# Running speaker wires...



## SnowUtopia

MT in all honesty if you have some money I would buy a surround sound system that the rear speakers are wireless. Might just be easier that way. Best Buy and Circuit City have systems for under 
$200.00. If you don't want to do that - then run them under the carpet but not through the middle of the room as you still might be able to feel them through the pad/carpet.


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## rgsgww

Run them under the carpet is the easiest way if you don't like wireless. Try to keep the wire size at a good size and do not use rounded cables. Stay away from shielded audio cables (sorry some of the audiophiles out there...)


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## SCFoxman

If you can, get the baseboards out and run the wires behind the baseboard between the bottom of the drywall and the floor..


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## TuscolaMatt

SCFoxman said:


> If you can, get the baseboards out and run the wires behind the baseboard between the bottom of the drywall and the floor..


Ditto.


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## MgMopar

Running them along the wall area of the carpet near the tack strip should be fine. It generally is a lower traffic so odds of someone feeling a lump or the wires wearing is slim. Do not bundle them, keep them space to help prevent any cross talk between them.


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## LoneStarGuitar

SCFoxman said:


> If you can, get the baseboards out and run the wires behind the baseboard between the bottom of the drywall and the floor..


 
bingo. 
do not forget crown or corner moulding either. 
Crown makes an easy way to both ceiling mount and hide wires OR snake around to other penetrations if you are going to a higher floor. 

i used 12 ga I had left over from a fire alarm job I did on a large hotel at my house. We were installing a voice evacuation system so I had a *LOT* of 12 stranded left over :thumbup:

just remember that glow rods and 6' flex bits are your friend, as is pull string.


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## plus4dbu

Yes, pulling off the baseboard and running wires behind is usually a good option. If you have to cross a doorway and it has a saddle on the threshold, you may be able to pull up the saddle and run wiring inside a channel under the saddle. Also, going up high and hiding in crown molding is a good option, as well.
If you decide to go wireless, here is a not-so-quick note on wireless speakers:
ALL speakers need power from somewhere in order to work. Wired speakers are called "non-powered" or "non-active" because they do not need their own source of electrical power. Power is supplied by the amplifier and the amplified audio signal is carried to the speaker by the speaker wire.
If you are not going to use a speaker wire to deliver audio to the speaker, in which case you are delivering AUDIO to the speaker wirelessly, then you must deliver POWER to the speaker locally, which means only one of two things - you must plug the speaker into an A/C power outlet or you must use batteries.
So, if you're going to plug it in, you must have an A/C outlet right at the speaker location, or you're going to see the A/C cable going from the speaker to the A/C outlet. If you're going to go with battery-powered speakers, be prepared for poorer sound quality and the inconvenience of hearing awful sound for a period of time while your battery begins to run low, and then the inconvenience of either recharging or replacing the battery, or actually remembering to recharge or replace the battery at some set time interval so as to avoid having to listen to awful sounds as the battery runs out of juice.
If you haven't figured it out, I'm not a big fan of wireless speakers, but to each his own. If anyone has actually found a wireless speaker that they are happy with, please let me know.
Thanks,
Mark


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## MT Stringer

Thanks for all of your replies. I appreciate your input. As it turned out, I wasn't ready to run the rear speaker cables when it came time to lay the carpet. I came down sick for several weeks and that got me behind on the schedule.

So, for now, the cables are running along the baseboards with one short piece having to cross the area near the front door. Our plan is to get the carpet guys back out to undo the carpet along the two walls and put the cables under the carpet near the tack strips. Like someone previously stated, this is not a high traffic situation and they should be fine.
Thanks again
Mike


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## Greg C

There is no need to call the carpet guy back. Just pull the carpet up a couple feet at a time, and you should not have a problem. We do this all the time.


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