OTHER TECH

8.GETTING WIRED Until we become a truly wireless world, cables will remain a necessary evil. Few people get excited over the prospect of buying cables, but none of this great gear can work without them. So embrace wiring as another piece you need to complete the home theater puzzle.

Getting the signal to each speaker requires good speaker wire. This doesn't mean that vermicelli-like stuff that often comes with HTiB speakers. Wire is described by its gauge, with a lower number meaning the wire is heavier - for example, 12 gauge is thicker than 18 gauge. A lower gauge can be important when the runs are really long. Think of a fire hose vs. a garden hose - the lower gauge allows signals to flow with less resistance. Plan to spend about 50¢ to $2 a foot for decent cables. And use banana-plug connectors if your speakers and receiver accept them, since they make a very solid connection, are a breeze to plug and unplug, and are less than $10 a pair.

You'll need either coaxial or optical cables to send the digital audio signals from your DVD player, game console, and cable box to your receiver. Depending on quality and length, these usually run $20 to $70 each.

If you're adding a DVD-Audio or SACD player, you'll need analog cables - six of them - to pass along the multichannel surround sound signal. (There are a handful of pricey components that can send the signal digitally, using either proprietary connectors or a FireWire connection. This greatly simplifies connection.)