What's the best way to hide the cables for my surround sound speakers?

Question

I've got a simple surround sound setup in my living room with 2 rear speakers. Right now I have 2 lame cables strewn across my carpet in the middle of the room between the tv and the back of my couch. What's the best way to get these things out of the way? Is there a wireless solution? Should I just put the wires up along the corners of the room? Under the carpet? Any other ideas? Thanks!

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Answer 1

Personally, I hate the sight of surround sound speakers. While some may like the look of the nice black, shiney cabinets all over the room, I think it adds more to the effect to have the cabinets hidden as well.

What ya do is mount the speakers in the rear of the room where it is difficult to see them. A dropped ceiling works great for this as you can just put them up above the dropped ceiling pointing down, (Lay them on thier face.) If the speaker is too heavy lay it across a junction point in the support rails. If you do this right and conceal the wires in a molding strip you really get the effect of sound "coming from nowhere".

If you don't have a dropped ceiling and must run wires along the baseboards, use flat cables and simply tuck them under the molding. But, camoflage the speakers wherever you put them. One way is to cover them in a piece of black felt. It looks good and even protects the speakers. Then you sit something decorative on top of them and it just looks like a little pedestal.

This may seem like a bit of trouble, but to me it's worth it just to have a surround sound system that is invisible. It really adds to the effect to look in the direction of a creepy sound and not see where it came from!

Answer 2

Well, not sure on the wireless solution, but have the same problem, so know what you mean.

I've opted with under the carpet but this limits speaker locations due to short cables.

Only other solution that I thought of was to run the wires through a cable tidy (basically plastic square tube in white from the back of the TV, and along the ceiling, this solutions only really good if you have white ceiling and walls, or are willing to paint the tubing the color of the wall.

Otherwise it's probably best to use the same idea along the skirting (you'll probably have to send both rear speakers the same way to avoid the door, and you'll most certainly have to purchase further wire, (again not sure if there would be a problem with degradation of sound quality over a great distance, but I'd suspect a further 10 meters of cable shouldn't cause too much problems on a decent system.)

Again the solution above can be done under the carpet, and probably a better choice for (out of sightness), beware though don't pull up all the carpet, only small areas, and use a wire coat hanger to get from hole to hole, otherwise you could have a carpet shrinking issue, or looseness).

Hope that's helpful.

Answer 3

Ther are so many answers I can't read them all, but didn't see this on first two pages:
Buy a RUG. If you are just starting out with surround sound etc., then my guess is that you are still trying out locations for your speakers & probably want to play around. If you put the cables under a rug (remember to keep both L&R the same length) then you can easily play around with your speaker positions without worrying about the cables. It will also make it easier to change the cables later if you decide to upgrade the cable.

Answer 4

I live in a carpeted apartment where drilling is not allowed (walls, floors, etc.) What I do is place an area rug (about 5X8' or larger) in front of the TV. I make optional use of a runner (those rugs that are long and slender which sometimes comes bundled with area rugs) on the side if needed. With those two 'covers' I can hide most of the cables that need to run across the living room to side tables besides the sofa, where I place the rear speakers. Strategically placing additional pieces of furniture (e.g. chairs, ottomans, magazine holders, etc.) or decorations can hide the last segments of cable before they show just a bit prior to making contact with the rear speakers. The front cables I hide mostly behind a suitably sized entertainment center, on top of which the 3 front speakers are placed. The subwoofer goes on the floor in between the entertainment center and a narrow table holding an aquarium on it. The subwoofer cable doesn't show at all and the ones for the front and center speakers mostly hang out of view behind the entertainment center.

Answer 5

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
What's the best way to hide the cables for my surround sound speakers?
I've got a simple surround sound setup in my living room with 2 rear speakers. Right now I have 2 lame cables strewn across my carpet in the middle of the room between the tv and the back of my couch. What's the best way to get these things out of the way? Is there a wireless solution? ...

Answer 6

Me, I own my own home, so it will be different if you rent ... but this is what I did ...

I went to the radio shack and purchased enough speaker wire so that when I put the main part of the Surround Sound on top of the Entertainment Unit, I strung the wires for the REAR speakers up through the ceiling above, along the attic, and down through the ceiling just above where I was mounting the Rear Speakers -- a VERY NEAT solution that avoids having the wires across the floor and tripping on them and having the speakers being destroyed because they were pulled off their mounts.

PS -- I purchased quality 1st -- when I bought my Surround Sound unit, I bought it with the idea of minimizing the profile of the speakers all around. so my speakers have great sound, but are very small in size. One doesn't need the hulking speakers -- just something that can provide you with enjoyment.

Answer 7

This is the easy route, but run the wires straight across the room. You will most likely put them near the back of the couch. Run the wires under the couch to help hide. Now you still have some wires running across your floor. Simply measure the distance from your entertainment center to the couch (the most important measurement and use it as the width). Go to local thrift stores, rug companies, or home depot and find a throw rug that matches the measurement or is just slightly smaller. The length will normally be bigger then width; so go with what will fit in your living room or will work well visually. Now place rug on floor and cover those unsightly wires (it is alright if there is a couple inches of visible wire; the reason you want to hide them is partially visible and partially safety). Finish off the decor with a coffee table and your done.......Move over Martha Stewart.....

Answer 8

A. Wireless is not a solution its a problem
B. If you can notice the difference in sound between a 25 foot run of wire and a 100 foot run of wire, you must have sonar for ears.
C. The carpet corner trick works well and usually leaves a clean install if you use stands in back.
D. If you use the carpet trick, then take off the moulding below where you want to mount your rear speakers you can drill out a small bit of the bottom plate and small amount of seetrock (where the moulding will cover once its reinstalled) then fish the wire up and out the wall with no patching at all and have the cleanest install of them all!!

Answer 9

I got the perfect solution for you. Hide as many of the ones that you can and then there are these really cool looking wire holders from IKEA for the wires that you can't hide under the carpet. IKEA sells things that allow you to mount the wires on the wall or under a sofa. It's pretty cool. Definetly check it out. Some of these wire holders are like tubes. It's there so that people generally don't see the wires. And...they come in different colors and designs so you can pick out the right look for you- stuff that goes with the room...it looks good.

Answer 10

My parents did this same type of thing years ago, and they have had no problems whatsoever. They went under the carpet by making very small incisions where the wire was to enter and come back out. It's the easiest if you have a wall that you are doing it next to, so the wires don't go in random directions. Use a fish wire (a metal wire used for fishing and pulling wires through pipes etc.) and push it to the side you want the wires to enter in. attach and secure the wire to the fish line and pull all the way through. Really easy to do, and you're never going to need to access the wires unless you are changing out your system. Hope that helps - good luck ;)