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Does stepping on speaker cables damage them? (1 Viewer)

Emile

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Jan 13, 2003
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I have finished all my wiring basically, and I have hidden my 12 gauge cables underneath my carpet. However, I am paranoid that stepping on them repeatedly will damage their performance, etc. Is there any truth to my worry? Would it be better to put them in plain sight so that they are not stepped on? Thanks for the comments.
 

Kevin-L

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Jan 3, 2001
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what kind of cables are they? Most likely they will take the abuse fine your stepping on them not sliding around on them. Granted they may compress a little but thats not going to change the mass of how much cable is inside of the jacket.. Your best option is just try not to step on them constantly and they will be fine.
 

Cees Alons

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Under the carpet and - I trust - not stepped on every second, I'd say no, it probably won't damage them. Unless it's flat-ribbon cable (like the ones running through your PC). Some people use those.
But the normal two-wire (much like power wire) type of cable can stand some force.

Don't dance on it, though.

Cees
 

Wayne A. Pflughaupt

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I’ve had one of my 12ga. speaker cables under the carpet, crossing a high-traffic doorway, for 14 years. No problems yet!

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
 

Inspector Hammer!

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I used to worry about that as well before I finally did the deed and drilled holes in my floor and ran all my cables under the floor.

I used to have a main "artery" so to speak located right at the entrance way to my theater room that consisted of my speaker cables, cable, and componant cable and they used to get stepped on a lot which always bothered me, but I never had a problem though. I also hated that blasted bulge in the carpet as well.
 

Ted Lee

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i'd be more concerned about the uneven wear it could cause on your carpet. i had wires running under a high-traffic area in one place i was living. eventually that bump caused excessive carpet wear in that one spot. looked funky...
 

Emile

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Jan 13, 2003
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My carpet is cheap, so wear and tear due to traffic might be a problem, but I'd give the carpet a while yet. Thanks for the comments, I'll keep the cables under the carpet.
 

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