Hello Oak3x,
The shorter cable will not hinder the sound. But reselling them 1m and 1.5m sell easier than a .5 meter.
The shorter cable will not hinder the sound. But reselling them 1m and 1.5m sell easier than a .5 meter.
Interconnect - Does short length hinder sound?
In my efforts to upgrade my Interconnects, I was planning to get the
.5 meter length...as this is all I need to reach each component.
In my conversation with several reputable audio stores, they told me that an excessive short length such as .5 Meter, will actually "hinder" the sound. They recommeded purchasing 1.0 - 1.5 Meters, as it allows the sound to travel more uniformly.
With all the knowledgable people on this forum, has anybody ever heard of this theory?
.5 meter length...as this is all I need to reach each component.
In my conversation with several reputable audio stores, they told me that an excessive short length such as .5 Meter, will actually "hinder" the sound. They recommeded purchasing 1.0 - 1.5 Meters, as it allows the sound to travel more uniformly.
With all the knowledgable people on this forum, has anybody ever heard of this theory?
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- 17 posts total
Agree with all above. The only reason to go with 1 meter instead of 1/2 meter is resale value and moving the stuff around. I have in the past made wires that were 'just enough' and they are usually never enough a year later. Go with the 1/2 if you are certain that is what you want. The one meter is better for folks who: Change cables, and move the stuff around. The only cable that 1/2 meter is not good is for a digital connection. The research on this shows a too short digital cable creates jitter or something due to reflections. So for connecting Transports to D/As with SPDIF use a longer cable. At least 1 meter. |
For analog I have never heard any difference in the audio sound for interconnect lengths less than 3m (which is all I've experienced in a controlled setting). It is conceivable that there are circumstances where 60Hz or RF pickup is a problem and you get a "lucky break" by using the shorter 0.5m length. (I use single-ended.) I have used 0.5m lengths in the past but changed them all out for 1m...The 0.5m lengths are just too inflexible when it comes to positioning even adjacent components. Also, this short length puts more pressure on the connectors and can transfer vibrations (although I can't say I have actually noticed problems from this). One advantage of 0.5m is that they are cheap second hand...But I think everyone responding on this thread knows why that is. Elizabeth talks about length effecting digital signals. There is a long thread about this here: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=31733 Basically, the issue raised in that link with digital (where the (fourier) frequencies are much higher than audio) is that reflections can add to the main signal just at the time the dac is deciding to accept the next digit. This leads to jitter which is a bane for digital music. The article says that the exact optimal length for digital interconnects is very system dependent on just how a particular dac accepts the incoming waveform. |
For the most part I agree with all the posts above. One could argue that greater lengths of interconnects might allow for more seperation between components, which might allow for greater heat and vibration dissapation as well as less opportunity for things like RFI and EMI to be shared between components. |
- 17 posts total