DataComm Electronics 45-0069 7.1 Surround Sound 3-Gang Plate - White (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

There appears to be two versions of this wall plate on Amazon. One is made by Datacomm Electronics and the other is generic. The main difference appears to be that the connector for the subwoofer on the Datacomm 45-0060 has a Female "F" connector on the back of plate while the generic has a Female RCA. I ordered a Datacomm 45-0060 because I wanted the "F" connector on the back so I could screw the coax cable in the wall directly to the wall plate. The seller sent a plate that had an RCA to RCA jack for the subwoofer even though the label on the outside of the package said Datacomm 45-0060. The Datacomm name does not appear anywhere on the product itself, so there's no way to tell what I actually got. Datacomm's web site and the description of the item that I bought on Amazon says "Includes 1 RCA jack with F connector for a subwoofer".I bought an "F" female to RCA female bulkhead adapter and replaced the RCA to RCA adapter in the plate. Luckily the connectors are installed with standard 3/8 inch hex bolts. It was just a nuisance to find the "F" to RCA adapter in bulkhead form. I could have used an "F" to RCA adapter (not bulkhead type) but that would have added another connector that might cause quality issues with the sound, plus it is better to screw the coax cable onto the F connector inside the wall instead of plugging in an RCA jack.My only other beef is that the screws that hold the wall plate on are soft and low quality. They stripped easily and got tapered at the ends like wood screws once installed. I threw them away and used screws that I had previously bought at Home Depot. One other minor nit is that the subwoofer connector is not labeled. It isn't a big deal, but the speaker connectors are labeled, so why don't they label the subwoofer? The wall plate is excellent quality otherwise and about half the cost as similar items in local stores. The back and front of the plate accomodate either bare speaker wire or banana plugs. If the plate had come as described (F to RCA subwoofer connector), and the screws were better quality, I would have rated the wall plate 5 stars.

I gave this product 2 stars because it does work. However, the connectors feel very light and cheap, which I took a gamble on since the Datacomm doesn't mention what material the connectors are made from. The main issue I have is that when feeding bare wire through them the connectors do not stay tight very well and I have to keep checking to make sure they haven't loosened. I fear my subwoofer may vibrate them loose but I don't plan to wait too long before replacing it with a higher quality one. The other issue I have is that the dimensions were very clear and precise on the listing, however they are off substantially which means it doesn't fit my low gang box. My house came prewired and the gang boxes they used all have screw holes closer together than all of the cable management and speaker connection wall plates that I find. So far I am 0 for 2 in purchasing a product that fits my gang box, however this purchase upset me more because the dimensions advertised are precisely what I required if only they were correct. I will not buy anything from Datacomm again for this reason. Had I known the dimensions were off I would have purchased a higher quality product. I can make the plate fit by drilling two holes below the gang box but I still need to buy more connectors due to the poor quality. If you are using bare wire and want a reliable connection you may want to solder the wires to the post, otherwise maybe try banana plugs which to be fair I have not tried yet.

I installed this particular Datacomm 3-gang plate on a 17 year old set up, consisting of thick gauge THX cables with banana connectors at the ends. Originally the THX cables were protruding from the wall.So, for this 2 weekend project, I bought a cheap, Carlon, PVC, 3-gang box at Lowes, which I modified with a drill bit, to be able to insert the THX cables through it from the back of the PVC box. I cut a hole on the wall, and inserted the PVC box with the cables already protruding from it. I finished the wall around the PVC box, let it dry, and painted it.The Datacomm 3-Gang plate consists of 3 individual `Decora' style plates, labeled: Right, Center and Left.There are 12 binding posts; six in front, and six in the back of each one of the Right and Left `Decora' style plates. The Center plate has 8 binding posts, 4 in the front, and 4 in the back; the Center plate also has 2 RCA type connectors. Each of the `gold plated' (??) binding posts are color coded with rings in black and red.The binding posts on the Datacomm `Decora' style plates are best fitted to cables with banana plug connectors, as each of the binding posts has a hole on it to insert banana type plugs. I don't think it is possible to wind bare THX cable around the binding posts as it is too thick.After making the cable connections, I used the screws that came with the Datacomm 3-Gang Plate to attach the plate itself to the 3 'Decora' plates and to the 3-gang PVC box.Everything on the Datacomm `Decora' plates is labeled and well organized, so, connecting speaker cables is done easily.

Very good