Routing of Cables

Nico69

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Dec 28, 2019
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Routing of Cables - Speaker / Data / Mains.

Hi all. I'm about to embark on a journey under the floorboards to route some speaker cables to new positions as well as running Cat5e cables to the Marantz Streamer; Smart TV and an extra data socket. These cables will be loosely tacked to the underside of the floor joists using cable clips.
My question is:
  • what degree of separation should there be between two speaker cables on long runs.
  • Separation from data cables to speaker cables
  • Separation of data and speaker cables from mains
I can get away without having to drill an extra hole in our stripped floorboards if I can get away with having the cables bunched together for 1.5m in some flexible trunking I will attach along the base of the skirting board. I'd rather drill less holes if possible but the whole exercise is to try and hide as much cables as possible.

Has anyone experienced cross interference from data/mains/speaker cables? The speaker cables are QED 79 Strand. The data cable is Cat5e. The mains cable is bog-standard.
 

Gray

Well-known member
There used to be an unofficial rule to keep mains at least 2" away from phone cables.

None of your Cat5 cables will be carrying analogue signals though - and you haven't even got any lower level audio cables.

Always makes sense to keep mains at a distance, but I doubt you'll have any problem with your 1.5 metre bunch.
(People do a lot worse).
I wouldn't personally tie separate channel speaker cables together - but even then, some would ask, "why not?"
 

abacus

Well-known member
It is against electrical regulations to have mains and low voltage cables in the same trunking without a separator.
Keep the mains away from the other cables which can be lumped together, if you do need to cross mains and low voltage cables try and cross at 90deg.

Bill
 
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Nico69

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It is against electrical regulations to have mains and low voltage cables in the same trunking without a separator.
Keep the mains away from the other cables which can be lumped together, if you do need to cross mains and low voltage cables try and cross at 90deg.

Bill

It's a cable tidy trunking rather than mains trunking etc. Stuff like this picture.
Forgot to add that it will also have satellite cable but this is shielded so shouldn't affect anything.

cable-tidy.jpg
 

Gray

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It's a cable tidy trunking rather than mains trunking etc. Stuff like this picture.
Forgot to add that it will also have satellite cable but this is shielded so shouldn't affect anything.

View attachment 4354
The regs would frown upon mains being in with the other cables - although try telling that to thousands of people using such cable management.
Most of whom would neither know, nor give a stuff about electrical regulations 😐
 

MrReaper182

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The regs would frown upon mains being in with the other cables - although try telling that to thousands of people using such cable management.
Most of whom would neither know, nor give a stuff about electrical regulations 😐
I don't think most of the regs on this form would as most seem to a good bunch of people who don't believe in a lot of the snake oil that other audiophiles believe in. The people who work for the magazine on the other hand would be having a heart attack about mains being in with the other cables as they will put snake oil rubbish in the magazine from time to time.
 

Gray

Well-known member
I don't think most of the regs on this form would as most seem to a good bunch of people who don't believe in a lot of the snake oil that other audiophiles believe in. The people who work for the magazine on the other hand would be having a heart attack about mains being in with the other cables as they will put snake oil rubbish in the magazine from time to time.
I think you're confusing regs with mods.
By regs, I mean electrical regulations do not officially permit mains cables to be in with low voltage / signal cables in that 'tidy' tubing.
(Nothing to do with audiophile reasoning).

But, like I said, try telling that to the thousands of people who've done just that.....and wouldn't care about regulations.
 

MrReaper182

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Apr 6, 2014
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I think you're confusing regs with mods.
By regs, I mean electrical regulations do not officially permit mains cables to be in with low voltage / signal cables in that 'tidy' tubing.
(Nothing to do with audiophile reasoning).

But, like I said, try telling that to the thousands of people who've done just that.....and wouldn't care about regulations.
Okay my bad
 

DiggyGun

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Mar 2, 2021
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I ran some Dado Rail trunking along my skirting board, which has three separate compartments.

Top for mains cables
Middle one for speaker cables
Bottom one for data cables

Just another option to consider as various styles and sizes are available.

DG…
 
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