With home theater systems becoming more affordable, many people are going from traditional two-speaker stereo systems to 5-channel or 7-channel audio systems. While some wireless surround-sound systems exist, there's nothing like quality speaker cables to ensure a good, clean, unhampered sound. But with great sound comes a trade-off —- where will the wiring go? Luckily there are more ways than ever to hide speaker cables. We'll start with several ways to hide traditional speaker cables, and progress to flatwire speaker cables.

The most common way to hide standard speaker cables is to route them along the baseboard using cord channeling. Cord channeling is made of durable PVC and comes in 5-foot (1.5 meter) lengths. Channeling is available in two types: "flat" channeling and "round" or tunnel channeling. Both types feature heavy-duty adhesive backing. Once the cord has been run through the channeling, it can be carefully pressed along the baseboard for permanent adherence.

Cord channeling not only hides speaker cabling but also protects it. It comes in white or beige and is available at most home improvement centers. Cord channeling is inexpensive and can be cut to length, and optional snap-on elbows and connectors will finish corners and cover seams where channel sections meet. Once installed, cord channeling can even add to the look of the baseboard!

For those who are just building a house or remodeling, you might prefer to run speaker cables through the walls, ceiling space or floor space. This requires more work than cord channeling, and more expense. Special UL-rated speaker cables and code-approved channeling must be used. Building codes vary from city to city, so check local laws. Note that speaker wire should not run parallel with, or be "piggy-backed" to, high-voltage wiring, as this can interfere with the audio signal. A potential disadvantage of running wires inside a structure is having to know exactly where the speakers will be located in order to expose the wire through the wall or baseboard at the appropriate locations.

If hiding speaker cables within the structure is not appealing and cord channeling doesn't quite fit the bill, you might consider flatwire speaker cables. Flatwire is ribbon-like, extremely thin but very wide. Flatwire technology spreads the gauge onto a wide surface area in order to make up for lost diameter. You can safely run flatwire under carpets. Speaker cables emerge at the site of the speaker and special connectors allow standard wire to make the final connection to the speaker itself.

Optionally, flatwire can be run along walls and painted, spackled or wall-papered over. Some flatwire speaker cables come with spray adhesive, while other brands have an adhesive backing, making it easy to install flatwire cabling wherever needed. The thickness of flatwire varies between brands. While any flatwire will be thin enough to lay under a carpet, you may want to be more discriminating if you plan to stick the flatwire along a wall or under wall papering.

Some people are skeptical of the acoustic properties of flatwire. Various audiotech magazines have published reviews on specific brands of flatwire, finding that some brands tend to sound brighter and more spatial, and others richer and warmer. If you are setting up a high-end surround sound system and would like to use flatwire, you may benefit from consulting online audiotech publications to investigate specific brands of interest. Note that flatwire is more expensive than traditional speaker cables.

Whether opting for traditional speaker cables and cord channeling, UL-rated wiring inside the walls or flatwire, the choices for hiding speaker cables are varied, creative and aesthetically effective. The only thing left to do is to enjoy the unparalleled sound of a great audio system!