Speaker cable length.
I have a small weekend cabin in the country. I have a modest system there consisting of a set of Polk Audio Monitor 7 tower speakers, an NAD C316 BEE integrated, Schiit Modi 2 DAC and a Denon radio receiver. Sounds much better than you might expect.
Anyway, we recently got a fireplace installed. This means that there will be a speaker on each side of the fireplace with the components on the right side of the fireplace. That means the right speaker is within 2-3 feet of the amp/components. The cable for the left speaker will run under the house from the amp and then back into the house on the left of the fireplace because I don't want it on the floor in front of the hearth. This will require about 16’ of speaker cable.
Will the difference (16’ of cable to the left speaker vs maybe 4’ to the right one) make a difference on a modest system like this? If so, what to do about it? I certainly don’t want 16’ of cable piled on the floor on the right.
Thanks for any input.
P.S.: I have good quality bulk speaker cable from Transparent if that makes any difference.
@wlutke …”Pull 16 ft under the cabin and loop it back up to the right speaker, if needed.”
Great idea!
Great sound quality comes from dozens of choices. They are additive. While you may not outright hear a difference between the equal lengths of speaker cable, it still may matter with the sound quality you ultimately get. Since you already have the cable it is worth being safe on the subject. |
@hsounds No internet or wireless down at the cabin! I can stream Qobuz over my cellphone. Sometimes. I'm happy with the system the way it is. I mostly play music off of an old laptop via the Schiit DAC. The whole system cost less than $500 and I wish some audiophiles could hear it. Even though I have a nice high end system and a semi high end system at home I have yet to be dissatisfied with the sound of this modest system at the cabin. @quadgar The cable is running through the holes along with nomex wiring. I can't believe I didn't think of that. Now, they are not touching. At least 1/2 inch apart and only that close for a few inches. I might have to drill separate holes. Crap. I did not want to do that. I wonder if there is a simple way to shield the cable for that short distance....even for placebo effect? @erik_squires The cable is at least 12. Maybe 10 AWG. I'll check this weekend. @tunehead I think you're probably right but there is just enough audiophile in me to worry about little crap like this even when I don't believe I'll hear anything. But, I got all the wood chopped and its already getting warm down here. Several folks have mentioned A-B testing. That will be simple to do. Will probably do it just to make myself feel better.......or a lot worse. Sometimes I HATE being an audiophile.
|
No it will not make any difference. My main system has 1 15 foot speaker cable and 1 23 foot speaker cable. In the 25 years in this house I have never heard a difference or imbalance in either channel. The cords are 11 gauge. I have used 3 different sets of speaker cables in this configuration. Do not coil the extra wire, that is a recipe for disaster. |
The imbalance in series resistance and other loss factors will not even approach audibility in this instance, with the excellent heavy gauge TA speaker wire you are using. Carlsbad2 has it right! Noel Lee came up with that BS to further line his pockets. Much greater length disparity and thinner wire, at some point becomes a thing to consider.
|
I will play around with it. I'll try to get the longer cable as short as possible and the shorter cable at 5-6 feet. That way I might get the disparity down to 6' vs 12'. I do want to get the speaker cable off the nomex wiring. Will the nomex interfere just being close or would they have to be touching to cause an issue. |
