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Max length of IC's? Long IC's vs short SW

What's better sonically?

a) To run 4 foot unbalanced interconnects between my preamp and amp and 32 foot runs of speaker wire,

or

b) To run 9 - 12 foot unbalanced interconnects between my preamp and map and 12 foot runs of speaker wire?

Also: what's the max length I can go on unbalanced interconnects before I run into issues of resistance, inductance, capacitance, etc. that would significantly affect the sound?

Is there much of a difference between 9 foot unbalanced and 12 foot or 15 unbalanced?

Thanks.

Laurence
ldworet
almarg's avatar
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almarg
8,673 posts
 
Regarding your general questions, there is no universal answer. It is all highly dependent on the impedance characteristics of the specific components that are being connected, as well as the parameters of the particular cables. See this thread.

In the specific case you are asking about, unless your components or speakers have extremely unusual impedance characteristics it would seem very likely that taking 20 feet off of the speaker cable length, while adding less than 8 feet to the interconnect length, would be the preferable alternative.

Regards,
-- Al
elizabeth
6,726 posts
 
The 32ft speaker cable is too long. So the other choice would seem to be generally more desirable.
zmanastronomy's avatar
zmanastronomy
738 posts
 
I made a set of bi-wired cables for a client 75 feet long and he loved them.
ldworet OP
48 posts
 
Thanks for the advice. Any one know what's the max you can go with unbalanced IC's before you run into problems? Can I go 12 feet or should I try to do everything possible (unlikely) to get down to 9 feet? Thanks.
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