Once upon a time, I owned a Kenwood LO-7 system (tuner, preamp, and monoblock amps) that came with 1 meter speaker cables and long signal/power switching cables linking the pre to the amps. The speaker leads were about the diameter of a nickel in their insulation, and were matched per Kenwood to the amps. If memory serves and with compensation for the decades that have passed since, it worked and sounded quite good and pleased me at the time....
Obviously, this routine only works if one's running 'outboard' mono amps, unless you opt for bi- or tri-amping. Then, of course, multiple short cables would need to be applied. It would certainly save one some $ on speaker leads....which would likely get spent on 'higher quality' signal cables...
The nicety of that system was that when you powered up the preamp, it lit up the monoblocks as well with no 'thump' due to a delay built into the amps. Without that, one gets to run about flipping switches in a familiar routine.
On the other hand, one could take mitch2s' Wikipedia quote to heart and apply that information. It's physics, guys, not hyperbole. But...do what you feel you must do.... |
Presumably you mean minimal speaker cable length; most speakers are not too long.
Several British amps of yore did not include an output inductor on the amp, rather using the inductance of the speaker cables to provide the inductance necessary to stabilize the circuit. Exposure, Onix and Naim come to mind. Using them with more than 3.5 meters of medium to high inductance speaker cable is required to keep the amps stable. In return for this, the output inductor is completely eliminated.
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Don't.
Put the amps as close to the speakers as you can and make the long runs be high-level (pre to amps) using XLR cables
inexpensive speaker wire will be fine; use spades over bananas if possible
take the $$ you would have wasted on woo-woo cables and buy better speakers - if you already _have_ better speakers - something in the 20 kilobuck range, then keep them and use the money to build a new listening room
after that, you can either use spendy cables to alter the sound in the system or just buy tone controls |
Thank you for all your posts. Good discussion and input here! Here's a bit more info for you more experienced audiophiles ---->
My preamp has 6 balanced outs. I have six matching stereo amps, planning one at each speaker in a bi-amped SACD 5.1 surround setup. Thinking to build my own XLR interconnects w Mogami or Canare quad cable and Neutik conn's versus mounting all the amps in one rack and running a whole bunch of expen$ive speaker cable. Any more thoughts based on this idea? |
MEridian had the best design idea decades ago: run a digital signal up to the speakers, decode it, and design an amp for each driver (or set thereof) which is next to the driver.
But the idea has to be implemented, and done so for a reasonable price.
I prefer monoblocks next to the speakers, with XLR cables to the amps - I prefer that but don't do it... |
Long ICs in a non-balanced system would also degrade sound far more than longer speaker cables. I say do away with all the IC cables, power cables, jacks, connectors, long signal paths inside of gear, and save more money while achieving the best possible sound by purchasing an integrated amp with built in pre, amp, dac, room correction etc...
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Speakers with only one foot of separation would more than offset the sound quality gained from the 6 inch runs of cable 😎 |
This all depends on were your amp is and the design of the cable.
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+1 - I Like active speakers |
That is why a lot of people like active speakers
Really? Can you give some examples? |
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The OP's questions says "my power amplifier". That implies a single-chassis stereo amp, no? To have a short (say 1') speaker cable run, you must either have a pair of mono amps (one behind each speaker), or your speakers only 2' apart! |
That is why a lot of people like active speakers |
I agree and would use XLR cables to the amps |
+1's for Mitch and cablejockey.
I have recently switched over to Atma-Sphere amps.
Ralph (Atmasphere), recommends using longer interconnects-preferrably balanced, and short speaker cables.
A 6 inch cable is probably a bit too short. You would want a little distance from the amp to the speaker. In setting up the Atma-Sphere Amps, I opted for a 1 meter (3 foot+) speaker cable so I could position the amps away as well as give me some slack to adjust speaker position.
Also, recording studios use balanced cables for reduced signal loss and well as sound 'purity'. |
Wouldn't it make sense to put my power amplifier output terminals as close as possible to the input terminal of my speaker? Yes. I see all these very expensive speaker cables and how they do this and that, and many discussions about their characteristics.
In practical theory, why not just eliminate the cable altogether and run say, a 6" cable (or even less) to the speaker?! Use the shortest cables practical after you decide where to position your speakers and amplifier(s). Save all all that money and 'coloring' of the sound?!
Would not be this be the most practical and 'purist' way to go?
All the best recording engineers chose the minimum path possible in pro studios. Why not apply this practice with speaker cables? Because people believe they can improve the sound of their system by using more expensive cables, and manufacturers want to help them spend their money. I'd enjoy hearing from the AG community on this. Thank you. Thank you for posting this cable thread for our enjoyment. Below is
Wikipedia's longer answer to your questions. This issue has not changed, or seen a mutually accepted resolution, in the almost 20-years I have been reading this forum. I would simply say, use your ears and find your own truth. There is debate among audiophiles surrounding the impact that high-end cables have on audio systems with audibility of the changes central to the discussion. While some speaker wire marketers claim audible improvement with design or exotic materials, skeptics say that a few meters of speaker wire from the power amplifier to the binding posts of the loudspeakers cannot possibly have much influence because of the greater influence from complex crossover circuits found in most speakers and particularly from the speaker driver voice coils that have several meters of very thin wire. To justify claims of enhanced audio quality, many marketers of high-end speaker cables cite electrical properties such as skin effect, characteristic impedance or resonance; properties which are generally little understood by consumers. None of these have any measurable effect at audio frequencies, though each matters at radio frequencies.[12] Industry experts have disproven the higher quality claims through measurement of the sound systems and through double-blind ABX tests of listeners.[4][13] There is however agreement that the overall resistance of the speaker wire should not be too high.[4] As well, the observed problems with speaker cable quality are largest for loudspeakers with passive cross-overs such as those typical of home stereos.[14]An accepted guideline is that the wire impedance should not exceed 5% of the entire circuit. For a given material, resistance is a function of length and thickness (specifically of the ratio of length to cross-sectional area). For this reason, lower impedance speakers require lower resistance speaker wire.[4] Longer cable runs need to be even thicker.[15] Once the 5% guideline is met, thicker wire will not provide any improvement.[4] Roger Russell – a former engineer and speaker designer for McIntosh Labs – details how expensive speaker wire brand marketing misinforms consumers in his online essay called Speaker Wire – A History. He writes, "The industry has now reached the point where [wire] resistance and listening quality are not the issues any more, although listening claims may still be made...The strategy in selling these products is, in part, to appeal to those who are looking to impress others with something unique and expensive."[4]
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Your reasoning seems practical.
The final product-subjective realistic sound doesn't always reinforce even the basic electronics 101 rules.
looking forward to reading explanations why/why not
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