WEBVTT

00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:05.120
so you're jumping into the world of do-it-yourself home theater which is

00:00:03.360 --> 00:00:08.720
awesome but how do you go about choosing the right components well one way is to

00:00:07.279 --> 00:00:13.440
start by thinking of one of the most fundamental concerns for any home

00:00:11.120 --> 00:00:18.320
theater novice or veteran which is electrical impedance a measure of how

00:00:16.080 --> 00:00:22.400
much a speaker or wire will resist electrical current this is important

00:00:20.480 --> 00:00:26.240
because too little power will make your nice new speakers

00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:29.599
sound like garbage you see all speakers have an impedance rating which is

00:00:27.680 --> 00:00:33.440
measured in ohms you might be familiar with ohms if you're into shopping for

00:00:31.119 --> 00:00:37.760
headphones freestanding speakers however have a much lower impedance rating than

00:00:35.680 --> 00:00:42.320
said headphones would since they need a lot more current to drive them most

00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:47.520
speakers are rated between only six and eight ohms so additional impedance

00:00:44.399 --> 00:00:50.879
introduced through improper wiring can

00:00:47.520 --> 00:00:52.559
impede the performance pretty badly

00:00:50.879 --> 00:00:56.879
fortunately though knowing what kind of speaker wire to buy isn't terribly

00:00:54.960 --> 00:01:00.320
difficult well it's true that consumers can be bedazzled and befuddled by

00:00:58.719 --> 00:01:06.320
marketing hype the things that are really very important are also very

00:01:03.760 --> 00:01:10.240
simple it's just length and width you can think of speaker wire kind of like a

00:01:08.640 --> 00:01:14.320
water pipe not a great analogy but either way just as it's easier to push

00:01:12.159 --> 00:01:18.720
lots of water through a short fat pipe compared to a long skinny one

00:01:16.720 --> 00:01:22.159
runs of shorter thicker wire have a lower impedance and therefore carry

00:01:20.479 --> 00:01:25.759
current more easily which is important for any speaker worth its salt and

00:01:24.080 --> 00:01:31.040
especially important for higher-end speakers with impedances of four ohms or

00:01:28.720 --> 00:01:35.200
less thinner wires can be passable for very short runs but if you're trying to

00:01:32.799 --> 00:01:39.920
install something in a larger room or want any kind of surround setup it's

00:01:37.439 --> 00:01:43.920
important to pay attention to the gauge of the wire which is a standard

00:01:41.520 --> 00:01:48.960
measurement of thickness that can be a little confusing since a smaller gauge

00:01:46.159 --> 00:01:53.439
number indicates a thicker wire if you're rocking 8 ohm speakers for

00:01:50.720 --> 00:01:57.680
example readily available 16 gauge wire will give you good performance up to 50

00:01:55.920 --> 00:02:01.040
feet but keep in mind that since speakers can have variable impedance

00:01:59.600 --> 00:02:06.079
depending on what frequency they're playing at any given time it's not a bad

00:02:03.600 --> 00:02:10.319
idea to pick up wire a little bit thicker than you need in order to

00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:15.680
compensate you should also try to stay away from wire runs longer than 50 feet

00:02:12.959 --> 00:02:20.959
regardless of the thickness as it can cause you to lose a little bit of the

00:02:18.480 --> 00:02:25.599
higher frequencies due to copper's electrical properties so what does this

00:02:23.440 --> 00:02:30.720
mean for the average home theater user if you take a typical room size of about

00:02:27.920 --> 00:02:35.519
20 by 16 feet and put your display on one end and use conservative estimates

00:02:32.879 --> 00:02:40.239
for wire length and thickness a 60 foot spool of 16 gauge wire would serve you

00:02:37.920 --> 00:02:44.959
just fine for your rear speakers while you can get away with just about 30

00:02:42.080 --> 00:02:50.480
total feet of 22 gauge for your front center and subwoofer this assumes you

00:02:47.840 --> 00:02:55.440
are using a typical 6 to 8 ohm speaker setup and if you went with a higher set

00:02:52.959 --> 00:03:00.080
of say 4 ohm speakers you'll want to go with 14 gauge for the surround channels

00:02:57.760 --> 00:03:04.959
and 20 gauge for the stuff up front and that's an at least for all of those okay

00:03:02.959 --> 00:03:08.239
luke i've got it short thick wires are good but are those the only things that

00:03:07.120 --> 00:03:12.800
matter those the only things i have to worry about well it makes sense to make sure that

00:03:10.800 --> 00:03:16.080
your wires are insulated well to protect against interference and maybe you

00:03:14.400 --> 00:03:19.360
should try using pin or banana connectors rather than just sticking

00:03:17.519 --> 00:03:22.879
bare wires into your speakers that can help ensure that you have a solid

00:03:20.640 --> 00:03:27.519
connection however spending hundreds of dollars on premium cables in all

00:03:25.440 --> 00:03:31.280
likelihood will not lead to any sort of improvements in terms of sound quality

00:03:29.280 --> 00:03:35.280
so save the money you would have spent on that stupid snake oil and maybe put

00:03:33.360 --> 00:03:40.080
it towards some shiny new tv that you can watch tech wiki on with the room

00:03:37.519 --> 00:03:44.239
shaking sound you've always wanted dollar shave club get razors and other

00:03:41.920 --> 00:03:47.840
bathroom supplies shipped directly to your door for only a few bucks a month

00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:52.560
you need other stuff too like dr carver's shave butter one wipe charlie's

00:03:50.159 --> 00:03:55.440
post shave moisturizer and travel sizes of a bunch of different things they have

00:03:53.920 --> 00:03:59.920
a variety of razors all the way up to their six blade executive just in case

00:03:57.920 --> 00:04:05.200
you need to remind yourself that you run things while you shave your face no need

00:04:02.239 --> 00:04:09.200
for vibrating handles or any other crazy nonsense just high quality razors and

00:04:07.439 --> 00:04:15.280
other bathroom supplies right to your door once a month go to dollarshaveclub.com

00:04:12.879 --> 00:04:19.440
Linus and sign up in the us canada or australia don't forget to like the video

00:04:17.840 --> 00:04:23.360
or dislike the video if your setup sounds terrible and you don't like my

00:04:21.120 --> 00:04:27.840
advice check out the comment section down below where you should leave an

00:04:25.199 --> 00:04:29.840
idea for something we should cover down there

00:04:28.720 --> 00:04:33.759
also check up there channel's super fun i

00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:37.600
like giving them call outs super funds awesome berkel sitting right

00:04:36.240 --> 00:04:42.080
there probably working on it right now so like hopefully he can hear this and

00:04:39.919 --> 00:04:45.360
it energizes him to make a really good next episode that you guys can check out

00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:52.000
up there don't forget to subscribe both these channels this one that one whatever you

00:04:48.400 --> 00:04:52.000
want i'll see you next time