Speaker Cable Length

There is one cable manufacturer (Mapleshade) that does not recommnd using their cable in less than 8' lengths as it will degrade the sound. Also using it in it's standard form in lengths exceeding 12' will have the same affect. I have not tried their cable only because I use 17' runs with my current setup. I may end up placing my equipment in a hall closet which is behind the back wall of the speakers and then run my lines through the wall in order to shorten the speaker cable lengths. This would involve running outlets into the closet or using high quality extension cords, it would also void the use of my remote control. This is the only solution that I can come up without screwing up our living room layout. In brief, I think that shortening the cable runs is something that everyone should try.

I ask this question to several cable manufacturers, many times in past 10 days, and told any length beyond 7.5 cm will degrade sound. Am now listening to one speaker at a time. Maybe i should purchase headfones?

The effects of cable length are more apparent on some cables than others. This has to do with their geometry and dielectric materials more than anything. Cables that are of a high inductance design ( zip cord ) will show increased high frequency roll off as you get longer. Most of the the wide-bandwidth cables using braided, twisted, etc... geometries will not be greatly affected other than possible increases of capacitance. This can be corrected by using a zobel network if it starts to get out of hand. Common sense would dictate that the shorter the cable, the less loss and signal degradation, but that might not always be the case. Since the amplifier is "loading" into the total impedance being presented to it, it is possible that specific lengths of cables in combination with your speakers MIGHT perform audibly different. In other words, just like anything else, a specific cable length and speaker / amp combo could produce a "sweet spot" in terms of lengths that sound best. Unless you have a LOT of cables and various lengths of each, you might not ever notice this or be able to experiment with it. I have and have found that shorter speaker cables are NOT necessarily better than longer cables. I had recently gone from one stereo amp into monoblocks perched right behind the speakers on amp stands. I did not have any shorter cables, so i used the original 8' pair that i was using with the stereo amp until my 4' "shorties" showed up. The cables were from the same manufacturer and the 4 footers were actually the next model up the line. Keep in mind that the binding posts on these speakers is about 32 inches up the back of them, so that eats up a reasonable amount of cable right off the bat. I ran the 4 footers for quite a while and was not impressed with the performance, so I put the 8' cables back into the system. Everything was back to normal again. I also have a 15' run of these and noticed no major sonic differences between the 8' run and the 15's. In other words, each system is different and you really have to try it and see. Sean
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Here's to more money down the drain in search of the magical length. I'm game. Too bad that I just sold 36' of extra Kimber Kable, I could have had a field day.

I reckon the gains from shorter lengths are best described in terms of greater immediacy and better extension both top and bottom. Some amps and cables will be hugely affected, others not so much - the former happens with high inductance cables as suggested above, but even with high-end cables that have high capacitance, but this still differs with power amp. If you list your cable and amp Jim, it might be possible to be more accurate.