Speaker Wall Plates
What is a speaker wall plate?
A speaker wall plate is a pre-made wall plate used to help manage surround sound speaker connections. Most speaker wall plates are pre-configured with integrated connectors so you can easily attach all your surround sound speaker cables in one central location. The most common practice is to run all your in-wall speaker wires directly to the back of the speaker wall plate. Then from the front you are able to run smaller cables from the wall plate to the audio receiver and/or amplifier. A speaker wall plate creates permanent outlets for all your audio cables, plus it allows you to protect your longer speaker wire runs by leaving them safe in the wall. The last thing you want to do is damage the wires you have ran in your walls and ceilings. It could be very expensive and time consuming to re-install new wire runs if for some reason you damage the in-wall cables. Using a speaker wall plate will also give your installation a clean professional look.
How do I install a speaker wall plate?
Most speaker wall plates are made to mount on a standard 1 or 2 gang low voltage mounting bracket. Once all your cable runs are attached to the back side of the speaker all plate you can simply screw the entire plate right onto the installed mounting bracket. Most speaker wall plates allow you to easily attach speaker wire to them via a binding post or a banana plug style connection. After your in-wall speaker wires are attached to the speaker wall plate, and you have mounted it to the mounted bracket, you are ready to start running shorter patch cables from the wall plate to your audio components.
How do I choose a speaker wall plate?
Speaker wall plates are available in multiple configurations to support almost any applications. The key to choosing a speaker wall plate is to match your speaker wire runs to the available connections that are configured on the plate. You will notice that the most common speaker wall plates are configured for 5.0, 5.2, 6.2, 7.1, and 7.2 configurations. Once you access the connection you need to support your installation you can then match those needs with the right plate.
Will a speaker wall plate affect my audio signals?
It depends. We recommend always using a professional grade speaker wall plate. All of our option feature speaker binding posts that support both banana plug and screw in options for attaching to speaker wire.
What if I can’t find the speaker wall plate that supports my installation?
If you can’t find the right speaker wall plate for your application you can always make your own. You can use a standard keystone wall plate and then fill it with all the connectors you need. We offer numerous keystone speaker connectors and binding posts that will allow you to set up a plate exactly how you need it. In some cases this is the best strategy because you can also integrate other connector types you need into wall plate. We offer numerous audio video keystone inserts to support F, RCA, IDC, HDMI, USB, BNC, and speaker connection types.
What gauge speaker wire does a speaker wall plate support?
Most speaker wall plates are designed to support 12, 14, and 16 gauge speaker wire types. So you will not have any installation issues regardless of the speaker wire gauge you use.