. looks cool and is convenient while rearranging you speakers often. speaker cable don't "sound" btw. as long as you keep total R and inductance in check, it doesn't matter. so basically, as long as you don't use bell wire, everything should be allright.

the dali are a decent choice. if you live in europe you should consider some high value surround kit from Nubert or Teufel. good cost balance betweent speakers and receiver btw. allways put the money in better speakers, as long the amp has sufficient power and impedance capabilities.

 

[kubus]

Oh wow, didn't expect so many new replies! Thanks for your input everyone, and the interesting discussion about cables, haha. It's all new to me.

I can't directly suggest a setup, but I'd suggest you check out a site like http://www.avsforum.com/ or such.

It was invaluable when I put together my HT this past summer and finding everything I needed.

I can tell you one un-expected charge I didn't budget for and wish I did, CABLES.

You are going to need 6 speaker cables and it can run you over $100 out of your budget depending on how long you plan to run the speakers from your a/v receiver.

For decent short'ish cables (10 ft) these are the ones I went with:
https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=102&cp_id=10239&cs_id=1023906&p_id=13913&seq=1&format=2

Which are better priced then a lot of other speaker cables you'll come across, especially going into your over-priced "monster" branding style speaker cables that are absurdly expensive.

Problem was I needed longer ones for my rear speakers, luckily I found a guy on the avsforums that makes speaker wires and he sold me some for a reasonable price. I can pm you his info if you want it, just lmk.

I'm so glad you posted this -- I've been trying to get some advice from other places/friends/etc but you're the first to mention cables. I had no idea that you had to buy those yourself, lol. It sounds super complicated and scary for a complete newbie like me . Speaker cable, banana plugs... I got some more research to do I guess!

I was just about to link some stuff for you, OP, but a lot of it was sadly not available in UK Amazon . I built my set with Polk speakers: 4 bookshelf speakers at $70 a pair, A center channel ($120) and a 12" sub ($200) with that same receiver. Blows my parents' home-theater-in-a-box out of the water easily, and I haven't found myself wanting to upgrade any more. Altogether that cost me ~$700, and I'm very happy, though I'm certainly no expert on speakers.

Aw thanks anyway! I looked up Polk speakers and Amazon.de carries some, but it's extremely limited . They seem great quality for those prices, which makes me sad again that so many good stuff isn't available in Europe or for ridiculous prices :/. $700 sounds like an amazing deal!

save yourself the bannanna plugs, it's just added resistance. looks cool and is convenient while rearranging you speakers often. speaker cable don't "sound" btw. as long as you keep total R and inductance in check, it doesn't matter. so basically, as long as you don't use bell wire, everything should be allright.

the dali are a decent choice. if you live in europe you should consider some high value surround kit from Nubert or Teufel. good cost balance betweent speakers and receiver btw. allways put the money in better speakers, as long the amp has sufficient power and impedance capabilities.

Thanks! I'll have to inform myself a little more before making a final decision but it's reassuring to know that the banana plugs aren't a necessity. (Right...? The specs of the Yamaha receiver say that it uses banana plugs though? Or does that mean it's optional?)

We've found our final set-up btw and we went a little overboard and way over budget... But we figured that if we're gonna invest in this, we might just as well do it right.

We're keeping the Yamaha HTR-3069 receiver, because it has everything we need without it being bloated with features we're never gonna use. And as for the speakers:

- Dali Zensor 1 (x4)
- Dali Zensor Vokal

We were set on 2x Zensor 1 and 2x Zensor Pico first, but the Zensor 1 was only €30 more per speaker than the Pico, so we figured why the heck not. No subwoofer for now. I know it's probably better to get one, but we really can't afford that right now, especially after switching to a full Zensor 1 set . Still in the middle of moving, so it's expensive as it is with new furniture and all. Will wait and see how much extra oomph we need and then can get a sub later!

Just ordered everything so no turning back now. Really excited for it, but I'm afraid it'll be two months before I can test it out myself as I'm still abroad for a while. Now to figure out what cables we need, and then we're done .

 

[Thats a Greay Area]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001202C44/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Buy it, love it.

Looks like you just ordered your stuff but I would agree that these make an excellent started set.

 

[Thraktor]

I'm so glad you posted this -- I've been trying to get some advice from other places/friends/etc but you're the first to mention cables. I had no idea that you had to buy those yourself, lol. It sounds super complicated and scary for a complete newbie like me . Speaker cable, banana plugs... I got some more research to do I guess!

As others have mentioned, you really don't need to go overboard with speaker cables, just make sure they're actually copper (not copper coated aluminium) and aren't an obscenely narrow gauge and you're good to go. If you've got access to QED in the Netherlands then their Profile range would do the job just fine, but there are likely plenty of other options which would work too.

The only cable you would have to worry about is the subwoofer cable, just because long, poorly shielded subwoofer cable can pick up a 50/60Hz hum from nearby power cables. It's not something you would have to worry about yet if you're not picking up a sub right away, but it would be worth trying to keep the sub reasonably close to the receiver so that you can use a shorter cable which is both cheaper and less likely to pick up a hum.

Aw thanks anyway! I looked up Polk speakers and Amazon.de carries some, but it's extremely limited . They seem great quality for those prices, which makes me sad again that so many good stuff isn't available in Europe or for ridiculous prices :/. $700 sounds like an amazing deal!

Polk did try selling in Europe for a while, but there was very little interest, so it seems they've given up altogether. Speaker brands tend to be very regional, there are quite a few popular North American brands that aren't available at all in Europe and vice versa. Even within Europe there are brands that would be big in France or UK or Germany and barely available outside those countries.

Thanks! I'll have to inform myself a little more before making a final decision but it's reassuring to know that the banana plugs aren't a necessity. (Right...? The specs of the Yamaha receiver say that it uses banana plugs though? Or does that mean it's optional?)

With the exception of some very high-end speakers you can always use bare cable. The only benefit to banana plugs is to make it a bit neater. With the Yamaha HTR-3069 you can actually only use banana plugs on the front left and right speakers, so you may as well just use bare cable all round. Do be careful to make sure that the cable is neatly inserted into the receiver, though, with no loose strands that may cause shorts.

We've found our final set-up btw and we went a little overboard and way over budget... But we figured that if we're gonna invest in this, we might just as well do it right.

We're keeping the Yamaha HTR-3069 receiver, because it has everything we need without it being bloated with features we're never gonna use. And as for the speakers:

- Dali Zensor 1 (x4)
- Dali Zensor Vokal

We were set on 2x Zensor 1 and 2x Zensor Pico first, but the Zensor 1 was only €30 more per speaker than the Pico, so we figured why the heck not. No subwoofer for now. I know it's probably better to get one, but we really can't afford that right now, especially after switching to a full Zensor 1 set . Still in the middle of moving, so it's expensive as it is with new furniture and all. Will wait and see how much extra oomph we need and then can get a sub later!

Just ordered everything so no turning back now. Really excited for it, but I'm afraid it'll be two months before I can test it out myself as I'm still abroad for a while. Now to figure out what cables we need, and then we're done .

It's an excellent speaker set, so I'm sure you'll be happy with it. Make sure to pick up a sub at some point, but with full-sized speakers like the Zensor 1s you will at least have some degree of bass before you add the sub.

 

[zerodeefex]

Do you have to have 5.1? In that price range I'd get a great stereo setup and call it a day. It would sound significantly better than stretching your budget across so many products.

 

[Elandyll]

I was thinking of getting the Pioneer VSX 530 ($179 on Amazon) for a 4k setup as it's on the way out, being replaced by the 531.

Seeing I can't spend much, is it worth it?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0141JVEHS/?tag=neogaf0e-20

 

[StriKeVillain]

Dali Zensor 1 is a great speaker. I have a white pair in my basement that I love. They can really fire considering their size.

 

[MoogleMan]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001202C44/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Buy it, love it.

This right here. I've had this set for almost 6 years now and it's been amazing. It fills a large room just fine. I've never felt the need to go "bigger" in the surrounds or the sub.

 

[ps3ud0]

Interesting thread - been considering getting rid of my old PC speaker setup for a while and get something more HT and future proofed.

ps3ud0 8)

 

[belvedere]

Pioneer Andrew Jones system.

At the time (1.5 years ago) it was the best budget-mid system you could buy by quite a margin.

 

[kubus]

As others have mentioned, you really don't need to go overboard with speaker cables, just make sure they're actually copper (not copper coated aluminium) and aren't an obscenely narrow gauge and you're good to go. If you've got access to QED in the Netherlands then their Profile range would do the job just fine, but there are likely plenty of other options which would work too.

The only cable you would have to worry about is the subwoofer cable, just because long, poorly shielded subwoofer cable can pick up a 50/60Hz hum from nearby power cables. It's not something you would have to worry about yet if you're not picking up a sub right away, but it would be worth trying to keep the sub reasonably close to the receiver so that you can use a shorter cable which is both cheaper and less likely to pick up a hum.

With the exception of some very high-end speakers you can always use bare cable. The only benefit to banana plugs is to make it a bit neater. With the Yamaha HTR-3069 you can actually only use banana plugs on the front left and right speakers, so you may as well just use bare cable all round. Do be careful to make sure that the cable is neatly inserted into the receiver, though, with no loose strands that may cause shorts.

Thanks for the advice! I just got a €100 discount on the whole Dali set and the shop also offered to add the needed cables made to measures for €85, but after reading your explanation I guess that's way too expensive and I should decline that offer. I can buy premium cable for €4 a meter, so then I just need to cut them to the right sizes and strip the insulation. Banana plugs look neat (though kinda pricy), but yeah sucks I can only use them on the front speakers. I guess you can still use them on the speaker end for center/surround. Can always buy them later .

Will keep your advice in mind when we eventually get a sub. Also, would you say it's better to get thick cable, like 2.5mm² instead of a smaller diameter? Or does that depend on your setup? It's the only thing I'm not 100% clear on now, but the consensus seems to be that 2,5 is more than fine so we're planning to get that.

Polk did try selling in Europe for a while, but there was very little interest, so it seems they've given up altogether. Speaker brands tend to be very regional, there are quite a few popular North American brands that aren't available at all in Europe and vice versa. Even within Europe there are brands that would be big in France or UK or Germany and barely available outside those countries.

I see! So maybe that's why there's some remains of Polk speakers on Amazon.de. Sad they couldn't get much traction. Sounds like it's a pretty tough industry to expand to other countries.

It's an excellent speaker set, so I'm sure you'll be happy with it. Make sure to pick up a sub at some point, but with full-sized speakers like the Zensor 1s you will at least have some degree of bass before you add the sub.

Thanks . We will definitely get a subwoofer later, but I think we made the right call now to dump the cheap Yamaha sub and invest in better Dali's instead.

Do you have to have 5.1? In that price range I'd get a great stereo setup and call it a day. It would sound significantly better than stretching your budget across so many products.

You're not the first to recommend this, but I truly wonder if stereo would be more desirable than surround even if the quality of the audio is much better? I'm not exactly an audiophile and don't listen to music in the living. For gaming + watching movies, surely prioritizing surround sound is better? Well at least we upped our budget, and I think the setup we bought should give great quality sound .

 

[Stiler]

Had a look at the receiver you listed, not sure what price you can get for it in the Netherlands but I were you I'd look for a least a 7.x a/v receiver within your budget, something like this:

http://www.accessories4less.com/mak...-ch-x-75-watts-networking-a/v-receiver/1.html

That will allow you to go up later on if you want to with more speakers/another sub/ and even atmos and it's not much more then the price of the yamaha (in the US at least, hopefully in the Netherlands as well).

As far as the banana plugs go, you can simply use the wire (and looking at the yamaha receiver it seems you have to for the center/surround speakers). Banana plugs are more for ease of use and being able to simply plug/unplug the cables easily when you need to without worrying about the ends getting frayed.

Frayed ends can cause a shortage if they come in contact with another connection/wire and take down the whole receiver, so when you cut the wire you have to make sure you twist them good so no loose wire is hanging out.

As far as the wire gauge (thickness goes)
https://www.crutchfield.com/S-4oqnkyi9qbs/learn/learningcenter/home/speakers_wire.html

 

[kubus]

Had a look at the receiver you listed, not sure what price you can get for it in the Netherlands but I were you I'd look for a least a 7.x a/v receiver within your budget, something like this:

http://www.accessories4less.com/mak...-ch-x-75-watts-networking-a/v-receiver/1.html

That will allow you to go up later on if you want to with more speakers/another sub/ and even atmos and it's not much more then the price of the yamaha (in the US at least, hopefully in the Netherlands as well).

As far as the banana plugs go, you can simply use the wire (and looking at the yamaha receiver it seems you have to for the center/surround speakers). Banana plugs are more for ease of use and being able to simply plug/unplug the cables easily when you need to without worrying about the ends getting frayed.

Frayed ends can cause a shortage if they come in contact with another connection/wire and take down the whole receiver, so when you cut the wire you have to make sure you twist them good so no loose wire is hanging out.

As far as the wire gauge (thickness goes)
https://www.crutchfield.com/S-4oqnkyi9qbs/learn/learningcenter/home/speakers_wire.html

Thanks for the suggestions ! The receiver is already on its way actually! I did look at that Denon (or a similar 7.x one) actually but the probability we will ever upgrade to 7.1 is pretty small and a receiver like that costs almost €100 extra, so decided to put that money into speakers instead.

I'm at the point now where I'm trying to figure out what cables to get and I'm SHOCKED at how expensive this is, lol. I don't really understand the gauge thing, and I've read that guide ten times already .

It says:
- Thick wire (12 or 14 gauge) is recommended for long wire runs, high power applications, and low-impedance speakers (4 or 6 ohms).
- For relatively short runs (less than 50 feet) to 8 ohm speakers, 16 gauge wire will usually do just fine. It's cost-effective and easy to work with.

So for the rear speakers I need 15 meter (50 feet). For the front + central speaker about 4-5 meter (15 feet). The speakers are all 6 ohms. What gauge am I looking for? And how does diameter and cross section fit in all this? Does it matter even for the setup I'm building?

My options currently are:

- QED Profile 79 Strand (€3,50/m) - 14AWG, 2.50mm²
- QED Profile 42 Strand (€3,00/m) - 19AWG, 0.75mm²
- Audioquest G2 (€3,30/m) - 16AWG, 1.23 mm²

The store I bought the speakers from recommended me to buy Ixos XHS-223 cables at €3,25 a meter, but I can't find anything about this cable or brand except one review that says it underperforms compared to similar cables by QED. So I'm looking at the above three alternatives now... Either way I'm looking at €120-140 just in cables right now. Lol even though I was warned in this thread about cable cost I'm still shocked!

edit: Screw it, went for the QED Profile Strand 79s. Now hopefully I didn't make a fatal mistake lol

 

[mobius006]

Hdcp 2.2 receiver is important.

 

[Stiler]

Thanks for the suggestions ! The receiver is already on its way actually! I did look at that Denon (or a similar 7.x one) actually but the probability we will ever upgrade to 7.1 is pretty small and a receiver like that costs almost €100 extra, so decided to put that money into speakers instead.

I'm at the point now where I'm trying to figure out what cables to get and I'm SHOCKED at how expensive this is, lol. I don't really understand the gauge thing, and I've read that guide ten times already .

It says:
- Thick wire (12 or 14 gauge) is recommended for long wire runs, high power applications, and low-impedance speakers (4 or 6 ohms).
- For relatively short runs (less than 50 feet) to 8 ohm speakers, 16 gauge wire will usually do just fine. It’s cost-effective and easy to work with.

So for the rear speakers I need 15 meter (50 feet). For the front + central speaker about 4-5 meter (15 feet). The speakers are all 6 ohms. What gauge am I looking for? And how does diameter and cross section fit in all this? Does it matter even for the setup I'm building?

My options currently are:

- QED Profile 79 Strand (€3,50/m) - 14AWG, 2.50mm²
- QED Profile 42 Strand (€3,00/m) - 19AWG, 0.75mm²
- Audioquest G2 (€3,30/m) - 16AWG, 1.23 mm²

The store I bought the speakers from recommended me to buy Ixos XHS-223 cables at €3,25 a meter, but I can't find anything about this cable or brand except one review that says it underperforms compared to similar cables by QED. So I'm looking at the above three alternatives now... Either way I'm looking at €120-140 just in cables right now. Lol even though I was warned in this thread about cable cost I'm still shocked!

Going by the guide I linked you will want 14 gauge wire, which is this one you linked to:
http://www.qed.co.uk/speaker_cables/profile/qed_classic_79_strand_cable.html

If you want to do the wires yourself this is what I found on monoprice (they ship to the netherlands)
https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=2791

 

[kubus]

Going by the guide I linked you will want 14 gauge wire, which is this one you linked to:
http://www.qed.co.uk/speaker_cables/profile/qed_classic_79_strand_cable.html

If you want to do the wires yourself this is what I found on monoprice (they ship to the netherlands)
https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=2791

Oh thank god my gut feeling was right! Thank you for putting my worries at rest! I ordered the QED Profile 79

Mannn monoprice is nice. Sadly I wouldn't have the patience to wait for it to arrive though, haha. Especially because the speakers are arriving tomorrow already .

Glad that this is all over with, lol. I learned a lot though, and I have a feeling this is going to become addicting, just like with buying computer parts...

 

[Stiler]

it can be lol, especially if you get into the bigger subwoofers and 2 of them vs 1. (The sub is what cost the most in my setup, next to my receiver).

Also I forgot to mention one other hidden cost that I myself didn't budget for until after the fact, speaker stands.

These came out to be a bit more then I expected as well (over 100).

I tried using some cheaper stands but they were way too wobbly for my bookshelf speakers.

You might already have something to sit yours on though, hopefully.

 

[Paragon]

As others have mentioned, you really don't need to go overboard with speaker cables, just make sure they're actually copper (not copper coated aluminium) and aren't an obscenely narrow gauge and you're good to go.

Does it even matter if they're copper clad aluminum?
My understanding was that speakers use AC, so the skin effect means that the signal is only traveling on the surface of the cable anyway.
General recommendations seem to be to go one gauge thicker if you're using CCA rather than OFC cables.

A guideline for OFC cables:

As long as you get the wire gauge right, there is really no benefit to expensive cables unless you are actually experiencing problems.

The only cable you would have to worry about is the subwoofer cable, just because long, poorly shielded subwoofer cable can pick up a 50/60Hz hum from nearby power cables. It's not something you would have to worry about yet if you're not picking up a sub right away, but it would be worth trying to keep the sub reasonably close to the receiver so that you can use a shorter cable which is both cheaper and less likely to pick up a hum.

That's good advice. The subwoofer is most susceptible to interference. If possible I would use a balanced connection but your typical AVR is not going to offer that.

 

[DemonCleaner]

the subwoofer hum is often caused by a potential differential between the wall sockets where you put your subwoofer amp and where you put your AV receiver in.

for this reason and better phase integration (more important if you plan to listen to music also) of the sub it's allways wise to put it somewhere near the front speakers when possible.