# home theater wiring



## Cruzer (Jul 16, 2010)

sorry for noob question

my woman doesnt want speakers everywhere because of the wiring.

what do you guys do for wiring? in wall? under carpet? what if no carpet? were getting hardwood in the living room in 2 weeks


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## schmiddr2 (Aug 10, 2009)

You have a basement or crawl space? That's where I ran all cables.


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## generalkorrd (Jan 10, 2009)

It depends on how your house is setup. You can run in basements, up walls into attics, even under baseboards. I did an install once that had hardwood floors throughout, and did it under the baseboards. She had a 60 year old house with small bboards and wanted bigger ones anyway, so I made sure to choose the right ones that had a small space at the bottom that left room for wire to run. Since you are going to be installing new hardwood, it should be easy enough to tell them to leave a half inch or so channel all the way around (or wherever you expect to run wire), and choose the right baseboard to cover it when done.


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## dman (Dec 21, 2008)

walls for the most part, and i avoid baseboard runs unless nec., it your installing hardwood, and have no other options you can pre run flat cabling along floors then up to speakers that will be mounted. For the most part inwall should be attainable regardless of what you have, if uncomfortable, be best to hire a good company. your last choice and most expensive would be wireless.


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## Viggen (May 2, 2011)

get new wife... I traded up to my present wife... she insists on a bigger TV (presently 73in) & also that I run 9.2 surround....... how can I argue 

But she is a interior designer.... thus we ran the wires under the carpet


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## dman (Dec 21, 2008)

Viggen said:


> get new wife... I traded up to my present wife... she insists on a bigger TV (presently 73in) & also that I run 9.2 surround....... how can I argue
> 
> But she is a interior designer.... thus we ran the wires under the carpet


that Shi----t dont work, been trying to trade up for years, now 20 yrs. later, i just have to deal with it, lol... she throws up "i get half", i keep telling her, you can have it ALL dammit, including the bills!!!


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## HisHeirness23 (Jul 28, 2009)

They do make wireless surround receivers which actually work pretty good. Not sure if there is much quality associated with them, but your surround speakers would be mainly for ambient sound. Only catch is that you will have to run a power cable and speaker wire to the wireless receiver, which may not be the solution you are looking for.


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## Cruzer (Jul 16, 2010)

HisHeirness23 said:


> They do make wireless surround receivers which actually work pretty good. Not sure if there is much quality associated with them, but your surround speakers would be mainly for ambient sound. Only catch is that you will have to run a power cable and speaker wire to the wireless receiver, which may not be the solution you are looking for.


probably costs a lot doesnt it?


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

if u are doing the fllors id do the baseboard wiring while you are at it. if you have a basement that is a better option.


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## HisHeirness23 (Jul 28, 2009)

Cruzer said:


> probably costs a lot doesnt it?


Surprisingly, I think they can be had for about $100. I know that there are a few manufacturers that produce these (or at least they used to).


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## jp_over (Dec 21, 2011)

Cruzer said:


> sorry for noob question
> 
> my woman doesnt want speakers everywhere because of the wiring.
> 
> what do you guys do for wiring? in wall? under carpet? what if no carpet? were getting hardwood in the living room in 2 weeks


I ran mine through the attic with a couple of these:

WP-2 Terminal Speaker Decora Binding Post Wall Plate

Today, if I did it again with surround (current setup is 3.1 (center for watching news, 2.1 for music), I'd look at these folks:

Wireless Systems - Aperion Audio

They're well respected at audioholics.com


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## dman (Dec 21, 2008)

Cruzer said:


> probably costs a lot doesnt it?


YES.. not really cheap for the ONES that actually work.. anyone tellling you to buy wireless for under $100 IS NOT in the business! This saying is very TRUE in this case "you get what you pay for"


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## HisHeirness23 (Jul 28, 2009)

dman said:


> YES.. not really cheap for the ONES that actually work.. anyone tellling you to buy wireless for under $100 IS NOT in the business! This saying is very TRUE in this case "you get what you pay for"


Which ones do you suggest? I installed a $99 Rocketfish (Best Buy brand) wireless receiver for my buddy and it worked fine. Curious as to which ones you prefer.


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## dman (Dec 21, 2008)

HisHeirness23 said:


> Which ones do you suggest? I installed a $99 Rocketfish (Best Buy brand) wireless receiver for my buddy and it worked fine. Curious as to which ones you prefer.


I have tried the rocketfish, and several others trying to save customers a buck.. nothing performed that well.. 

The ONLY ones we recommend and sell or will install if we MUST go wireless is the Airfonix... This happens to be our choice of brands that we have used and trust, and have absolutely no problems with.. 

Soundcast is also not a bad brand, we have access to them, and have done a few, but again we ONLY ourselves offer the Airfonix, now dont get me wrong, we will install a customer provided one, but DO NOT warranty it, every trip to look at it or troubleshoot results in a service call + time at house or building.. this is explained and signed off on via the contract before we ever start any installation..


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## HisHeirness23 (Jul 28, 2009)

dman said:


> I have tried the rocketfish, and several others trying to save customers a buck.. nothing performed that well..
> 
> The ONLY ones we recommend and sell or will install if we MUST go wireless is the Airfonix... This happens to be our choice of brands that we have used and trust, and have absolutely no problems with..
> 
> Soundcast is also not a bad brand, we have access to them, and have done a few, but again we ONLY ourselves offer the Airfonix, now dont get me wrong, we will install a customer provided one, but DO NOT warranty it, every trip to look at it or troubleshoot results in a service call + time at house or building.. this is explained and signed off on via the contract before we ever start any installation..


Interesting. I have never heard of Airfonix. Might have to look into them. How much power do they output?


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## dman (Dec 21, 2008)

HisHeirness23 said:


> Interesting. I have never heard of Airfonix. Might have to look into them. How much power do they output?


25w ch. or 50 mono.


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## HisHeirness23 (Jul 28, 2009)

dman said:


> 25w ch. or 50 mono.


I looked at their website...impressive stuff. I will definitely mention this to my buddy and see what he thinks (he sells HT equipment for a living). What is the impedance they base that power off of? Their spec sheet (pdf) didn't mention.


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## dman (Dec 21, 2008)

8 ohm...

if he sells HT, then he should be able to buy direct.. or if any of his distributors are part of the EDGE group, then they should carry in stock.


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## emilime75 (Jan 27, 2011)

Cruzer said:


> sorry for noob question
> 
> my woman doesnt want speakers everywhere because of the wiring.
> 
> what do you guys do for wiring? in wall? under carpet? what if no carpet? were getting hardwood in the living room in 2 weeks


Hey Cruzer. I noticed you're in LaVergne and I own an audio and video installation company in Nashville. We do everything from hanging flat panels to full house audio and complete home theater builds. 

I'd personally stay away from running wiring in your baseboards unless you simply have no other options. Wiring in baseboards is considered a "no-no" simply because it can be troublesome, both during installation and in the future. 

The wireless suggestion is not a good one either, because even if you find a "wireless" speaker that you like and are willing to purchase, you still need to have power run to that speaker...so they're not wireless at all. 

There are many possible ways of running wiring in walls and ceilings to a speaker location. In my 20 years of doing this type of work, we have yet to come across a situation where it is impossible. Of course, in the end, it's up to you as to what you actually want, and how much it will cost. 

I'll PM you a link to a local ad I keep on CL, it includes my ph. number. If you think you'd like some more help with this, give me a call. 

PS If you're having floors put in, it might be beneficial to have your wiring done before they go in, depending on how your home is built, it might actually make it easier to run the wiring. Plus it eliminates any mess on your pretty new floors.


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## stuartb (Jan 30, 2011)

Flat speaker wiring under your hardwood flooring would be the simplest (assuming no basement). Consider running extra in case you decide to swap your room around later on and want to move speaker locations. Hardwood flooring will normally be laid on a foam or other layer for levelling and sound absorbtion, so lay your wirng first and then have that layer laid around them.

Sub is more tricky because you need a decent signal cable and the screening tends to make them chunky - but have a look around; you may find something.

Based on experience 

Stuart


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