Hiding the wires and cables.

[audio specialist]

<font color='#000000'>I have been looking for a good way to conceal the wires and cables on my open rack a/v stand.  I have a 6 shelf system.  The wires are hidden in the vertical plane through built in chases but you can still see all the wires coming out of the back of the components.   My wife has been giving me a hard time about all the visible cables for years.  I came across a product called the &quot;Cable Veil&quot; by WireHide on the internet.  It is a shapable piece of aluminum that is bent to match the size of the component and then is placed over the cables, it effectively looks like it extends the component case and hides the wires.  Has anyone here used this product or seen it used?  To me this looks like a great solution but I would like some opinions.  I am sick of messing with zip ties and flex tube and would sure like to make the wife happy.</font>

 

[Mudcat]

<font color='#000000'>Why would you want to hide the wires and cables?  Having all of those cables dangling down between two legs er stanchions is a sign of manhood and virility.

Between 2 DVDs, 1 CDR, 1 VCR, 2 tape decks, 1 mixer, 1 stereo equalizer, 2 mono equalizers, 2 active crossovers, 6 amps, and 11 speakers, I have close to 120 cables hanging down almost to the floor. &nbsp;You should not have to zip em up.





Reality is for people who cannot handle drugs!</font>

 

[Audioholics]

<font color='#000080'>Would split loom help your situation? 2 lengths - one for audio, one for power. Let video dangle free or get a third, thinner piece.

You can tie the split loom to the A/V rack/shelves with tie wraps.

</font>

 

[audio specialist]

<font color='#000000'>I have tried split loom before and although it helps It still didn't achieve the results I wanted. &nbsp;I could still always see the wires coming out of the component until they could be bunched into the split loom.

I went ahead and bought the Cable Veil from a link on their web site at www.wirehide.com. &nbsp;It was Sundays project to install it. &nbsp;Here is the results.

The Cable Veils came in a 6 pack box with 2 Cable Veils in each of the 3 sizes. &nbsp;As advertised they were aluminum sheets that were black on one side and silver on the other. &nbsp;My system is black and the Cable Veils matched perfectly. &nbsp;It took about 45 minutes to measure and bend the Cable Veils to fit. &nbsp;(I really took my time so they would fit exactly). &nbsp;I bent them over the edge of my kitchen counter (no tools) and they turned out great. &nbsp;I only ended up using 4 of the 6 Cable Veils since two of my components are deep enough that they take up the whole shelf. &nbsp;From about 4 feet away you can't even tell they are there, it just looks like all the components are the same depth. &nbsp;I had one of my buddies come by to look at my system and he was amazed. &nbsp;My wife loves it and I am now a happy camper in that regard. &nbsp;

I give the Cable Veil 5 stars out of 5 for ease of use and finshed results. &nbsp;My two extra pieces are going to my neighbor for him to use. &nbsp;He has a silver colored system so I will post how well the silver side of the Cable Veil matches.</font>

 

[Rip Van Woofer]

<font color='#000000'>Hmmm...looks like you could do the same thing with some sheet aluminum and black spray paint from the local hardware store!</font>

 

[audio specialist]

<font color='#000000'>I tried to make the homemade version. &nbsp;I am a pretty handy guy but I must say that I was unable to duplicate the Cable Veils successfully. &nbsp;You may be better at this than me but here were the problems. &nbsp;I couldn't get metal that was the right size, so I tried to cut it with tin snips. &nbsp;This gave a really sharp edge that looked bad. &nbsp;I called a local metal shop to see what they would charge to cut the sheet and they wanted $12 per cut. Ridiculous. &nbsp;I went with the piece I cut/mangled and painted it black with Rust Oleum Paint for metal. &nbsp;As soon as I bent it the paint started flaking off. &nbsp;I cut another piece and bent it to shape first, then painted it. &nbsp;I thought I had it figured out and then when I went to position the Cable Veil behind my components some of the paint started flaking off the edge. &nbsp;That was ok but then the metal was not rigid enough to hold it's position and was sagging in the middle. &nbsp;
That's when I called and ordered the Cable Veil. &nbsp;It cost me the same amount of money to try to do it all myself after I paid for metal, paint and tin snips and it was a disaster. &nbsp;No way, I don't reccommend that anyone try this on their own unless they own a metal shop. &nbsp;The product they sell is superior to anything I could possible create at home.</font>

 

[audio specialist]

<font color='#000000'>I almost forgot..

I gave my extra 2 Cable Veils to my neighbor with the silver system. &nbsp;He used the silver side of the Cable Veils to cover the cables behind his Sony VCR and Sony DVD. &nbsp;It is a perfect color match. &nbsp;This product is going to take off I'll bet.</font>