2. amps-preamps
  3. 126716-87885

Bi-Amp v. Uneven Speaker Cable Runs (Pass Labs B&W 802D)

Hello - I have a system in my living room where I can not center the equipment in-between the right and left channel (fireplace in the way). The equipment and amp are 5 feet away from the right channel, and about 20 feet away from the left channel. Right now I am running a 30 foot pair of low end Monster Cable to each speaker until I can figure out what I want to do long term. This 30 foot pair gives me about 4-5 feet to spare on the left channel, and 20-23 feet to spare (coiled up) on the right channel. Not ideal in many regards.

Equipment: Classe CP-800, Pass Labs XP-15 Phono, VPI Super Scoutmaster with Lyra Delos, Marantz NA-11S1, Pass Labs X-250.5, B&W 802D, Audio Sensibility Statement SE XLR and RCA cables. 

I am torn between the many options to deal with this, and could use any advice given (or other ideas of course):

Option 1: Pick up another Pass Labs X-250.5 and vertically bi-amp. Run a long XLR to the left channel (25 foot), and a shorter XLR to the right channel (5 foot), and get a shorter set of identical length speaker cables. Am I gaining anything from this? 

Option 2: Run non-identical length speaker cable, 28 foot to the left, and 6 foot to the right. Besides saving money on the right channel cable, I am not having to coil up (or deal with) a massive amount of unneeded extra cable. 

Thoughts?


maxlarson
kalali's avatar
kalali
1,977 posts
 

Any particular reason not use this Belden wire - seems like a much better option. What's up with the pricings on their site?.

http://www.awcwire.com/mfg/belden/part/1312a




mcgal
199 posts
 
I prefer to keep my speaker wires short and run longer lengths of IC to the amps. Using monos now but have used 2 stereo amps to bi-amp in the past.
kurt213
3 posts
 
2 opinions: 1 - spiraled speaker wire is of (arguably) limited benefit, but if you feel you prefer it, if you think you hear a difference, you can easily spiral regular speaker wire by anchoring one end, extending the wire fully, and inserting the other end in a drill. Give it a few turns and then stretch the cable to help lock in the spiral. Now you have spiraled wire. 2 - If less cable looks ugly (which for the most part I would prefer not to see any at all) dress the cable to conceal it. 

So for the OP, you have to decide what your budget is and what you are trying to accomplish. If you have a spare $8000 lying around for another amp and you like the way it looks, it's your money to spend and I'm sure there are salesmen and manufacturers who would appreciate your donation to their bank accounts. If you want great sound and are on a budget or don't care about conspicuously trying to impress someone, the solution would be to do nothing, or better yet, to remove the unsightly extra cable coiled up, cut each lead to the length necessary. Spend some time reading through the Roger Russel article linked above. He was the former head of acoustic research at McIntosh, so knows a thing or two about high end audio. His site is pretty fun to read through (http://www.roger-russell.com/) 

Whatever you decide to do, have fun and enjoy your system. 
plassas
2 posts
 
I have no theoretical explanation for this, but when we were setting up our home hifi, it became very clear to us that speaker wires do differ in the sound they offer. Purchased and sent back Kimber, Sonic Link and a few others until we settled on Kubala Sosna, which by the way was the most painful option, but it gave us the best sound.
More to discover