Running speaker cable under carpet

[shmokes]

Is there an easy way?  I just moved into a new place that, unfortunately, has carpet.  The layout of the living room absolutely does not lend itself to running wire around the perimeter of the room, but I want to hook up my rear surround satellites.  I can easily get under the carpet at either end of the room, but I don't know how I would be able to coax the wire from one end to the other.  Is there an easy way to do this?

[lharles]

I haven't used this stuff but I've seen multiple versions of it from multiple vendors...

It's flat speaker wire.

Here's an example link to Amazon:


LINK

[CCM]

There is no easy way to run the wire under the carpet.   You would need to pull the carpet off the tack strips on either end of the room, and you may be able to get a fish tape from one end to the other, but it's gonna be a pain in the ass...  You would need to feed the wire under the carpet, but above the padding.

What is under the living room?  Can you drill down thru the floor and run the wire under the living room?

If you are dead set on running the wire under the carpet, you probably want to use the flat speaker wire that lharles mentioned.  The round stuff would leave a bump in the carpet and would be more susceptible to wear and tear.

There's really no way to run wire around the perimeter?

[CCM]

Here are a few articles dealing with speaker wire under carpets...

http://www.hometheatermag.com/customaccessories/124/

http://www.diy-home-theater-design.com/hide-speaker-wire.html

[polaris]

IMHO however flat the wire is youll still get a noticeable bump in the carpet.

how about up the wall through the ceiling back down the wall

[ahofle]

I just recently went through almost the exact same dilemma when we put wood flooring where the carpet in our family room.  I previously had wires under the carpet with the bumps that everyone here mentions.  I was really worried about running wire to the back of the room with the wood since the basement is finished and I also couldn't run the wires around the perimeter.  There is a return air vent on the floor that I just decided to remove and look down with a mirror.  I saw a light at the end which led outside (fresh air intake for the furnace I guess) -- luckily the floor joists where running the length of the room, leaving a perfect run under the floor.  So I was able to run the wires through it with no problems.  Maybe you will get lucky as well?
If not, I'd definitely try that flat wire.  When you remove the carpet, you may be able to use a blade to cut a slot in the padding a bit and slide the wire in to minimize the bump. 

[Glaine]

Just sort of thinking out lout, no need to take it too seriously, but what about a very small PVC pipe running along the edge board?

Or better yet, if you have the plastic-sticky kind of edging, you could peel it up, run your wires, and stick that part back down. Might want to get more of your edging though as theres a chance you'll need to put down all new edging if it's old enough it's lost it's stickiness.

Anyways, like I said, thinking out loud on this one.

[ChadTower]

Just sort of thinking out lout, no need to take it too seriously, but what about a very small PVC pipe running along the edge board?

You would use wire enclosures for that.  There are products that are specifically for this purpose.

[shardian]

I believe you can get a wireless transmitter for your rear speakers for around $100 or less. Problem solved.
A quick and dirty search revelaed this set:
Amazon link

I've seen one at rat shack for ~$100 though.

[CCM]

My friend has wireless surround speakers and they sound horrible and they don't always work.  I would stay away from them.

[zaphod]

I second the thumbs-down on wireless surrounds. 

Is there another way you can configure your HT setup that would make the surround wiring a little easier?  Or could you snake it up one corner and around the room in the corner of wall/ceiling?  Maybe throw up some molding to help hide it.

[ChadTower]

Rear speakers carry such a small amount of actual sounds... I can't imagine it would be all that stressful a thing to have with a powered wireless transmitter.  A passive one would of course suck but one with a power supply could work quite well in theory for rears.

[shardian]

My friend has wireless surround speakers and they sound horrible and they don't always work.  I would stay away from them.

Well, the question is are his stock wireless, as in they get their wireless signal straight from the receiver? Do they plug in or run off a battery? What wattage are they?

[Dustin Mustangs]

I have one of those general how-to books from Home Depot and they show a technique where you pull off your baseboards and cut a channel in the drywall behind them.  Run the wires through the channel, terminate were desired, re-install base boards, and your good to go.  One downfall to this method is if you have a door along your intended route.  I guess you'd have to do the same thing but with the trim around the door.

 

[ChadTower]

If you go that route, odds are your drywall doesn't extend completely to the floor anyway, so you may not have to cut a channel at all.  This method doesn't address getting the wire from the floor level up to the speaker, though, wherever it ends up being.

[CCM]

My friend has wireless surround speakers and they sound horrible and they don't always work.  I would stay away from them.

Well, the question is are his stock wireless, as in they get their wireless signal straight from the receiver? Do they plug in or run off a battery? What wattage are they?

http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/ISEO-rgbtcspd/reviews/20031007/theater_questions.html?page=3

There aren't a ton of really great-sounding wireless speakers out there, unfortunately.

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-7612_7-5109926-4.html

The dream of wireless high-performance speakers is still unfulfilled, ...

Despite the promise, wireless speakers still need wires--they need to be plugged into the wall outlet for power, at the very least.

Based on what I've heard and what I've read, I just wouldn't recommend wireless surrounds yet.  But, if they fit your needs, budget, and sound good enough for you, then go for it..

[shmokes]

Hey thanks guys.  I'm kind of MIA around here lately cos it's finals crunch time.  I'll probably attack this problem during Christmas break, starting Dec. 17.  So far, I'm thinking flat wire under the carpet.  Going around the perimeter is possible, but it would require going through multiple rooms.

[clanggedin]

Get DeWire. It's super flat. You could run it along the botton of the wall above the base boards then paint over it or under the carpet and no one would feel it.

http://www.flatwiretv.com/flat-speaker-wire.html

[shmokes]

Cool, I'll check it out.  BTW, this will be running DIRECTLY ACROSS THE MIDDLE OF THE FLOOR.  Going around the perimeter of the room is out of the question.

[ChadTower]

Is the carpet attached to the floor?

[Jouster]

I've done this in two different locations.  Once in the main room of an apartment, with lots of foot traffic...and the other (more recently) in my media room.

I used my Swiss army knife to cut a very small hole in the carpet (my AV equipment wasn't hidden or right on the wall) then used metal coat hangers to feed the wire through to the next hole.  I also ran the wire under the pad...could barely feel any bump unless you knew exactly where it was already.

The holes didn't grow because they are only about an inch in size.  Oh, I also used pliers or kleins to lift the carpet and pad where I was feeding the wire to.

Jouster