Alright guys I need your expert advice on some ways to run surround sound speakers...

massahwahl

massahwahl

VIP Member
So we are redoing our living room and I want to hook up my surround sound system to our television but we have a few obstacles. Heres what our TV 'area' looks like:

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As you can see the TV and all of our peripherals sit inside that nook. I have previously had my HTPC hooked up on the shelf above the TV but it stuck out much to far and the cables for it were just a mess and it was impossible to run the surround sound speakers again due to how many wires are already back there. I mounted our wireless router and modem on the wall behind the tv and bundled all the cables nicely now.

So onto the HTPC situation. I am going to be moving it to the floor behind this chair:

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As you can see there is already a white wire running along the baseboard (you can kinda see it), that goes to the modem behind the tv and it looks awful but I hope to alleviate all of my cabling issues. This picture shows you how close the chair is to the TV area, its roughly 4 feet to the bottom corner of the fireplace from where the HTPC will be not including wiring needed to follow along the edge of the fireplace molding up to the nook.

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Now lets talk about my surround sound. I have a 6.1 system and I want two speakers mounted on the wall between the pictures and the molding (use your imagination where they will be) This area is to the left of the Tv and there will be a speaker sitting on the table:

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And finally this is the right side of the nook where the other speaker will be mounted on the wall and one will be on the table beside the couch:

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Another speaker will sit on top of the Directv box above the TV and I may mount the rear center behind the love seat on the left in picture number 4 or I may instead mount two on either side of the window.

The computer will be plugged in behind the chair and the Subwoofer will be back there with it. My surround sound system has all of the cables running into the subwoofer so the challenge is how in the world am I going to run all of these cables and make them look good? There is also a cable running from the TV sound output to the pc (Optical Out) and the video to the TV (S-Video) which need to be accounted for as well. I want to be as un-invasive as possible but I would be willing to replace the floor molding if there is an affordable option that would look good. My budget is around $100 and that includes purchasing the long S-video and Optical cable for the PC. All suggestions will be seriously considered so let me know what you think!
 
You have a gap under your house? Lot of new houses seem to have this design and it makes it easy to run cables all over the house. Another option is run all the cables through the ceiling and on the lines going up add decorative covers such as oak etc.

It adds a little flavor to the walls and it hides the cables :P

I use the first method as my house is on stilts vs a foundation block as its a popular thing in the south.
 
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No, were on a slab, shoulda added that. Unless you mean a 'gap' is something other than a basement or crawlspace?
 
Your htpc is going behind the chair right? So essentially the only cable you need to run up to that tv is the video cable. Try and find a white one and mounting it with cable mounts would be the easiest option.

The surround should be easy. Put sub in inconspicuous spot. For the front L & R speaker run wire up the left and right edges of the nook till the desired level (using a smaller white cable mount), then 90 degree the cable out to the speakers. Do the same for the center except to wherever your putting it of course. Rear speakers just run the cable alongside the room where the carpet meets the wall. I can't really see from the pictures whats there to hide the wire once you get to the back, but it shouldn't be hard to figure out.
 
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What's above your ceiling (attic or second floor)? If you have attic access, then the fronts will be easy. Since the TV location is an exterior wall (guessing because of fireplace), that also gives you some options. It doesn't appear you have vaulted ceilings.

The fronts, I would run straight up thru the wall to the ceiling. Then, take a hard left and run them to the corner above where your HTPC is, then straight down the wall. Buy a plastic junction box with a nice speaker connector cover plate, mount it at the height of a standard outlet and run the speaker wires into it.

I have run all kinds of wiring in my house, and I hate exposed wires. Surround sound in Family room, speakers in living room, surround sound in master bedroom, same in sons bedroom. 4 flat panels on walls, 4 light sconces, no exposed wiring anywhere. Granted, some thing have required a little drywall patching, but that's simple.

Anyway, fill in a few more details (single/2 story). Also, is it a newer home, or older (may be plaster/lath walls). A picture of the outside of your house where the firplace is would also help.
 
ukulele_ninja said:
No, were on a slab, shoulda added that. Unless you mean a 'gap' is something other than a basement or crawlspace?
Click to expand...

If you can fit in there I consider it a gap :P. My grannies house has a solid fondation but a 3 foot "space" to crawl under but its blocked off in certain areas its more of a guided tunnel.

My last place where i lived with my parents had like a "tunnel" system and I actually ran cables. I was so scared though I was gonna get stuck I actually had to breath out in order to move :P
 
Unfortunately we do not have access under the living room or over it. It is the only room in the house where the upstairs does not pass over it. The TV is on an outside wall but I dont know how comfortable I would be running wire through the wall several times. Also there will be more than one wire running over to the TV, the way I see it here is what the setup will look like:


S1---window---S2-----Sub Woofer--HTPC----(to TV= S-Video, Audio Return)--S3--fireplace--S4(above fireplace)--S5---------S6

So from the fireplace wall there will be 6 wires total running back to the area behind the couch (4 Speaker wires, 1 S-video cable and 1 Audio return optical cable) Thats a lot of wires and a lot of holes in the wall If I wanted to drill into the drywall. Also the Speaker wires are sort of thick, they look like (and are) RCA type cables so they are not as thin as normal speaker wire.

Ive been looking at these track pieces you can buy and paint the same color as your wall that have channels in them for running wires, then you stick them above your baseboards but the downfall is that I dont know how many wires I can put in these. Anyone ever use them?
 
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i just get a screwdriver and push all the cables into the corner of carpet by the trim and it hides them very well
 
Ill have to bust out the tape measure tomorrow afternoon after work. We have an open concept floor plan so ill just give you the dimensions for the area im working with.
 
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