I installed a set of speakers in my dining room.  The wires drop straight down in a wall cavity and into the basement.  Then the wires route about 10ft or so to the amp/receiver.  The audio comes in via Apple’s Airport Express. 

Speakers sounded great until my wife discovered something.

When you turn the bathroom fan on, you hear a “pop” in the speakers.  When you turn the bathroom fan off, you hear the same “pop” in the speakers.  This “pop” does not happen with any other switch in the house; including the light switch right next to the fan switch in the bathroom. 

Any ideas on how I can fix this issue?  It’s insanely annoying. 

One of the speaker wires does cross an electrical wire—would this cause the “pop”?

Thanks for the help!

Crossing low voltage (speaker) and high voltage (electrical) lines can cause the pop you are hearing.  Unfortunately, it could be a number of other things as well.  As you don’t give any specifics on the wiring I’ll suggest a couple of items to check:  Did you use in-wall rated speaker cable?  (Cl2 or CL3).  Was the shielding or wire damaged when the wires were pulled through the wall, or any other renovations done? 

It is possible that the proximity to the wiring of the bathroom fan is the culprit.  Speaker wires are required to be at least 1 foot or more away from 110v electrical wires (more if possible)and 2 feet from 220v (where I am anyway), and should only cross them at 90 degree angles.  That being said, wires are often close to electrical near their termination points as this is more asthetically pleasing for home owners, having volume controls near light switches.

If it’s at all practical to check, I would start by checking the speaker wire, as my money is on damaged casing/wire.

Good Luck

Paul

Paul, thank you for the reply.

The speaker wire I’m using is 14AWG CL2 in-wall rated.  To the best of my knowledge, the wire is not damaged. 

The speaker wire and electrical wire cross at a 90 degree angle. 

I had an old stereo receiver sitting in my garage, so I figured I’d give that a try.  Sure enough, I have it hooked up and no “popping” is heard when you now turn on the bathroom fan. 

While I’m pleased that the popping is gone (for at least the holidays), I’m concerned that this might be a larger issue (maybe wires not properly grounded?).  After the holidays, I plan on adding a 3rd zone in the formal living room and a 4th zone in my master bedroom.