How important is it to have identical speaker cable length?

Not an issue at all. Don’t even think about it one more second.  One could be 8 foot and the other 20 feet and still no issue.  

Cables should always the same length however 1 meter difference should be ok.

Not likely, but possibly.

You'll have no audible/sonic issues but you will most likely take a hit when you try and sell them afterwards. 

Electricity travels at the speed of light. Cables runs can be different lengths but I have always run the same length on both sides...just because. 

No. If you can hear a difference you are ignoring the music.

It's only important if you want to sell the pair.  You will definitely fetch less money for a speaker cable pair that's not the same length.

This has been debated many times and there already multiple threads regarding this.  My speaker cables in my office system are not the same length and there is absolutely no difference.  

Thank you guys very much for the thoughtful advice!

Just make sure they are the same color.... 

My deep seeded neurosis won’t allow me to do that. I would lay in bed staring at the ceiling. But for normal, well adjusted people it’s no issue what so ever. Only issue I can think of would be value when it’s time to sell. All the best.

LOL @ arch2

I would not fret…

But when the capacitance is # pF/meter, and inductance is @ uH.meter then the number of meters can matter.,, and the resistance is also expressed in @/meter (or per foot in freedom units).
It should make a measurable difference, which is better than a physiological difference. IMO.
But I doubt one would hear much of a difference. The room would likely have more of a difference.

To the speaker, no, a small difference is not a big deal.  But holmz is right, the additional pFd and uH could make a difference to your amplifier.  Remember, the output is also the input due to the feedback network.  As long as your cables are low in inductance and not too high in capacitance, you should be okay.   On the other hand, I have had good amplifiers tendency to oscillate when the capacitance in the cable is too high..

This depends on the wire gauge of your zip cord ;-)

Many audioholic myths are debunked on this YouTube channel ... this video is on speaker cable length:  https://youtu.be/WXPAjnmhK_g

This forum…..first answer:  absolutely no problem.   Second answer: oh my god no. Third answer: perhaps yes perhaps no.  Unbelievable. 

I personally cannot stand the Audiohaulics guy.  His videos are unwatchable to me.  But if you trust him…..

Don’t do different length…otherwise you always will fill stigmatized time to time…also when you will be ready for upgrade experiments, same length cables are much easy to sell.

I’ve always used the same length. The draw back is one cable may have to be coiled, the one nearest to your components or rack. Alternatively, the cable could be looped I suppose. However, I do not detect any detrimental effect on the sound by coiling. I'm a perfectionist, so I am compelled to use the same length, whether I hear a difference or not. 

@russ69 

+1

+1 surfmuzz

"This forum…..first answer:  absolutely no problem.   Second answer: oh my god no. Third answer: perhaps yes perhaps no.  Unbelievable."

New to the internet? ; )

"This forum…..first answer:  absolutely no problem.   Second answer: oh my god no. Third answer: perhaps yes perhaps no.  Unbelievable."

I think it depends on the education of the poster.   When I got out of college I had a EE degree in analog electronic design.  I thought I knew a lot.   Then some time later I went back and got another engineer degree when I realized there was a lot I didn't know.   Now with over 40 years of analog design, I have come to the conclusion that the more you know, the more you realize how much you don't know.

I do agree with the same length concept.   Even if you don't sell them later, odds are you will change your system and have useless cables.

Robert

This has been debunked in many papers and web sites.
I have 2 different lengths of cable and if you can hear a difference I have a fuse to sell you.

It is very important to have the same speaker cable length because the sound will change with different cable lengths but, you will only hear that on certain types of speakers.

The ONLY difference in wire lengths would be a very small amount of inductance capacitance.  Certainly nothing that would be audible.

At least arch2 is keeping it real. I would also be more inclined to have same length of cables for L/R speakers purely due to OCD. I would speculate though that coiling one cable vs other being straight has more chance of resulting in actual audible difference. 

Doesn’t matter but unless you are making your own cables, aren’t they usually packaged in matching pairs?

Truly great sounding systems come from fanatic attention to details. The little stuff adds up to be of major importance if you are working towards a truly great sounding system. You can get good sound out of a system made up of really good synergistic components. But for truly amazing sound you need carefully chosen cables, interconnects, power cords, cable lifters… tweaked room… etc. it is a question of what your end objective is. While you may not hear a difference outright in a difference in length, it will have a very small effect on the sound… it is a shortcut. Short cuts add up to a sub optimal. For me, instead of spending a couple hours trying to figure out if I can hear a difference, I’ll just go along with the recommendations from the professional reviewers and use equal lengths.

I’ll just go along with the recommendations from the professional reviewers and use equal lengths.

Even if engineers have said the values are so minute the human ear can  not differentiate the capacitance or inductance.

Most important for resale value.

Just for devilment: what do you do with the extra cable on one side?

Coil it? No, that adds inductance ...

Drape it over an iron railing? More inductance ...

Route it beside power cords? No, that adds a 60Hz component ...

Here is a question: Are 60’ speaker cables going to effect the wpc?

Some really silly stuff here.
Just love some of these answers.

@speakermaster,

Do you really believe what you posted?  No one can hear the difference between 2 cable lengths.  Unless of course you are God?

I would ask why not keep the length the same? Are you trying to save money? This hobby is all about frivolous spending any where and any time you can. Richard Vandersteen has written and commented on this subject extensively. His conclusion is speaker cable need to be the same length and as short as you can get away with. You are better to have long cable runs in the components than to the speakers.

I recall being worried about this question years ago.  After asking a lot of knowledgable people at that time. I decided it is not worth being concerned about.

I say do what you need to do and enjoy the music. 

Anything more than about a 4" difference in length will smear the center image.

If you're ok with that, go for it.

And by '4"' I meant 400 feet.

@jerryg123.  

“Even if engineers have said the values are so minute the human ear can not differentiate the capacitance or inductance.”


Especially if engineers say that. Going by “engineers” quoting variables is the best way to end up with a poor sounding system.

And how about having bi-wired two lenghts, LF 1 meter shorter then HF? 

Perhaps you could think about making your room bigger to facilitate same length cables.

Now with over 40 years of analog design, I have come to the conclusion that the more you know, the more you realize how much you don't know.

Ala… Dunning-Kruger.
There are other practitioners of DK are also present here, so no offence intended towards you @spatialking … it is a wise observation and consistent with the DK findings.