I prefer IC to be 1 - 2 meters, speaker cable 8 feet. Lots of opinions on this, just don't assume that shorter is always better.
- ...
- 17 posts total
I like my equipment rack at my side. Which creates the balanced IC between the pre and amp at (currently) 7 meters. It could be shorter, but with the extra length it can berouted to be unnoticed. My amp is between the speakers behind a chair. And the speaker cables are about 6 ft long. Speaker cables should be fairly short. With balanced cables to amp the length of the wires from pre to amp do not matter nearly as much. If i had to use RCa coax cables i would be making the pre to amp wires shorter, and could use 4 meter ones with them no so hidden. The which os better short speaker cables/ short IC calbes has been discussed a LOT over the years. Used to be short speaker cables, long IC was the standard response. not anymore. Too many do the opposite to say one way is 'better' than the other. Which basically means you can do what you want that sound better to you. No one can make the decision for you. No matter what you choose, half will say the other way is better. |
Thanks Schubert and Iso. To bring specificity to my question, I am indeed asking opinions on IC vs SC lengths for a run between pre and amp of 3-12 feet vs a run between amp and speakers between 6 and 15 feet. I am currently in position to try 8 and 15 ft SCs with 3, 6 and 12 ft ICs. Just looking for opinions and having fun with audio. |
There is no universal answer, as it depends on various technical characteristics of the particular components, as well as on the characteristics of the cables, and the preferences of the listener. Those are among the reasons that opinions and reported experiences on this question tend to diverge. In your particular case I don't think that the answer is predictable. The 3.8 ohm minimum impedance of your speakers, as reported here, works in the direction of favoring short speaker cables. The very high 1800 ohm or so output impedance of the preamp, as reported here, works in favor of short interconnects. The fact that the interconnects are unbalanced works in favor of short interconnects. Other factors that are sensitive to the length of unbalanced interconnects, such as susceptibility to emi/rfi pickup and susceptibility of the components to ground loop effects, are essentially unpredictable. And then, of course, there is the question of listener preference, which may or may not favor the most neutral behavior of the cables. The bottom line: You'll have to try it for yourself, as Elizabeth said. In trying the long interconnect approach, I would suggest choosing cables having low capacitance per unit length (e.g., 25 pf/foot or less, the lower the better), to minimize upper treble rolloff and slowed transient response that may otherwise result from the interaction between cable capacitance and the high output impedance of the preamp. Regards, -- Al |
- 17 posts total

