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Are unequal length speaker cables really bad?

Ok, I've been into audio since the 70's and always have used equal length speaker cables to the right and left channels. Considering the electrical signal flows through the cable at a significant fraction of the speed if light, it seems that speaker placement that is unequal by as little as a 1/4 inch would have a far greater negative impact on channel balance, soundstage, etc than would unequal cable length as the speed of sound is very slow compared to the flow in the cables.

What do the people that really know say?
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Showing 1 response by nhaudio

nhaudio
35 posts
 
I second that. I have one 8 ft speaker cable and one 6 ft cable, and can't hear any effect. Given the speed at which the signal runs through cables, the mismatch would have to be on the magnitude of many a difference of several times the length of the shorter cable and then, it would be probably noticeable only for someone with great hearing (which I've not had for many years) if the cable lengths were many times longer than the 1 to 2.5 meters most folks use.

In other words, relax and enjoy.
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