Building dedicated room with long RCA interconnect
Running an RCA interconnect of a length of 15-20 ft. should not pose a noise problem, provided it is well-shielded. However, your c-j tube preamp, like virtually any other tube preamp that does not use output transformers on the preamp outs, will almost certainly have difficulty driving an interconnect of that length due to impedance issues -- the bass will be rolled off. There is a lot of information available about the problem, which can be avoided with a solid-state preamp or tube preamp like those manufactured by VAC that use output transformers. |
this is how I have my media room set up, and I had to run 30 ft IC's to my front amps, 35 ft to my rear amp. I fully anticipated noise or degraded sound before I installed it, but have been perfectly happy with the results. I even did an A/B with shorter cables first - and couldn't notice the difference. |
Bdgregory, what IC you used? From what I understand the rca interconnect needs to be shielded and of low capacitance. What 15ft long rca interconnect I can buy for about USD2000-3000 used ( 2 channel) and below USD1000 (for HT rca interconnect) if possible. Currently using Transparent reference interconnect 1.5m rca. TQ |
if long rca interconnect is an issue, would it be better for me to place all my equipment using single level rack in between my front speaker. All together I have got 8-10 pieces of equipment ( transport/dac, turntable/powersupply, pre/power amp,powerconditioner, avr/universal player-will probably upgrade to processor/multichannel amp in the future). With this arrangement my rca interconnect should be long enough to connect the equipment. please advise tq |
A rack with both tne amp and pre-amp would be best. The rack doesn't have to be in the center, it could be at the side. If you can go balanced, which you can't, then a longer run of IC and a shorter run of speaker cable is best; however, a 20' run of speaker cable is not really that bad. Your cable budget is sufficient that you can afford some good cable. When you intitially posed the question, were you going to place the amp betweent he speakers and have the pre at the other end of the room? Since your using Rives, I'd ask them. They certainly have tons of experience in this regard. Be sure to post some pictures for us when you're done. Dave |
what IC you used? Here's my cables: Blue Jeans Cable LC-1 Low Capacitance Audio Cable They are indeed low capacitance and low noise. 5 IC's for under $250! This is why I just did it. I figured even if I didn't like it, I could resell them with minimal loss to someone who would re-terminate them as shorter runs (or do this myself). BTW - I like their RCA connectors better than any others I've tried. |
DCstep, yes Rives suggested that I placed my racks at the side of the long wall ( room 15 x 25ft). I dont think I can afford to upgrade my speaker cable since I m using Transparent Opus MM now. As for cable affordability, if I stretched it , yes, I can afford better quality cable. The issue for me is not cost alone but is better for me to place racks on the side wall and use 15ft-20ft rca interconnect or place all single layer racks ( altogether 9-10) at the center and do not have to make any changes to my system configurations. Currently all my rca interconnects are 1.5m. Bdgregory, Blue Jeans seems to be a cheap solution to long interconnect. tq for the suggestion TQ for all the feedback so far |
If it's an option, then limiting high quality ICs to 1 to 1.5 meters is going to be best AND keeping the speaker cables down to 10' or less. However, that's not always possible. You have to weigh WAF, your own tastes, etc. into the equation. With luck, any compromise will be have a very small impact on sound quality. Your awareness of the issues wiil likely lead you to spend the money wisely. Dave |
