Long Speaker Cables/Short Interconnect or reverse


I'm considering re cabling my system and have a question regarding the desirability of using of long speaker cables with a short interconnect, as opposed to shorter speaker cables with a long interconnect. I currently run a 21 foot pair of speaker cables from my equipment stand to my speakers, and a one meter interconnect between my pre and power amp. I could move my power amp closer to the speakers which would allow me to use a 11 to 12 foot pair of speaker cables, however would necessitate about a 11 foot interconnect. My preamp is an Audible Illusions L3 which does not use a cathode follower and has a relatively high (1.2Kohm) output impedance, however they claim a longer interconnect can be incorporated as long as it is of a low capacitance type. It is a single ended pre so a balanced interconnect is not possible. So is it advantageous to cut the speaker cable length by 10 feet or so if the interconnect is lengthened by 2+ meters? My speakers are specified as 8 ohm nominal, 6 ohm minimum (I read a post by the technically well versed Almarg who stated that allowable cable length is dependent on speaker impedance), and my amp is solid state with an input impedance of 50K ohms. Although logistically trickier, I could also possibly move both the preamp and power amp closer to the speakers, and run the longer interconnect from my cd player (RA Opus 21 with an output impedance of a low 100 ohms) which would need to physically stay where it is
Thanks in advance for all your advice...
weebeesdad
Weebeesdad, thanks for the nice words. And thanks for providing the relevant specifics in your post.

I'll mention first that I suspect that the actual output impedance of your preamp is somewhat higher than the specified 1.2K. The output impedance of the Audible Illusions Modulus 3A was identically spec'd at 1.2K, but was measured by Stereophile at close to 1.8K.

That said, if you use a very low capacitance cable such as the Blue Jeans LC-1 (12.2 pf/foot) that was suggested by Czarivey, you should be ok with an 11 foot length as far as the most predictable adverse effects are concerned, namely the possibilities of high frequency rolloff and phase shifts. But as Stereo5 alluded to, a relatively long length such as that might increase susceptibility to less predictable length-dependent effects such as ground loop-related hum or noise. And the same possibility cannot be ruled out in the case of the CD player, despite its low output impedance.

So although as you've probably seen in my posts in past threads on this question I tend in general to be biased somewhat in the direction of long interconnects/short speaker cables, in this case, given also the impedance of your speakers, my instinct (assuming you are happy with the sound quality you presently have) would be to leave well enough alone. Or if you do want to experiment, the Blue Jeans cable is fairly inexpensive, even at an 11 foot length, so there would be little risk in giving it a try.

In saying this I'm assuming that the speaker cables are heavy gauge (i.e., gauge number not higher than 14), and have reasonably low inductance (say less than around 0.15 uH/foot or thereabouts). If you're not certain about those parameters, let us know the make and model of the speaker cables.

Best regards,
-- Al
Are you considering this upgrade just to change the length of your cables? If so, I think the differences will be very small, if any. I think the money can be better spent upgrading something else in your system. If you call The Cable Company, they can give you some good advice, as well as send you some demo cables to try first.
Thanks, guys, for your input. The thought behind this was to possibly upgrade the speaker cables, and perhaps use a pair of 12foot runs of a cable I already own (JPS, from another incarnation of my system which was in a smaller room), or buy a new pair which would be more available (particularly used) and less expensive in the shorter length. I current run Signal Cable Silver Resolution biwire, and have just received a trial pair of Clear Cable Double Shotgun cables which are, as per Paul's suggestion, now breaking in before any critical listening takes place. Not sure of the inductance or gauge of these, Al, however I'm guessing that for the long length you would suggest running two pairs for the biwire as opposed to one pair and jumpers (would this effectively lower the gauge?). Also, in a fit of audiophile madness, I may decide change to a tube amp - don't know if, or how much, that would impact the compatibility of using the longer cable run...
Thanks,
-Brad
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