Merry Christmas to all! Just a quick wiring question for the russound cav6.6: I'm planning on prewiring my new construction house soon for this system.......most advice I've read says to run the speaker wire from the cav6.6 to the uno s-2 keypad and then to the ceiling speakers.....however, it apears to me that the uno s-2 keypads do not connect with the speaker wire........so should I run the wire from the speakers directly to the cav6.6......or should I send it from the speakers back to the keypads and then to the cav6.6 to allow for some sort of future flexibility??? Is future flexibility the only reason to run the wire from the speakers to the keypads with this russound system? Please help!! Also any reason to use 4 conductor versus 2 conductor speaker wire? :D

Run a speaker wire loop behind the keypad for future use - no speaker connections are currently made to the UNOS2. Use 4 conductor if it is easier for you. I used 14/4.

Al

Thanks, then I guess I should run 14/4 wire from the cav6.6 to the keypad, and then 2 14/2 wires, one to each speaker, right? What is the best way to connect the 14/4 to the 14/2 without degrading the signal? :D

Personally I would simply strip the outer sheath and just run two wires to each speaker from the keypad area.

If stripping the insulation is too hard, then I would solder the wires together (the 14/2 to the 14/4) and use a screw on wire connector to cover the connection and make sure it stays together.

What is the best way to connect the 14/4 to the 14/2 without degrading the signal? :D

The best way is to solder and heat shrink but it's perfectly acceptable to simply twist the wires together and twist on a wire nut to secure.

Cheers,
Paul

Thanks for the help!

I use euro-style terminal blocks. The white strips of plastic with screws in the top that crimp down onto the wires. Works great. Bear in mind that if you solder and heatshrink the wiring you'll probably have to cut it off if you ever need to rearrange things. Make sure you leave enough slack.

I'd just run two 14/2s all the way from the CAV. Lots easier, especially if you have multiple spools to pull from. Who wants to splice when you don't have to?

14/4 takes up an a third less space than separate 14/2 wires. This matters if you're pulling through conduit or another tight space. But if space isn't an issue and you're good about leaving enough slack to accommodate future changes then sure, 14/2 is fine.