is there a consensus on too short speaker cables?

I am not sure you will ever find a consensus here. FWIW, the difference in sound between 5 foot and 6 foot is negligible but the distance from amp to speakers can easily be more than 5 feet.

Like Shadorne said, a consensus will be hard to find. BUT: There are a lot of us out here that are using monoblocks, placed as close as possible to the speakers. As long as the cables are a popular brand/series: You've sell them. I just listed a pair of my old Audioquest bedrocks(6 ft long, from my bedroom) for $75.00 on eBay, and have a bid from someone in Poland already.

Like so many voices here I am not taking any side exept what my ears tell me. Your situation might be different then X or Y. It comes down to practicality, shielding/isolation, quality and interference. My cables are top of the line Vampire ( custom made biwire ) 12f long which I will be getting out of my system soon. These will be replaced with 4f biwire Morrow Audio. In my case, shorter runs are preferable since the very close placement of my mono-blocks. It is also recommended my Mike from Morrow but that is not the reason or rule that one should go by. It is prefer by some and cursed by others. Opinions about that matter goes block by block, dealer to dealer. You will have to make that decision yourself - unfortunately .......or not.

My thoughts are that if the cables won't reach the speaker posts, they are indeed too short.

thanks for the comments so far. I guess I knew better than to expect a consensus here, but I was looking for a substantial minority.

I personally subscribe to Michaelwolff's school of thought. With my current configuration, 6ft simply leaves more slack than I like, and 4 ft is a little to taught on the mid/tweet connection - so 5 ft seems right to me. I generally run my amps positioned right next to my speakers, so this length is just right for me. I'm just wondering if I'm alone.

thanks again . . .

Let's put the question in a different context, would you want your sister to date someone who only had 5'? Your ex-wife deserves something like that, but not your sister let alone your prized loudspeakers! 6' minimum unless you want your speakers to be singing that Rolling Stones song.

Same with 5 or 6.....or 7 feet tall speakers.
I like mine tall, brunette with nice bottom end and extended front stage.

ROTF! . . . I guess this turn of context could have been predicted

An old friend, who is an MIT insider, once told me that Bruce Brissen says speaker cables needs to be at least 8 ft to propigate a solid bass wave.

Cables are too short restrict the ability to play with speaker room placement

So, what about active speakers? does that mean since the amps are hard wired, they won't get good bass? I've also seen active speakers w/ the amps externally... tho the cables are far from 8 feet. I dunno... doesn't sound right to me.

So, what about active speakers? does that mean since the amps are hard wired, they won't get good bass? I've also seen active speakers w/ the amps externally... tho the cables are far from 8 feet. I dunno... doesn't sound right to me.

I agree . . . I think it's bogus. I'd have to hear the specific argument supported with more info.

so you honestly think 2 sets of 8ft is the "be all, end all"?

According to Chris Sommovigo of Stereovox you can have longer interconnects, but short speaker cables.

This is a link to an interview conducted by Positive Feedback Online:

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue30/stereovox.htm

iSanchez

"An old friend, who is an MIT insider, once told me that Bruce Brissen says speaker cables needs to be at least 8 ft to propigate a solid bass wave.
"

Couldn`t be more wrong, but that doesn`t co me as a surprise. Most cable-designers have no clue of what they`re doing, they`re just making money.

Speakercabes must be seen as a part of the amps powercicuit and should be as short as possible. For transistor-amps they also need to be thicker than most "experts" claims, positive and negastive signal-halfs should be kept apart (to avoid interference) and conductors should be thick & massive, not stranded or flat.

>>Most cable-designers have no clue of what they`re doing, they`re just making money.<<

What is your technical discipline and/or expertise to make such a misguided statement?

It's a fact that many cable manufacturers have electrical engineering, physics, and other scientific degrees so let's not jump to conclusions when speaking about other people who are far more knowledgable than thee.

" What is your technical discipline and/or expertise to make such a misguided statement?
"

If you haven`t realised this before I`m afraid I can`t help you mister, too bad.
One of the rasons why I know is because I`m bright enough to understand what really counts in this picture. The clue is: keep it clean, heavy and simple

Thanks for that wondeful insight Mr P. I just got back from AutoZone where I purchased two pair of jumper cables. Based on your empirical data and profound wisdom: They should really perform great, and add a macho touch to the system as well. Now- How to get these clamps onto those 5 way........

Well, if you intend to terminate two five-way speakers only by using a pair of jumpers you might think of redoing your math:P
The dynamic loss in passive speaker-cables/filter are dramatically underrated. About 98.37% off the loss could be avoided simply by redesigning filters and generally uppgrading the area of all parts involved in the circuit.
How many sets of cables do You need to set up the five-ways? 3-4 sets? A waist of money if you ask me, but you`re local salesman my disagree. Save up for another amp and put the amps right up to the speakers, then mybe you can use the jumpers too;)

I was kidding(about everything)! The Skin Effect(time/phase anomolies) generated by using cable that large(without it being constructed of "Litz" type wire) would be unbearable. Then of course: It would need to be braided to avoid inner and outer proximity effects being generated within the cable. OH- I forgot: In your universe the laws of magnetism, electrical currents and electron flow have been suspended. (ROTF/LMAO) VIVA LA Kimber 8TC(bottom)/Wireworld Eclipse 5(top-both short as possible)