long interconnect and shorter loudspaker cable lengths

[qguy]

IC=interconnect
LS=loudspeaker

Which is better to have ? longer IC with shorter LS cables or vise versa

thanks

[Hyperion]

It's a compromise.

The shorter the IC the better in terms of electrical impedance. However short ones (less than 1m) are not easy to use, hard to resell, and requires components to be close to one another which kinda defeat the purpose of using separate components so they can be physically isolated and distanced from one another. Good ICs are also "voiced" at certain lenghts - usually 1m or increments of 1m and they dont sound exactly the same at different lenghts. I'd suggest to keep them in the 1m to 2m range.

The shorter the speaker cable, the better they are electrically. However short speaker cables mean either monoblock amplifiers, or being unable to separate speakers far apart. Most speaker cables are also "voiced" long, and snaking on the floor (and not hanging from the speakers) which has an effect in its tonal balance. In short to achieve good results, as well as to achieve flexibility in setup, 2m to 3m of speaker cables is a good idea.

Typical aesthetic setups that employ extremely long (>5m) speaker cables or extremely long interconnects tend to be less resolving than expected.

[JackD201]

The General Rule is Long ICs are better than Long SCs.


Mods please move to Tech Archive. Tnx guys!

[audiophyte]

the concept of Mr. Van Den Hul is to have short speaker cable if you have a long interconnect and vice versa.

[av_phile]

Long interconnects or speaker cables was a concern I grappled with in the past. But the laws of physics on cable is really simple: Just use thicker gauge on long runs. With all else being equal, like cable construction and termination quality.

[audiofilio]

I guess this set-up ( long ICs and short LS cables ) was started by one simple reason only... short speaker cables due to the use of monoblocks, which, ideally are located near the speakers and long interconnects, which, for old or fat... sometimes both, audiophiles... the pre-amps are located near the listening chair!

[Octaver]

I believe Shorter IC and long LS is much better? The reason is, current/voltage run on the IC's are lower, let say 1 - 2.5V. These are very critical and are much affected by length & conductivity of wires. However, for loudspeaker they are far higher than IC's which are less critical. (IMHO)

[rascal101]

I believe Shorter IC and long LS is much better? The reason is, current/voltage run on the IC's are lower, let say 1 - 2.5V. These are very critical and are much affected by length & conductivity of wires. However, for loudspeaker they are far higher than IC's which are less critical. (IMHO)

Agree.

[egay]

for long ICs, Balanced Lines are the way to go; however, not all equipment have balanced I/Os. nevertheless, i would always look for equipment with Balanced I/Os first, and i supposed we are fortunate that there are quite some choices available now

as a compromise, due to site conditions, i'd stick to longer ICs and shorter LS - even if many says otherwise. i've seen the maths, but i trust my ears more.

stay cool!
.e.

[egay]

for long ICs, Balanced Lines are the way to go; however, not all equipment have balanced I/Os. nevertheless, i would always look for equipment with Balanced I/Os first, and i supposed we are fortunate that there are quite some choices available now

as a compromise, due to site conditions, i'd stick to longer ICs and shorter LS - even if many says otherwise. i've seen the maths, but i trust my ears more.

stay cool!
.e.

ok. this was 2 years ago when i was running monoblocks that i can set near my speakers - so, 1.5m Wireworld SCs were cut for me, then, 8m-long SE IC was made for me by Noel of AudioAmp (used with my unbalanced pre-amp then). worked fine (i guess).

but i had one visitor who is a tecky audiophile who mentioned something about "capacitance" then, but i just ignored it. now i own another non-balanced (and passive) preamp that SPECIFICALLY says that one needs to be careful of long ICs because of capacitance, i tend to revisit my previous practice and be quite attentive to the specs of the cable. yup, capacitance... problem is "WHO KNOWS"?

so now, i just stay with the 8-foot commercial lenght speaker cables and the usual 1m IC (unless i'm using my balanced system).

.e.

[JoeyGS]

If long and unbalance ICs are to be used, what would the specification/construction of the wire be, so as not to degrade the signal from the preamp to the amp?

thanks.
JoeyGS

[egay]

If long and unbalance ICs are to be used, what would the specification/construction of the wire be, so as not to degrade the signal from the preamp to the amp?

thanks.
JoeyGS

Hi Joey,
i can't answer that BUT if you know the capacitance of the cable + the requirements of your preamp, then you can compute.
i'm sorry if this is all i can say - i am still trying to do my research, too, as my TLC-1 specifically warns about capacitance consideration

Please share, too, should you find; i will as soon as i do

Right now, to enjoy my new found gems, i stick with my 1m-long AZens

Oh BTW, if you can, ask Noel/Tyrone of AudioAmp because they had this German Cable+Locking RCA that is really tremendous and very competitively priced. they made for me an 8m-pair + 3x1m-pairs... i sold all because i went full balanced a year ago... now i'm back to SE and since i already have AZens, then i'll just stick with them. But do try AudioAmp's cable...

.e.