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Least Losses: Long speaker cable vs. Long Interconnect?

Hi, I have such a clutter of audio gear around the TV I am contemplating moving one of my surround amps to the back of the room. This would place it near the rear speakers and give it the ventilation it needs. My question is whether I will suffer undue signal loss by having a long interconnect run (4-5 meters) as opposed to a long speaker cable run? I've been told that longer speaker runs are more desireable because they carry a high current as opposed to the voltage-based interconnects (more susceptible to signal loss). Any help would be appreaciated, especially with brands (will spend the cash if necessary). Thanks.
argent

Showing 2 responses by j_k

j_k
234 posts
 
Heres some more food for thought -- I agree with the voltage references in 6bq5's post, BUT part of the analysis could lead one to perceive the wrong solution... Termination at line level is typically 10K-200K ohms; At the speaker, the termination is typically .5 to 20 ohms, depending on the frequency and mostly the speaker. Therefore one could conclude that the resistance of cable created in long lengths has more effect on the lower resistance termination, due to the increase in current in the network. When current is limited by resistance in cable, amplitude will also be limited. In most cases, reducing dynamics and resolution. Personal experience and theoretically speaking tells me that short cable lengths are more important for speakers rather than interconnects.
Balanced vs. SE -- your mileage will vary due to all of the items listed in the previous posts...
j_k
234 posts
 
I'm not going to argue cables, but provide my recent system line-level and speaker recabling exercise..... ALL of my MIT is in the garage waiting to be sold... However, my MIT Spectral speaker cable was as good as AQ Volcano on my system at 8x the price for the same length (for the Volcano vs. used on Audiogon). Wound up with AQ KE-4, which I feel is a bargain for the performance. I had the opposite experience between the Amp and Pre-Amp where a $450 MSRP Cable blew away my MIT Bla, bla, bla proline covered with boxes thing @ $2100 MSRP. I replaced my Kimber with the MIT that I just replaced.... Moral of the story -- You have to get what is right for your current system, your wallet and your ears. As you change components, your cable may no longer be appropriate. A lot of a cable match with a system's synergy has to do with the impediance created by the entire network from the components in the system. I have tested on the order of 15-20 interconnects and 20 speaker cable sets over the course of 6 months, and kept one combination that makes my stereo WORK. I have had people very familiar with my equipment taking close looks at the rack, accusing me of spending $$ on NOS tubes, ect.
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