hiding speaker wires

[azure and drkz]

any suggestions on the best way to hide surround sound speaker wires.the speakers will be on stands or on end tables next to recliners approx. 10ft or less from the home theater system.i have thought about running them under the carpet then bringing the wires out again where the chairs and table are.my only question with that method is what to use to feed the wires through the carpet so i don't have to pull up the carpet or cut 10ft lines in it.is it even possible to make a very small cut near the sound system and another near the stands for them to reappear.im just trying to save the carpet from being sliced up too much and definitely don't want to pull the whole thing up unless i absolutely have to.id appreciate any tips or opinions. Thanks

[HayZee518]

Go out to home depot or loews and buy a small 25 or 50 foot fish tape. This is spring steel 1/16"thick by 1/8" wide. It has a small loop in the end and is stiff enough to snake between the carpet and the pad. What you using for speaker wire? May I suggest 14 gauge zipcord..... it has mechanical strength for durability and is heavy enough for most home speaker systems. I run a karaoke and I use very flexible 10 gauge wire. - Tom

[azure and drkz]

Hey, thanks for the tip tom. I plan to use a similar gauge monster cable.I can't wait to get the 5.1 surround working again.

[kactuskid]

You could also run them behind the baseboards in the room, or you could bring them into the wall and across either the attic or basement to the opposing wall, then you could install old work boxs with speaker connections on the face plates to plug into.

[armataz]

yet another option(if you have addiquit crall space) is drilling1/8-1/4 a hole in the the floor and run your wires threw it to the desired locations then up threw the speaker stands . when every things set, a little caulk threw the under side of the floor will seal the holes and you wont have to worry about the wires breaking or fraying from being walked on.TAZ

nuthing like being woken up at 12:AM to unstop some one elses toilet.

[azure and drkz]

I'm just trying to keep the cable length to a minimum. Running them along the baseboards would force me to use longer cables. As the cable length increases the sound quality decreases. Unfortunately this dilemma leaves me with few options. Thanks --- D.

[kactuskid]

If you use a quality cable such as Monster cable the length will not hinder your sound quality, not even a little bit.
http://www.monstercable.com/

[Troy]

I agree with KactusKid. Especially the difference between the lengths you are talking about. Maybe at a 1000 ft it will affect it, but not at 10 or 20 feet.

[azure and drkz]

Hey, thanks to all for the info. Now I know. AND KNOWING IS HALF THE BATTLE. ---D---

[Troy]

quote:Originally posted by azure and drkz

Hey, thanks to all for the info. Now I know. AND KNOWING IS HALF THE BATTLE. ---D---

You must be around my age, because I loved those GI Joe cartoons when I was a kid.

[]

And I read your favorite quote, my wife and I go around quoting Lord of the Rings too. We try not to do it in public, though!

Leo, huh, when is your birthday? Mine is August 21st...