How to install an in-wall volume control | Crutchfield

In-wall volume controls are a convenient way to turn the volume up or down in your room. Installing one of these is straightforward, but requires a bit of planning.
Shop for in-wall volume controls: www.crutchfield.com/i-rYTVc27Z/g_15230/In-wall-Volume-Controls.html?tp=2971
Our expert Norm will walk you through a typical in-wall volume control installation in this video. The best way to do this is before the sheetrock goes up, after your electrician has nailed up the outlet rough-in boxes.
Step 1: Install a low-voltage rough-in box. These are similar to the outlet boxes, but with a large opening in the back for pulling through the power and signal wires.
Step 2: After the sheetrock crew puts up the gypsum board, you connect the wires to the Phoenix blocks and install the volume control itself.
Norm has been an installer for many years, and is a member of our A/V Design team at Crutchfield. He'll give you his tips and tricks along the way so you can install one of these successfully in your room.
Crutchfield A/V system design: www.crutchfield.com/i-rYTVc27Z/About/DIY.aspx
Crutchfield, America's trusted electronics specialist since 1974, has award-winning customer service, free lifetime tech support, and free shipping on most orders. Shop for all your audio and video needs at Crutchfield.com and sign up for the catalog and email newsletter at www.crutchfield.com
See more home and car electronics videos on our channel: kzbin.info

[@user-lh4cw9gv8n]

Additional explanation is needed for impedance-matching. Most of these volume controls have a dip-switch to increase the resistance of the speaker pair downstream of it. The impedance multiplier needs to be set based on the total number of "zones" you have connected to that one channel of the amplifier. Sometimes this is accomplished by a speaker switch, and sometimes its accomplished by these volume controls.

[@pakalikahickey5807]

This helped me a lot, I thought the contractors installed the wiring to the Amp outlet wrong because there were four conductor wires coming from the wall outlet and there were two conductor wires to my speakers, now I see they got it correct

[@crutchfield]

Nice! What speakers and amps did you end up installing? How's it sound?

[@AdamSno]

Very informative, thanks

[@jortega222]

Excellent video!! Thank you so much!!!!

[@crutchfield]

Thanks Juan!! We are glad this video helped :)

[@mikeelia4426]

Very informative!!!

[@brucestagfield]

Thanks for the video. I am a total newbie and this was very helpful.

[@crutchfield]

You're certainly welcome. We're glad to hear that you found it helpful! 🙂

[@sectahj]

Great video. What wattage volume control is recommended? The ones I’m seeing range from 60 watt-120 watt. I’m looking for the appropriate one for my Sonos Ceiling speakers. Any recommendations is super helpful.

[@csx5882]

That screw head went straight through that sheet rock 5:35

[@shellumus]

Another great video would be to cover on watts and ohms when using speakers that are 8ohm running single or in parallel and how that affects the type of volume controller since most are 100watt and amps are more

[@crutchfield]

Thanks for your suggestion. We do carry several impedance matching volume control options that can be used to simplify connecting multiple speakers to an amp while protecting it. For more extensive systems that require extra consideration regarding the power and wiring, our AV Design Group can help. They actually specialize in those applications: www.crutchfield.com/S-qBYd28qYwfO/services/residential/default.aspx

[@yb2112]

Hi , ive change the location of one of my volume control (up and down slide bar ( I have 5 installed)) even with the volume all the way down there is sound coming from the speaker now... didn't do that before 🤷🏻‍♂️. I had to turn the volume down on the amp until I could not hear anything.

[@freshgino]

Can someone please explain to me how Wattage ties into VU controls? Are the controls rated to support a maximum wattage of speakers downstream? Isnt a VU control just a big variable resistor, there must be ratings for them.... if I have a 15amp speakers on the left aide of a stereo VU control and a 400w speaker on the right, would the volume control work in the same way for both of them? Does it work the same for 70v volume controls? Any replies here I’d appreciate

[@3footedIguana]

Hello Norm, thanks for the info. Too bad I didn't watch this a week ago. I already have the wiring in the wall and it's been spray foamed in so I can't easily change it. I wired 2 12 gauge speaker wires from the connector on the wall at the amp to the first speaker with the plan to use the speakers in and out to then pass the signal to the speakers at the back of the room. 4 4 ohm speakers with two on each channel my question now is what do I need to do to add an inline volume control to the front speakers without cutting into the volume for the back speakers. Obviously you might be telling me I have to change my plans and that's ok I just need the best info then I'll figure out how to implement it. Thanks

[@crutchfield]

Hi Lee! It would be best if you get in touch with us by phone or chat for assistance with this! www.crutchfield.com/I-rYTVc164/contact

[@diydaveman]

Thanks for the video! I have existing indoor ceiling speakers and receiver and I just added two patio ceiling speakers. I want to use this volume control for my patio speakers. Can I attach this volume control to my existing indoor left and right speakers which are already attached to my receiver instead of attaching the control directly to my receiver? Thanks

[@crutchfield]

For a volume control like this to work, the speaker wire must leave the receiver, got to the volume controller, and then leave the volume control to got to the speakers. As long as you can achieve this signal path, it will work

[@johnrolfe6995]

Hey Norm, good video, does it matter if I use a different watt for my volume control. I'm replacing an existing knob and can't tell what wattage it is...

[@crutchfield]

Hey John. We will be happy to help. It is recommend that the volume control supports the watts that the receiver/amp outputs so that way the volume control is not at risk of being damaged by too much power. The specifications on the speakers that will be connected is needed along with the specs from the receiver/amp. With those details, the watts that will be pulled can be identified to help with knowing if the volume control will work

[@gurshbudwal1157]

Hi Norm. Thanks for the video. VERY well done. I now get the in wall volume control part. But, What do we do with the wires (green, white, red and black) at the amp? I bought a house with pre-run wires & holes in the ceiling for speakers about 10 years ago. I FINALLY want to get things up and running with SONOS as my main music player. Thoughts please? Thanks.

[@crutchfield]

Gursch! Thanks for your interest. We have a group of specialists that handle whole home designs. Norm is a member of this group, they are call our AV Design group! You should reach out to them for personalized help! bit.ly/3chnD0A

[@TheCountMosquito]

Hey Gursh. I’m in the same boat as you. My sister’s house was prewired when it was built. I don’t know what to do with those four colored wires that run back into the house. Did you ever figure it out?

[@gurshbudwal1157]

@@TheCountMosquito Hey Patrick. You can go with a volume control that has the wire connectors you are looking for, OR you can connect direct using an electrical binder if you do not want the electric control. EXAMPLES: www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.htd.com%2F4-conductor-direct-burial-speaker-cable&psig=AOvVaw07Mjf3c80N6OBUyxy0SDLu&ust=1593180048696000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCNjxlqqQneoCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAJ www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kmart.com%2Fmonoprice-speaker-volume-controller-rms-75w-slide%2Fp-SPM7797490222&psig=AOvVaw2bKTgbyy90RglfUUt70vkA&ust=1593180118526000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCJC8o8qQneoCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAQ Binder like the silver one in this picture: www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eeweb.com%2Fprofile%2Faubrey-kagan%2Farticles%2Falternative-approaches-to-connecting-electrical-wires&psig=AOvVaw1IfDfsHc27FT1ro9pL0KsG&ust=1593180219577000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCMDc_fqQneoCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAJ The four coloured wires represent 2 sets of positive and negative wires. So 4 go into the volume control, and then 2 go out to one speaker and 2 out to the other speaker. If you do not want the volume control, then just connect the 2 sets straight through. If you are using SONOS AMPs, you really do not need the volume control as you can control zone volume from your SONOS APP on your phone.

[@TheCountMosquito]

Gursh Budwal Thank you. I ordered the volume controller yesterday. Might get it in the mail today.

[@gurshbudwal1157]

@@TheCountMosquito Let me know how it goes. Email [e-mail] if you would like to discuss further.

[@billiebarnett755]

I just bought a house with 1 pre-installed volume control. The wires for that volume control are in a separate room entirely. Do I just attach those audio cables to the AVR? And the only wires visible are normal audio cables with positive/negative. No green or white wires as in the video.

[@crutchfield]

As long as those are speaker wires, then they do need to connect to amplifier outputs on a receiver or amp. Since there is no clear indication as to which should be the left channel and which should be the right channel, you may have to swap them around if the music/audio seems a bit off

[@splittreemixers8952]

Hi, where do you find the mount you nailed into the stud? All I can find are electric boxes. Thank!

[@crutchfield]

We offer them on our site: www.crutchfield.com/I-rFBKc227/g_329750/Wiring-Enclosures-Brackets.html

[@shinigamilee5915]

Q 1: Does anyone know if you can use cat x wire for the system? Q 2: If using Cat wire is ok, then which would be better? It comes in solid or braided wire depending on the version of the Cat x wire.

[@crutchfield]

Hi, Shinigami! Since the wiring going into and coming out of the volume control is carrying an amplified signal, the gauge needs to be able to handle the wattage. If you would like to contact one of our advisors and detail your setup, they can help pair up the appropriate equipment. You can find our information here: www.crutchfield.com/I-rYTVc313/support/ContactUs.aspx

[@rk350z7]

I have the Niles VCS100K Volume Control... I am having problems trying to get the Phoenix Connector off. I don't want to pull too hard and break anything. He pulls the connector off fast and the video isn't close enough. I can't tell if the black piece on the board is 1 or 2 pieces. Also, the graphic (Figure 6) in the manual I have looks slightly different than the actual unit I have.

[@crutchfield]

Its tough to say if this is still correct given that yours looks a bit different than described, but that phoenix connecter should slide off. If you purchased yours from Crutchfield, I recommend contacting our technical support to get help with removing the connector so the wire can be installed. We send their toll free phone number on the order invoice. If the unit was purchased elsewhere and they cannot help, we recommend contacting Niles' support for help.

[@CimaVideoArts]

Just yank on it I had the same worry!

[@ehabkhalil4106]

what brand/make is the in wall volume control in your video?

[@aidanm5194]

?

[@crutchfield]

Hi. I believe the volume control in the video is this model: www.crutchfield.com/I-rYTVc1234/p_543ALT126R/Russound-ALT-126R.html

[@jtpfla3]

Why does the speakers need to be connected to the volume control if the speakers are already connected to the amp??

[@crutchfield]

The control actually connects between the amp and speakers to allow for volume control at the desired location instead of via the amp controls.

[@thedornado3931]

now if im running the wire form my receiver amp to oine of my zones dose it need to be 16/4 or can it just be 16/2??

[@crutchfield]

How many speakers do you plan to connect?

[@thedornado3931]

@@crutchfield I plan on connecting 8 per channel 4 channels

[@crutchfield]

16/4 is probably easier to run. Keep in mind 16/4 connects to two speakers/channels.

[@enriquefausto5436]

How do you wire a left , right and center speaker into one volume control? Or does the center speaker just goes straight o receiver? (Same receiver is also used for another zone) Thanks

[@crutchfield]

It is not possible to wire the speakers used in a theater system to one volume control. In-wall volume controls are meant for stereo (2 channel audio) speaker systems. If you are looking for way to control the volume levels of a home theater system where the receiver is hidden or in another room, I recommend looking at something like a remote that works via RF signals like the Harmony Elite: www.crutchfield.com/I-rYTVc227/p_596ELITE/item.html