Reddit mentions of RCA AH1650SR 50 Feet 16-Gauge Speaker Wire

BoM (Links to Canadian Amazon)

• Drill
  
• Holesaw
  
• Flathead / Hammer
  
• Safety glasses (Seriously, don't screw around).
  
• Wire strippers
  
• Electrical Tape
  
• (Optional) Soddering iron + sodder
  
• Small pilot drill bit
  
• x2 Bass Shakers
  
• Amp
  
• Speaker Wire
  
• RCA Splitter
  
• (Optional) Thick carpet runner for vib dampening
  
  
  First, measure your bass shakers bottom or base. Select the closest holesaw, for mine it was 2.75".
  
  Take the pilot drill bit and mark the center of the speaker locations. SLOWLY drill down until you breach the plywood base. Mark on the bit what the depth is. Mark on the holesaw the depth of the shakers base.
  
  Holesaw down to just above the depth of the base. Use the screwdriver and hammer to pry and carefully remove the middle wood. Don't breach the bottom, the sound will transfer better the snugger and thicker the fit. This will determine how loud you can go before vibrations become a problem for any family/neighbors.
  
  Install the bass shakers, use screws that won't breach.
  
  Fasten amp to chair (Find a way, they will all be different). Wire it up using the speaker wire, sodder if you want, then electrical wrap to clean it up. + to white on the linked shakers, - to black.
  
  Use the RCA splitter to split your subwoofer or center/sub signal. I have mine going to my 5.1 speakers and to the amp. Make sure you have a long cable. I've used a stereo 3.5mm cable.
  
  I spliced the power cord with another one that had a compatible tip for the extra length. The linked amp's cord is too short.
  
  The amp powers x2 of these badasses easily. Going for a third install soon on the back of the chair.
  
  Good cable management is key, don't want to yank everything apart.

Do you already have any speakers, or do you just crank your laptop up?

I do two-room audio using one of these amps and two pairs of these speakers--the amp will drive two speakers in parallel on each channel as long as they are 8-ohm speakers. Speaker wire is pretty cheap. I have a server connected to the amp and running Subsonic in jukebox mode for actually playing the music. That way, the server can live out of the way, and I can use the Android app to queue up songs to play.

One thing you could look at is using a wireless audio transmitter or something like the Squeezebox to separate your laptop from the party.

If you actually consider getting the Lepai amp, make sure that you buy it from Parts-Express, because some other sellers don't include the power supply, which is kind of annoying to realize after you receive the amp! Also, if you consider the Dayton speakers I posted, and you listen to electronic or hip-hop music with lots of bass, you'll probably want a separate subwoofer to get enough bass for parties (that is, if your neighbors don't kill you!)

Well that has a load of factors to consider, wattage passing over the wire, Radio Interference, quality of the insulation.

I'd go and get some normal 16ga speaker wire and just do all new runs.

I personally use this:

http://www.amazon.com/LP-2020A-Lepai-Tripath-Class-T-Amplifier/dp/B0049P6OTI

with something like:
http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Audio-Cable-Splitter-1-Mini/dp/B00004Z5CP/ref=pd_sim_e_4

and you might need
http://www.amazon.com/AH1650SR-Feet-16-Gauge-Speaker-Wire/dp/B0029HO66G/ref=pd_sim_e_2

Ask the current owner if they will leave the TV mount for you, you can even offer to pay/buy them another one if they decline. With that already in place you could probably lift it yourself, if you get an LED LCD, or find someone to help lift it, no skills required.

Speakers are incredibly easy to hookup, you just cut wire to length, pull the two ends apart a bit, strip the ends, stick it in the holes, and tighten. A youtube video and a few practice strips will make it a breeze in no time even if you've never used tools. You'll need these wire cutters, and optionally these auto-strippers, and some wire.

As far as your setup goes you could get the following, or anything similar:

TV $785 - 50" Samsung LED

Receiver $310 - Denon AVR1913

Subwoofer $280 - Newegg has the Klipsch RW-12D for $280 until 5/22.

L/R speakers ~$300- Polk or Pioneer towers from Newegg

Center ~$150- A matching Polk or Pioneer center from Newegg

Surrounds - none yet; the wiring would require some drilling to conceal, if you have a crawl space going under the floor would probably be your best bet.

Adjust as needed to fit your budget or to get any features you want; pushing closer to $2000 and installing it yourself would be best.

EDIT: I forgot to add that tower speakers just stand on the floor, no mounting required. The center channel will just sit on the top shelf of whatever entertainment center you have under the TV, put it flush with the front edge of that. You will also need a single RCA cable to connect the subwoofer to the receiver, you may have one already, any RCA cable will work, or you can buy a 10ft+ one for ~$8.

Here's how a 5.1 system is laid out: http://i.imgur.com/3BhVo.jpg

If the room with 5 speakers has that general configuration, you're good to go on a receiver.

I'm not sure what you mean by "what ports are those..." The first picture you took is of speaker terminals, which you would hook up to the receiver with speaker wire. Almost any 16 gauge wire will do.

Hope that answers your question!

These + this, this thing, and some of this.

Keep in mind you also need at least $30-80 for an amplifier and $20 for some speaker wire and a couple of other cables. Also everything seems pricier and harder to find in Canada vs the US, but I haven't put a lot of effort other than browsing Amazon, you may know of other Canadian e-tailers or local stores.

For $30 you can get the Lepai 2020 Amp as the cheapeast possible amp, which is probably roughly equivalent to the cheap amps in sub-$200 computer speakers but it's not going to put out high volume nor is it particularly high quality (can't vouch for it lasting a long time). Still, on an extreme budget it's not a bad choice. For more money there's the Muse M50 and SMSL SA 36 or SA 50 amps, if you can find these they should be $60-80. Avoid Pyle. A full-fledged stereo receiver is probably not worth it because the extra $ would be better spent on the speakers themselves.

For speakers, I was going to say Micca MB42x but they're severely overpriced on Amazon.ca (they are $80 in the US). Pioneer BS22 or Infinity P153 are both among the best for $120-150 a pair, if you can find them for that price. I see the Fluance SX6 at $130 a pair, which is actually the fair price (probably because Fluance is a Canadian company).

You'll also need speaker wire such as this(I couldn't find cheaper on Amz, a 25ft roll of 16 gauge is plenty for just 2 speakers and much to spare) and probably a 3.5mm to 2 RCA cable like this to connect your "line out" from the motherboard/sound card (usually 3.5mm type jack) to the speaker amplifier's RCA inputs.

This guide should also help: https://www.reddit.com/r/Zeos/comments/2dk676/guide_stereo_20_21_systems/

EDIT: Alternatively, for self-powered speakers (aka monitors) there's the M-Audio AV40 for $165 (since these have the amplifier built-in, you'd only need a cable for signal, the 3.5mm to 2RCA inputs in the back, or just a 3.5mm to the front 3.5mm input). The downside of powered monitors is that if you ever want to upgrade, you have to replace them altogether since you don't already have a separate amplifier like with option #1. The upside is an all-in-1 solution.