About Speaker Wall Plates:
Speaker Wall Plates come in all shapes and sizes. As in most cases the speaker wall plate can be configured to suit the needs of any home theatre, distributed audio system or commercial audio installation. For speaker connections each pair of of binding posts normally represents a connection to a single speaker. 2 Post wall plates ar normally installed next to a mounted speaker cabinet, 4 post wall plates are normally used for basic stereo connections at the amplifier, 8 Post to 24 post wall plates are normally configured from 5.1, 6.1, 7.1, and 9.1 surround sound systems as well as whole house wiring for multiple rooms.
Speaker Wall Plates can also be configured with RCA, F-81 Coax, and Single/Dual HDMI plates to complement the configuration of speakers. Even if you don't use all the connections on a plate it is always good to wire the wall plates completely as it allows for future expansion as well as increasing home resale value.
For commercial installations speaker wall plates can be used to wire multiple speakers on a single channel by using speakers that have 25V/70V/100V transformers and an amplifier with a similar voltage output. These systems are more complex than a standard home theatre system but can allow for multiple music sources and separate control of volume in each space. Before attempting to install a system like this make sure to draw a blueprint with all associated wiring lengths, speaker specifications and amplifier ratings.