Length- Speaker wire/interconnect ?s

Just to set the record straight I didn't say that RF and EMI wouldn't effect audio but that shielding cables has no effect below 100K

Actually RF and EMI can and do have impact on audio components. Human hearing may be limited to 20k...but your pre-amp, power amp, and the audio sections of cd players, tape decks, etc. are not as limited as human hearing..and if RF is introduced in any part of the audio chain..components can be affected as they either expend efforts to amplify/pass along these higher freq's...or worse intermodulate them with the audio signal. So, the problem with RF is not a wire problem..it is a system wide problem that wires can add to...and while it is true that humans cannot hear RF...and other airborne noise....RF can interfere, in very negative ways, with the audio range that we can hear. All of the powerline devices, internal shielding in components, power supply filtering, wire shielding...etc. is based on this..it has never been that we can hear RF, it is simply that RF, in the audio amplification and wiring chain, can and does cause problems for the frequency range we can hear.

Thanks all, I'm getting the sense that shorter speaker wire is most desirable. But when we talk about interconnects, I guess all I really need to lengthen is the connect from my preamp to my amp. Everything else can stay close to the preamp. For now, that's seven cables - one for each channel from my lex dc-2 to my two krell amps - kav250a and kav500. Does that sound right to everyone? Then I can shorten at least my main speaker lines, although the other 5 channels - CC, LR Fronts, LR rears - need to stay as they are to reach the speakers. Thanks again all -!

This is science not magic, there are many things to consider, shielding for RF & EMI interference on cables as far as I know has only been measured as having any positive effect above 100K this is well above the audible range. I think you should be most concerned about signal loss and signal degradation, so if the Boneville power administration is going to send electricity hundreds of miles it is sent at a high voltage and then stepped down at the last point practicle. Capacitance is more of a problem at high frequencies and lower signal levels. Considering no outside influences on the wire I would recomend to use the shortest cable at the lowest signal strength point.We are not just talking about wire but a system. If you would like to learn more about the science behind wire not the "magic" I recomend Stephen Lampens book" Wire, Cable, Fiber optics" this book is written for engineers and is available through McGraw Hill.

The only other snag is decent long interconnects ususally more $$$ than decent long speaker cables. They are correct in there assumptions.

All of the above are good replies. Do keep in mind that in either case...speaker wire or interconnect..the shorter the better. Define what the total is between your source(s), your pre-amp, your power amp and your speakers,.. then come up with the total lengths and divide as you see fit...although the suggestions for the longer length being the interconnects is accurate. The thing to remember is that ALL wire...shielded or not...is an antenna for RF and all other airborne electronic noise. Would any audiophile open up any component they have and lengthen any of the internal wire?,..of course not. This is why that no matter where it is, or what type it is (digital, interconnect or speaker) the shorter the better...waveguide logic does not apply.

I forgot to say one thing: I'm also using a CD player straight into the 9' interconnects, with no problem. And another thing: shielding isn't the ONLY reason, surely, for having short speaker cables with long interconnects.

I'm not surprised by the previous two responses, as this is pretty general knowledge. All I can add is that I'm having no trouble at all with 9' interconnects--not really long but not really short either--used with a passive preamp. Do you have monoblock power amps? That's the only way to have very short speaker cables, and is worth thinking about. I made that change recently, and will never look back. It brought me a lot closer to the music.

Long interconnect is the way to go. The reason many interconnect are shielded and can block out any RF and noise where speaker cable may not.

Long interconnects with short speaker wire is DEFINITELY the way to go. NO question about it. Of course, using a passive preamp, or running a source component straight into an amp throws a monkey wrench into this whole thing, and is NOT recommended. In those cases, the long speaker wire is the way to go.