Speaker Wires on Carpet


I was reading that carpet will interfere with the signal going through speaker wires if the wires are on the carpet. I was wondering if the amount of interference varies depending on whether the positive and negative wires are twisted together versus running straight and parallel to each other. Also, will certain types of wire jackets cut down on interfence?

I ask this because I have wires running next to the base boards on the floor in my (carpeted) dining room since that's the most unobtrusive place for them. I may consider some type of wire elevators if they are reasonably priced and look nice.

Thanks in advance for any advice.
socprof

Showing 1 response by mr_hosehead

Well, I'd guess that the good news for a question like this is that there should be a measurable and repeatable test for this phenomenon. And, it doesn't even have to be a double blind test, although that sure would be an interesting (well, at least to me) addition.

If your carpet's acting as a dielectric with enough effect for you to hear a difference, then any actual effect would be a difference in the electrical signal being received at your speaker. That is testable. I don't happen to have the issue, and no, I'm not running out to buy carpeting or even a variety of sufficiently long carpet runner samples to perform such a test. But I'm sure that any number of folks with the appropriate technical background and available equipment could nail this one and/or at least help quantify the impact for us all.

From what I remember of any recording studio I've ever been in (no, not that many ;~) I can never remember seeing little cable risers anywhere. Wire strewn all over the place, and lots of carpet too, but no little cable risers. They probably figured that their shielded & balanced connections more than covered any such effect.