Uneven speaker wire runs


My equipment sits to the far right side of my home theater setup. I need at least a 21 ft. run to the left speaker and the right would only need about 10 ft. Does it matter if the L & R main speaker runs are different lengths or should I try to keep them the same ?
gfloyd757
It doesn`t matter a whit in 2 channel either. 186,000 mi./sec. divided by 11 ft. Do the math. The laws of physics are the same for HT or 2 channel.
The possible difference doesn't have anything to do with the speed of the signal but POTENTIALLY with the inductance,resistance and capacitance of the cable.
In reality it's probably fine!
Tarsando, an "audio" signal doesn't travel the speed of sound when it's in the wire because it's an "electrical" signal at that point. It doesn't become an audio signal and travel at the speed of sound until the electrical energy is converted into acoustical energy at your speakers. I think you knew that however.
What kind of cables and how much are you spending? If you're going to buy bulk wire at a couple of dollars a foot and have them terminated, then it's not a issue for resale or buying. If you're looking at name brand or expensive, it might be tough buying them in uneven pairs. And what if you moved your gear at a later date - you'd have uneven cables again. It's always more practical to buy in even lengths.

As far as performance goes, that extra length will result in an uneven voltage drop from each channel to the speakers (ALL wires have a resistance per unit length, speed o' light notwithstanding). The effect of an extra 11 feet would be the same as having two speakers with equal cable lengths but with one speaker set further back a fraction of an inch. It's trivial IMHO.