Hiding speaker wires (eg wall sockets) - what do you need exactly

Im moving into a new house that is currently being built. I thought this would be a great opportunity to be able to get all the wires put in the wall without having make a mess of the walls and redecorate.

I know you can get wall sockets that you can plug your speakers in but I dont exactly know what I need and how it works. I am new to all this and finding it hard to find the right information I need to get be started on learning how it all works.

Could someone tell me what I need - will I need one socket that all the wires plug into and then different seperate sockets for each speaker. Also what cabling do I need as well and how do they all connect up?

i haven't bought the amp/speakers etc yet so I am open to suggestions on the different types of connection I can choose to have.

[guido]

I had all my lounge speaker cables for the two rears stuck in the wall before plastering out.

Only did the rears.. you can use ready made wallplates: http://www.qed.co.uk/acc/wallmount.html or make up your own by buying a socket back box and blanking plate and getting some 4mm binding post sockets from Maplins (this is what I did). So have one plate behind amp with two pairs of sockets, then one plate behind each rear with single pair.

Have to decide whether every join/plug/socket in line will affect quality or not. else have single lead running into wall plate without using plugs/sockets.

Sure someone else will be along with more ideas.

[MPK]

I just had my surround speakers put in the walls AFTERWARDS, and I can tell you it costs a lot of money. It's a great opportunity for you to do it know. You probably know more or less where you will have your AV equipment. Lay cables (e.g. Cinemax) through the walls and/or ceilings to where you want your surround speakers (and if the AV equipment is not inbetween the front speakers also for those). Lay 4 cables for the surround speakers, i.e. for a 7.1 system, so they pass the place where you want speakers. If you don't mind big ugly speakers on brackets then you can install those brackets already. However, if you want in-wall/in-ceiling speakers then those holes can be cut out at a later stage and the cables behind connected. Just make sure you measure the depth and make sure there are no obstacles behind where you want to put in-wall speakers.

That's just the speakers. If I had a chance to rewire my house I'd lay ethernet cables (and sockets) throughout the house for PC networking plus the necessary AV cables to have a multi-room system (i.e. speaker cables in each room plus the necessary cables connecting to the main AV equipment). To be honest, I'd give a call to an installation professional, which at this stage won't cost you much, but after the plastering will cost and arm and a leg.

Even if you don't want/can't afford a multi-room system or several PCs, it will be worth it one day.

[Ray]

I note that a lot of the wall plate solutions require soldering the connections. Presumably this is a hard learned skill. Or is it easier than I think ?

Ray

[guido]

Originally Posted by Rayfin

I note that a lot of the wall plate solutions require soldering the connections. Presumably this is a hard learned skill. Or is it easier than I think ?

Ray

Soldering... you need three hands!! One to hold the two bits you are soldering together, one for the soldering iron and one for the solder! Gets awkward soldering back of wall plates as limited slack cable.

Get right sized tip on your iron and practice a bit first