I am currently building my home and will close in the next few weeks. I had my builder prewire my home for a 5.1 system. However, I am not confident the quality of the wire is up to Aperion speaker standards. Hence, I have a few questions. Will the new 422 system work if I don't have high grade audiophile wiring? Is there a way for me to rewire without actually having to go into my wall? Everything is coming from the TV niche above my fireplace. Please dont tell me I have to put holes in my new wall!! Im already having to rationalize the size and cost of speakers to my wife. I figured you all have run into this sort of thing before. Thanks for answering all of my questions. Best, Julius

The answer to your question regarding whether you could re-wire your 5.1 system without tearing into the walls depends very much on the layout of your home and how the existing wiring is laid.  For example, in some instances if you wanted to replace the wiring you could attach the new wires to the old ones and pull the new wires through to follow the exact same path as the old.  However, if there are several turns from point a to point b, this will not work.  Also if a strain releif system is installed this cannot be done. 

It also depends on the layout of the home.  For instance, if you have an attic or crawlspace that the wiring is run through, you should be able to access the wiring from this location. Again, attaching new to old you can pull up or down (depending on crawlspace or attic) and re-run the new wires, even if a strain releif system is in place. 

See if you can get your builder to (A) run the wiring of your choice.  or if too late (B) fill you in on how the current wiring is run.  Let them know you plan on upgrading and they could probably best tell you how to access the wiring with minimal intrusion into your walls.

Before you worry too much Julius, find out what kind of wire your builder used. If it's at least 14g you'll probably be alright, regardless of whether it's something cheap n cheerful like home depot's own wire or something more pricey like monster.