Wiring with 4 conductor wire

When you wire a whole house audio system, you’ll typically have a pair of speakers in each room. You’ll then need to bring 4 conductors of wire to that area. Two of the conductors will be used for the left ( + – ) and two for the right ( + – ). You then use a 4 conductor wire (all four wires in one bundle) to go from your entertainment center to the volume control location in the remote room (like a bedroom for instance).

Here’s where the trick is. From the volume control, you go up to the first speaker location, leave a little extra wire there, then continue onto the second speaker in the room. When you go back and cut in the speakers, you’ll have the wire at the first location with all the conductors there and in the jacket. You’ll cut into the jacket just enough to expose the wires – maybe about 3-4 inches. Then take two of the conductors, cut them and plug them into the first speaker, leaving the other two intact onto the other speaker. With this approach, you’ll only need to have one type of wire for your install.