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Installation fundamentals – Niles Audio PERFORMANCE PR6 User Manual

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11

Identify where all of your electrical, phone,
and TV wiring is likely to be and plan to
route around it all. You can accidentally
induce 60 Hz hum on your speakers if
you run your speaker wire right beside
electrical wire for more than a few feet.
Try to keep speaker wire running parallel
to power cables at least 3 feet away. To
find exactly where an electrical cable is
routed, try inspecting the inside of the wall
by turning off the breaker for a particular
power outlet or switch, removing the cover
plate and switch or receptacle, and shin-

ing a penlight into the wall.
If you have access to an attic
or basement space you can
quickly see which part of the
wall space is free of obstruc-
tions (See Figure 5).
When you don’t have access

above or below the wall, try

to estimate the existing wire

and pipe locations from the

positions of electrical outlets

and plumbed fixtures on both

sides of the wall. Take a look

at the outside of your house

too, sometimes conduit, vents

or drain pipe will be visible

that give useful information.

Choose the route with the few-

est potential obstacles.
If your house is built on a slab

or you are wiring between two

finished floors, look for baseboards which

could be removed and replaced with the

wire behind them. Doorjambs can be

removed and often have enough space for

speaker wire all the way around the door
(See Figure 6)

.

Sometimes, an under-the-carpet run is

possible (there are special flat speaker

wires made for under-the-rug wire runs).

As a last resort, heating and air condition-

ing vents can be used as wire raceways

for plenum rated wire (check your local

Installation Fundamentals

Figure 4

Figure 5

Unobstructed space
for speaker wiring

Speaker
Location

Volume
Control
Location

Stereo
Location

building codes, some municipalities

require conduit).
In traditional wood stud/drywall construc-

tion you can cut the hole for the speaker

and utilize the large hole to auger holes

across, up or down the wall for as far as

your drill bit will take you. If you have

matching paint and take reasonable care

in patching you can cut a hatch in the dry-

wall at each stud, run your wire, and patch

and touch-up the wall (See Figure 7).
When you are dealing with the unknown

because of the structure of your home,

or with difficult to patch wall materials

like plaster, lath and plaster, faux finishes,

wallpaper etc., be patient. A careful study

of the potential problems before you start

the job will pay off.

12

Installation Fundamentals

Figure 6

Figure 7

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