Odd length speaker cables

Never "coil" speaker wire. It will cause
inductance. As far as the lengths, you're going to get
recommendations from both camps. Many feel that different
lengths don't matter. IMHO, they should be the same length.

If the system is just for casual/background listening, it
probably doesn't matter.

I agree about NOT coiling the wire. Consider a Z/fanfold instead. As far as lengths you may want to go to a home depot and pick up 42 ft of cheapest wire you can find. That way you can cut 2 18ft and 1 6ft length and try that to see if you hear a difference. Also consider if you do get a high end cable of different lengths resale will be tough.

My unusual set-up requires 16ft on one side and 9 ft on the other. I have tried every possible combinations. Equal lengths with one side coiled, equal lengths with no coiling but a mess, name it. Cheap cables, expensive cables, homemade cables, Home Depot cables, heavy gauge, light gauge, and probably a few other combinations.

What works for me: I use a 16ft on one side, and 9ft on the other. This shifts the stereo image to the short side on the 9ft run.

I counter-balance this by advancing the 16ft side speaker about a foot in front, and the image centers beautifully.

I have always used this way to get a virtual channel balance control even with even-length cables for micro-adjustments.

Not saying it would work for you but worth I try!

Good luck

Sonicbeauty wrote: What works for me: I
use a 16ft on one side, and 9ft on the other. This shifts
the stereo image to the short side on the 9ft run.

I counter-balance this by advancing the 16ft side speaker
about a foot in front, and the image centers beautifully.

How can you possibly relate these? Moving the speaker 1foot
changes the arrival time (at the ear) by a bit less than
1millisecond. Changing the cable length by 7inches changes
the arrival time by about 0.0006microseconds.