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Speaker cable lengths

103.10.197.194
Posted on June 30, 2015 at 09:26:12
pc123v
Audiophile

Posts: 225
Joined: February 6, 2014
 Hi Everyone,

Thinking of moving my equipment to the side instead of between the speakers.

We probably have to run between 12 and 16 feet of speaker cable per channel.

My question is...will sound quality be affected for that length (using 6 feet now)? Is there a minimum gauge of cable I should be looking at?

Thanks!

 

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RE: Speaker cable lengths, posted on June 30, 2015 at 13:57:11
kkak66
Audiophile

Posts: 641
Location: Florida
Joined: April 25, 2000
 Sound quilt will not be affected. But use at least 12 gauge wire.

 

RE: Speaker cable lengths, posted on June 30, 2015 at 17:06:48
Duster
Manufacturer

Posts: 17117
Location: Pacific Northwest
Joined: August 25, 2002
 The presentation of a high-performance speaker cable tends to degrade the longer the length. Mundane speaker wire with already limited performance potential should at least be 16 AWG for a 16 foot run, but a larger aggregate gauge is more advisable due to lower resistance, better damping, and tonal qualities. You might use the situation as an opportunity to upgrade to a potentially better set of speaker cable than you use at this time, perhaps a model that's well-known for good audiophile performance, even for a longer-length run.

 

RE: Speaker cable lengths, posted on July 1, 2015 at 06:04:46
fantja
Audiophile

Posts: 15518
Location: Alabama
Joined: September 11, 2010
 I concur w/ Duster.

 

One alternative., posted on July 1, 2015 at 11:36:52
Crazy Dave
Audiophile

Posts: 14371
Location: East Coast
Joined: October 4, 2001
 You do not have you system listed, so I don't know if you have a separate power amp. If you do have a separate power amp, you can leave the power amp between the speakers, and put the rest of the equipment on the side. I use an Ikea Lack table for the power amp. In this case, you will need to use long interconnects. You might want to ask yourself, what is the weaker link in your system, the speaker cables or the interconnect between the preamp and the power amp.

Dave

 

RE: Speaker cable lengths, posted on July 1, 2015 at 12:08:25
pictureguy
Audiophile

Posts: 22597
Location: SoCal
Joined: October 19, 2008
 Speaker cable length, should IMO, be kept to a minimum. The measureables of inductance, resistance and capacitance increase with length. In the ODD case of amp / speaker sensitivity to this, a highly reactive speaker cable COULD push you 'over the edge'.
Gauge of wire should be adjusted for POWER max, speaker sensitivity AND length of run.
All other things being equal which they apparently are NOT, short runs in a low power system of medium to high speaker sensitivity could probably make due with16ga.
My low sensitivity panels at 10 foot runs per side and my old 500 watt 'd' amp required beefier wires.
My Biamp system currently has 2x3' runs PER SPEAKER with the line level cable of about 8 feet per side.
I don't know if it's a settled issue if you want long speaker wires / short interconnects OR short speaker wires with Longer interconnects.
Too much is never enough

 

RE: Speaker cable lengths, posted on July 8, 2015 at 20:46:57
pc123v
Audiophile

Posts: 225
Joined: February 6, 2014
 Thanks Guys!

 

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