# shielded surround speaker cables?



## kjgarrison (Nov 17, 2007)

Hello everybody.

I need to run surround cables through my attic which is full of wires going every which way, including overhead lights within a few feet of where the in-ceiling surround speakers will be placed.

Is there a cable product that is shielded and yet will send a good signal? I've seen mention of coax cables for subwoofers, but not regular speakers.

Distance from amp to speakers will require ~20-25' cables (estimated). Maybe 30-35' now that I think about it more.


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## thxgoon (Feb 23, 2007)

You won't need any shielding. The signals generated by an amplified signal are much much larger than any signal generated by interference. Basically, if you can't hear anything coming out of your speakers when your amp is off (you won't), you have nothing to worry about. Just purchase a good 16 gauge speaker wire and go from there. No need for anything fancy.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

That is correct:T There is no need to worry about interference caused by electrical crossing or even running along side your speaker wires. And as THXGoon said you dont need to spend alot of money on wire, just your normal Homedepot 16 or 14 awg wire will do.


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## kjgarrison (Nov 17, 2007)

Perfect!

I had read someplace to have some sort of wires cross electrical wires at 90 degrees. That must have been ethernet wiring.

Thank you very much, tonyvdb and thxgoon.


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## thxgoon (Feb 23, 2007)

No problem!

Line or mic level wires would require more care as any tiny signal introduced by interference gets amplified and can ultimately be audible.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

kjgarrison said:


> Perfect!
> 
> I had read someplace to have some sort of wires cross electrical wires at 90 degrees. That must have been ethernet wiring.


Yes, Its also for any runs of Coaxial cable for video or cable TV distribution and even a good idea for HDMI cable.


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## Eskimo (Oct 17, 2008)

tonyvdb said:


> And as THXGoon said you dont need to spend alot of money on wire, just your normal Homedepot 16 or 14 awg wire will do.


True, but you may want to see if code requires CL2 wire if you're going down in the walls..

Monoprice has excellent prices on rolls of speaker wire, I currently have about 350' of their wire in the theater, and it's nice stuff, easy to work with, and pulls pretty easily as well.


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