Hey all,

Just a quick question… in a residential application of a distributed audio system, is running shielded speaker wire really necessary.  I have installed many of these systems before using unshielded wire without experiencing any problems.  Can anybody help me understand why I should use shielded vs unshielded?

In my experience as long as you are careful as to where you run the lines, staying away from electrical and so on, you should never have a problem. Shielded wire really will make no difference in the end result quality, it will only make a difference in your pocket book as it is easier to charge more for it.

ddlldrinc,

Why do you ask?  Has someone suggested to you that you need shielded wire for a particular speaker installation?  Unless there is something very… unusual going on… you don’t need shielded wire.

No reason in particular.  I was just reading to prepare for an exam and just wondered if whether or not using shielded wire was a common practice and under what circumstance should I consider using it.