I apologize for posting on my first day as a Member but I need some real advice. I helped my dad pick out a home theater system and am afraid he may get conned by the "professional" installer if I don't step in.
When we showed him our Focal JM Lab speakers he said he had never heard of the brand. He also never heard of Logitech Harmony Remotes, B&W Speakers, and McIntosh amps. He also said power conditioners were unnecessary and said a Wal-Mart surge protector was fine for $10,000 worth of equipment. He also said cheap wire was fine and even recommended using lamp cord for the speakers. He also plans to put the JBL 12 inch sub inside a closed walk-in closet at the other end of the large theater room.
To top it all off he has no license but is charging my dad $50 per hour. He is a friend of a friend and firing him will ruffle some feathers but I don't want my dad to get ripped off. Any advice would be greatly appreciated and thanks in advance.
Nothing wrong with his choice of wire, he is also right about the surge protection as well, the only thing you need to check is the power ratings. 50$ an hour isn't that bad either considering he saved you 250$+ on the so-called power conditioner.
As for his not being a licensed electrician, that would be the focus of my concern. A lot of the professional installers out there are licensed by manufacturers and the criteria they have to meet to be certified is suspect at best, but if you have someone messing around with your power grid and house wiring, I would want them to have a license, call me a snob.
Finally, sub placement is a contentious and highly subjective issue. It is based more on listener preference than any hard facts. If you don't want it in an cabinet, then tell him to put it where you want it, you are paying him after all. HOWEVER, enclosed spaces reinforce the lower freqs, most people place them in room corners for this very reason a cabinet may not be such a bad place.
I don't know about any WalMart surge protector, I sure wouldn't trust one, they sell the cheapest crap they can find. Get a Panamax and you'll be covered.
I don't think you have to know all the best brands to be an installer but I would want someone who is familar with them. And anybody that thinks that any old wire will do is mistaken you don't need to buy Monster brand but an OFC cable is the way to go. If you have those brands go with the Panamax and maybe a new installer.
Placement of a subwoofer may be a controversial issue, but placing I don't see how anyone could argue for a closed walk in closet. You might as well put in the next room.
Though "cheap" wire speaker can do fine for your the system, I'm not sure what lamp cord for go for these days. However you can buy a 250' of 14 guage speaker wire from Home depot for about $40 box so that you don't have to worry about the polarity of the two wires while making the lamp cord unncessary.
My main question here though is if he has never heard of this equipment what is it that makes him a "professional" installer any more worthy of putting this system together more than you yourself?
Some people successfully negotiate the WAF by keeping the sub in an enclosure when out of use and opening the cabinet during. Not me I tell her to STFU and get me a beer when she whines about 'me toys...