Homeowners often sacrifice some simple pleasures, like music, for the sake of good design. But for those who don't want to make that trade-off, there are ways to get audio throughout the home without threading wires through a wall, hiding them under molding, or giving in and leaving them to snake across the floor. A room like this should be lived in, and for many of us, that means being able to listen to music or get cinematic surround sound when watching a movie.

Using wireless technology makes the most sense with home theater systems that typically employ between five and seven speakers positioned around the room. Bose makes several systems that fit the bill. In this photo, it's a single speaker called a Sound Bar. The bar still needs to be plugged in, though.

A receiver/transmitter that Bose calls the Acoustimass Module uses wireless to transmit sound throughout the room, including to any additional wireless speakers placed on the sides or in the rear of the room.

Getting great sound from an audio source — as opposed to a TV for a home theater experience — can be a bit more complicated, especially for audiophiles who prize fidelity above all else. But the advent of digital music is making this a lot easier to achieve.

There are a number of ways to stream music from wherever it's stored, including iTunes, a home computer, a server, backup storage or from the Internet. Sonos makes some of the best-reviewed solutions for streaming music from multiple sources. The Sonos Play:5 and new, smaller Play:3 deliver digital music from virtually any source. Connect using the Sonos Zone Bridge (sold separately) and get all music stored on a hard drive, in an iTunes library or on Internet radio stations. You can access virtually any subscription music service like Pandora, Rhapsody or Spotify, and stream it to any set of speakers anywhere in the house.

It's a great way to get music throughout a house, without a custom installer going through the walls and setting up an expensive whole-home system. It's easy to use and a good addition for someone that's either already invested in some basic home audio equipment or starting from scratch. Sonos makes a controller, but you can download an app that turns just about any handheld device into a personal remote control.

Each unit is a speaker. The Play:5 delivers large sound from a larger speaker and the newer Play: 3 is a smaller unit that easily tucks away and out of sight. And it solves the problem of getting sound throughout a home wirelessly. Simply plug them in, load the software, and you've got music everywhere. You can play the same tracks all over the house, or different tunes in different rooms. It really is that easy.

There are several solutions that plug into a computer or server where music is stored, and then stream it to speakers.