Can You Run Speaker Wires Together? (Explained)

If you’re new to wiring and speaker installation, it can be tempting to wire your speakers all at once and then connect them together. But this isn’t always a good idea. Just like it’s not a good idea to bundle too many electric wires together.

To ensure safety and proper use there are certain things to keep in mind.

In this article, I will explain if you can run speaker wires together or if you should do it separately.

Here’s if You Can Run Speaker Wires Together:

Yes, you can run speaker wires together. If you are running more than one set of speaker wires from an amplifier, it’s important that each speaker has its own dedicated set of wires. The left and right wires can run closely together with no issuesx.

Hi-End home movie theater cables (all brand names are removed)

Can You Run Multiple Speaker Wires Together?

There is no problem running multiple speaker cables alongside each other.

There’s not much voltage in speaker cables and you can easily bundle them together for your convenience. This will make it much easier to make them less intrusive on the interior design.

You can run these types of speaker cables together in the same bundle:

  • Speaker cables
  • Subwoofer cables
  • Ethernet cables
  • Fibernet cables
  • Phone line cables
  • HDMI cables

Basically, any cable in your house that only uses low-voltage (google it if you’re in doubt – but if you feel safe touching the wire, it’s not a high-voltage wire).

Just make sure to not run power cables, extension cables for appliances, etc. together with the speaker cables.

That will cause some interference with the audio signal and may produce a buzzing sound on top of your great stereo sound signal. 

Do Speaker Wires Interfere with Each Other?

Speaker cables don’t interfere with each other.

Speaker cables are typically shielded and do not emit an electromagnetic field that would cause interference when they are next to one another.

Speaker cables are designed to transmit low electrical impulses from the amplifier to the speaker, and they do a great job of it.

You can use them to connect your stereo speakers or subwoofer to an amplifier or receiver, but it’s important to understand that they do not interfere with each other.

If you’re using multiple sets of speakers in your system, it’s completely fine to run them together in the same tube or pipe.

Can You Run Left, Right, and Center Speaker Cables Next to Each Other?

Yes, you can run left, right, and center speaker cables next to each other with no problems whatsoever.

The only time it becomes important where you connect your speakers is if they are on different circuits (for example, one side of an amplifier goes to one pair of speakers while the other side goes to another pair).

In this case, some manufacturers recommend using separate cables for each circuit so that there isn’t any interference between them.

The Speaker wire is designed to carry audio signals from the amplifier to your speakers. Speaker wires are made from copper and are very thin, allowing them to conduct electricity efficiently.

Speaker wires come in a variety of types and sizes, but they all have one thing in common: they need to be as short as possible to carry the full signal line from the amplifier to the speakers.

Can You Run Speaker Cables and Power Cables Together?

When you’re building a stereo system, it’s important to make sure that the power cables don’t interfere with the speaker cables. Power cables should run at least 10-15 inches from speaker wires. Otherwise, the electricity of the power cable will interfere with the music signal.

If you run the power cables for the sound system (or anything else, for that matter) in parallel with the speaker cables, you will cause noise on the line.

This is something that can strongly affect sound quality.

It’s OK to run multiple speaker cables alongside, but there are some things you need to know about doing so:

  • Speaker wires should be separated by at least 10 inches from anything running power. If you need to stack cables together on top of each other, make sure they are all low-voltage signals if they’re touching or super close together. 
  • Cables should be kept 10-15 inches away from other power or signal cables as possible. This includes AC power lines and any other cable that carries electricity or data.

How Do You Avoid Interference Between Power and Speaker Cables?

In order to prevent interference between power and speaker cables, you can use some simple techniques:

  • Always have 10-15 inches of space between any cable that carries high-voltage power (110 volts, or more).
  • You can also have much more space between them.
  • If they need to cross, make sure it only happens once and ensure that they don’t end up running in parallel. Again, it’s best if they have at least a few inches of space between each other at the crossing point.

Read our blog here about do HDMI cable have different speeds?

Conclusion

So, can you run speaker wires together?

The short answer is yes, as long as you don’t mix the wires with any wire that runs 100 volts (or more).

If you’re just looking to connect your DVD player or cable box to your television, then yes, it’s possible to run multiple cables together.

But if you’re trying to connect multiple speakers together, that’s another story entirely.

Sources

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