Newbie Q: speaker cable length? Different OK?

A few years ago, I "upgraded" from Audioquest Type 6+ cables to Speltz anti-cables.  The AQ's were 12 feet each, and since the left speaker is considerably closer to my equipment rack than the right speaker, I had an "excess" of about 6 feet of cable on the left side.  I described this situation (during a very nice telephone call) with Paul Speltz, and he taught me that 6 feet of cable for the left speaker and 12 feet of cable for the right would be fine.  So, taking his advice, I purchased a "custom" pair of anti-cables, and they have been working perfectly in my system ever since.

That example, a 6 gauge would yield like a quarter the resistance of the 12 gauge. (How’m I doing, Al? <grin>)

Right you are :-)

In the context of wires such as these examples, that are intended for AC power distribution, "non-metallic" refers to the sheathing that surrounds the conductors, and the designation THHN defines certain characteristics of the insulation. I believe that the commonly used Romex NM-B is an example of non-metallic ("NM") THHN wire.

There have been a few reports I’ve seen over the years from audiophiles and at least one reviewer I can recall about having tried some forms of Home Depot or Lowe’s wire as speaker cables. My somewhat vague recollection is that the results in most cases were nothing to write home about :-)

Also, I would expect the four-fold reduction in resistance going from 12 gauge to 6 gauge (or for that matter any reduction relative to 12 gauge) to be overkill in nearly all applications, at the lengths you are dealing with. Including a speaker application such as yours, where the particularly low impedance of the speakers makes cable resistance more critical than it would be in most other cases.

Beyond that, it’s anyone’s guess as to how well or poorly such wires would synergize with your particular equipment. But FWIW my guess is that using wires not intended for speaker cable applications would be a longshot at best in terms of optimizing the sonic return on your cable investment, even at their modest price points.

Regards,
-- Al

Interesting. I wonder what the difference in composition would be between "speaker-intended" wires, and AC? Yet, that anecdotal "no one raved about them" is telling. Still, I would wonder. Copper is copper. Extruded is extruded. Just wondering out loud.

@adam18 , with your conversation with Paul Speltz, are you recounting that simply different lengths are fine? Or is that combination of 6'/12' (e.g., 7'/14') being some kind of acceptable harmonic, or something like that? 

@adam18 , would you consider the Speltz anti-cables worth pursuing? Recommended (particularly when you consider what I'm using now/returning)?