As others have mentioned above, the prevalent thought for many is long interconnects and short speakers cables. My speaker cables are currently 6' which is more than enough, but my interconnects (straight RCA) are 18' to my reel-to-reel and turntable. Many will talk about the need for balanced cables if long runs but I can discern no difference in sound or volume whether I use a 3' RCA or the 18' RCA. I queried AudioQuest's tech people about it one day too and they said that the longer interconnect is the way to go as well, and, that the cables will pick up little to no noise at that distance nor will you have significant signal loss. I am currently using AQ Evergreen RCA cables and also AQ Rocket 11 speaker cable. Of course, your mileage may vary so trust your ears. Here is a PS Audio "Ask Paul" segment about it.