Thoughts on interconnect vs. speaker cable length.

Thanks Schubert and Iso. To bring specificity to my question, I am indeed asking opinions on IC vs SC lengths for a run between pre and amp of 3-12 feet vs a run between amp and speakers between 6 and 15 feet. I am currently in position to try 8 and 15 ft SCs with 3, 6 and 12 ft ICs. Just looking for opinions and having fun with audio.

There is no universal answer, as it depends on various technical characteristics of the particular components, as well as on the characteristics of the cables, and the preferences of the listener. Those are among the reasons that opinions and reported experiences on this question tend to diverge.

In your particular case I don't think that the answer is predictable. The 3.8 ohm minimum impedance of your speakers, as reported here, works in the direction of favoring short speaker cables. The very high 1800 ohm or so output impedance of the preamp, as reported here, works in favor of short interconnects. The fact that the interconnects are unbalanced works in favor of short interconnects. Other factors that are sensitive to the length of unbalanced interconnects, such as susceptibility to emi/rfi pickup and susceptibility of the components to ground loop effects, are essentially unpredictable.

And then, of course, there is the question of listener preference, which may or may not favor the most neutral behavior of the cables.

The bottom line: You'll have to try it for yourself, as Elizabeth said.

In trying the long interconnect approach, I would suggest choosing cables having low capacitance per unit length (e.g., 25 pf/foot or less, the lower the better), to minimize upper treble rolloff and slowed transient response that may otherwise result from the interaction between cable capacitance and the high output impedance of the preamp.

Regards,
-- Al

To use a long (20ft-25ft) interconnect I recommend a preamp with low output impedance like Quicksilver Audio's full function preamp with only 2.5 ohms or Quicksilver Audio's previous full function preamp with only 12.5 ohms.

Thanks Elizabeth and Almarg. I was aware of the high output impedance of the 3A would beg for shorter ICs. The 4M pair that I was using seemed to diminish dynamics. I must admit that this is my first forum post and the first time that I have been in position to consider and try for myself such options. I for the first time have a dedicated room for my system, so room treatment is another area I am playing with. I think I might just be having to much fun with all this. Mike