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Speaker cable lengths doe it matter they are not equal???

Hello to all ...
This is my first time on this site so please pardon my "rookieness" at this. I am setting up a new system after being out of audio for years. My current setup demands that one speaker is relatively close to the components and the other not so much. In other words they will not be equidistant forcing me to have one speaker cable longer than the order a rough estimate is that one will be 8 feet and the other 16-20 feet.
The question is what is best:
1. Leave them different lengths
or
2. Make them the same length and hide the excess as best as possible on the closer speaker (would end up being coiled)

i understand that presumably the impedance would differ because of the length difference but would that be noticeable?? As I said I am no expert that’s why I came here to hear feedback from the experts out in audiogon land!
Thanks for your replies lets see what you all think........
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johnziomas's avatar
johnziomas
40 posts
 
you will notice no difference
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qbndds OP
10 posts
 
Thank you all for the responses so far as an update since someone asked I plan to run:

Jeff Rowland Continuum S2 amp (with DAC)
Raidho D1.1 speakers

Looking for a CD transport 


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qbndds OP
10 posts
 
Thanks again to all and specially Almarg for your detailed explanation I think based upon what I see as a concensus of opinion I am leaning towards the best cable possible at different lengths will post here how it turns out!

xti16
1,495 posts
 
What would be interesting is if a dealer had some different length cables and try them yourself at the store. Of course the biggest downside is resale.

That said about 25 yrs ago a dealer did a demo of different speaker cable lengths. If I recall correctly it was a 5ft and 15ft run. I heard an ever so slight difference. Kind of like a slight reverb to the sound. At first it sounded a bit better like the room doubled in size. But as we switched back and forth I did prefer equal lengths. FWIW my rack is off to the side and if I did unequal lengths I would need 1M and 5M. But I have 2 - 5M sc's and zig zag the excess. Should I ever decide to upgrade the cables they will be easier to resell.

Again I can't recommend enough to try and demo different lengths if at all possible even if its some cheap bulk cable from a hardware store.
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