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View Full Version : Do stands for 340's have wire management?



dae3dae3
02-10-2005, 05:20 PM
I can't tell from the pictures. Do the Pedestal Stands for CMT-340 Mains have any sort of cable management feature built in or will the speaker wires be hanging loose down the back of the stands? Does anyone have any higher resolution pictures of the stands they could share?

Thanks,

Darren

Eddie Horton
02-10-2005, 06:10 PM
There is no wire management with the 340 stands. What I did was to get some Techflex and red and black heat shrink tubing to pretty up my speaker cable. That way I don't mind them showing. Check out this link. It's not my web site, but does have great pics and easy to follow instructions on how to make some DIY high end looking speaker cables. www.whatisrazar.com/speakercables

bikeman
02-10-2005, 06:26 PM
Thanks for the link, Eddie. I need another project like a hole in the head but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. :rolleyes:

David

jeh
02-10-2005, 07:15 PM
you could just stick on some wire clips, unless the backside will be in plain view.

dae3dae3
02-11-2005, 04:05 AM
That's the problem. The back of the speakers will be in plain view.

Derek
02-11-2005, 06:10 AM
Just drill two holes in them. Unless you have filled the stands with sand or shot, it won't be a problem.

Another option would be to get some stick on wire ducts like this:

http://cableorganizer.com/surface-raceways/latching.html

I have never dealt with this place. They were the first ones I found with a decent picture. Home depot may even have this stuff.

Derek

dae3dae3
02-11-2005, 07:49 AM
I have used similar conduit type products before for other cable runs. I will consider this type of solution if I can convince myself that it won't look too bad. I am trying to get away from the "college dorm-room" solutions of my past. :o

I have another related question. Do the 340's have an up or down direction since the tweeter in in the center? The picture shows the binding posts on the back of the speaker pointing up. This would make it very difficult to make the wires look nice as the banana plugs would make the cable point up towards the ceiling and then the cable would have to make an arch and then travel down towards the floor. I would think this would look really bad.

I really wish there were better pictures of everything on the website. If I am going to buy speakers unheard off the internet I would at least like to be able to look at some good resolution pictures of the products. This is not just a problem with this site. It seems to be a common problem with most of the online speaker companies websites. Sorry if I am voicing some frustration. :confused:

jermy4
02-11-2005, 08:02 AM
I agree with you on the pictures. There are not enough pictures of the speakers on the site.

A member's gallery would also be great.

dae3dae3
02-11-2005, 05:45 PM
I apologize if my above post came off as too negative. :( I did not intend it to reflect on Ascend's customer service. I have sent several e-mails to Ascend and and in each case received prompt replies with the answers to my questions :) .

davef
02-11-2005, 06:06 PM
Hi dae3dae3,

I did not consider your posts negative at all so please don't feel any need to apologize...

We will DEFINITELY have a members gallery VERY soon.. That is a promise!

Regarding cable management on the 340 stands, I like to use adhesive cable ties. Home depot internet catalog number 300417

Combined with these: Home depot internet catalog number: 16277646

Work great!



I have another related question. Do the 340's have an up or down direction since the tweeter in in the center? The picture shows the binding posts on the back of the speaker pointing up. This would make it very difficult to make the wires look nice as the banana plugs would make the cable point up towards the ceiling and then the cable would have to make an arch and then travel down towards the floor.

Honestly, I have never seen a loudspeaker with binding posts facing downwards and there is a reason for this... Speaker cable can be heavy and if the binding posts were facing downward, gravity will certainly have an affect and I would suspect that the banana plugs would eventually be pulled free from the posts overtime. Imagine how annoying that would be, especially if the wire and the back of the speaker are hard to get to...

Don't misunderstand me, I do fully understand your concern.. If you feel using banana plugs will look bad due to the cable making an arch, simply don't use banana plugs. Bare wire, pins, spades, lugs etc. can all be inserted from beneath the binding posts, in which case the cable will not have to make an arch. Actually, I use banana plugs whereby the cable can be inserted into the plug from the side.. thus not arching the cable either...

Hope this helps out!

dae3dae3
02-11-2005, 06:27 PM
Those links didn't lead to cable ties. They went to wine cellars. ;)

I did a search for "adhesive cable ties" on the Home Depot web site and I think I found what you were describing. Maybe if you put Home Depot's Internet catalog # that is listed with the products I could search using that. Their web site evidently uses some sort of active page that is produced dynamically so the address isn't always the same. Sorry if I am putting you to extra work. :o

Thanks for the ideas. I think I saw the type of banana plugs you described the other day. I will have to look again to make sure though.

davef
02-11-2005, 06:33 PM
Those links didn't lead to cable ties. They went to wine cellars.

Hey... it is Friday night and I am heading home soon.. How the Home Depot website read my mind is utterly amazing... Wine cellars - cable ties, almost the same right???

Catalog number is a good idea, better yet, a search on "cable ties" is the best option.

Have a great weekend!

Eddie Horton
02-12-2005, 08:28 AM
I use Canare 4S11 cable. What has worked best for me is to put bananas on the amp end and use WBT crimp pins on the speaker end. These are used with WBT spades to give the spades something to attach to instead of bare wire. I have found that they work great by themselves. I put those on the wire, crimp them down, put some Techflex on the cable, and use shrink tubing between the Techflex and pins to give it a finished look. The crimp pins can be found at Parts Express in many sizes to fit different guage wire. Slip them in the binding posts from beneath, tighten down, and there you have it.