Long interconnect or short Speaker Cables

This is a topic that has garnered endless debate on the forums. If you search the forums here and elsewhere you will find those that believe in long interconnects and those that believe in long speaker cables. You choose. There is no "right" answer. I personally believe in long interconnects and short speaker cables. I am "right" because I say so! You will have to explore this issue yourself and make a decision. I have decided on the long intersonnect and very short speaker route. Why? I already have 15 foot Kimber Hero interconnects and can run shorter speaker wires for less $$$. Good luck!

consider the output impedance of the preamp. if it is above say 600 ohms, you may affect treble frequency response if interconnects are of high capacitance.

there may also be a cost factor. long length speaker cable may cost more than long length interconnects.

i personally use a 6meter interconnect and a 5 or 6 foot speaker cable.

From Blue Jeans Cables:
"Speaker cable is a bit different from a lot of the interconnect cables we handle, in several respects. Because speakers are driven at low impedance (typically 4 or 8 ohms) and high current, speaker cables are, for all practical purposes, immune from interference from EMI or RFI, so shielding isn't required. The low impedance of the circuit also tips the balance of concern from capacitance, which is important in interconnect use, to inductance, which, while a concern, can be controlled only to a limited degree. The biggest issue in speaker cables, from the point of view of sound quality, is simply conductivity; the lower the resistance of the cable, the lower the contribution of the speaker cable's resistance to the damping factor, and the flatter the frequency response will be. While one can spend thousands of dollars on exotic speaker cable, in the end analysis, it's the sheer conductivity of the cable, and (barring a really odd design, which may introduce various undesirable effects) little else that matters. The answer to keeping conductivity high is simple: the larger the wire, the lower the resistance, and the higher the conductivity"

As simple as that!!!!

There is no right answer. In all probability, there will only be a very subtle difference in either scenarie.... most likely this difference will be inaudible. So go with whatever setup is most convenient.

You might take a look at Alpha-Core Goertz MI2 speaker cables. I have been using them for about 3 years and been extremely pleased. In your setup, the A-C Goertz speaker cable has two virtues:
1. the cable has very low impedance, so longer runs are not a problem;
2. Alpha-Core states on their web site that you can use uneven lengths of their speaker cable without causing problems.

Alpha-Core offers a 30-day money-back trial if you order from their web site, so you could try them to see if you are satisfied. Here's the link to their web page for the MI series of speaker cables:
http://www.alphacore.com/mispeaker.html

As others have said, it depends on your specific system and electronics, and differences may range from subtle to clearly audible. If the pre and amp are fully balanced, this is a no-brainer, use the long IC's and short speaker cables due to the noise rejecting benefits of balanced cables. However, 3M would be my suggestion for the practical limit of a single-ended interconnect before risking noise problems (once again - system and cable dependent). Regarding speaker cable lengths, for practical distances of about 2M to 6M, some say up to about a 50% difference in length may not be a problem. One 12-foot run and one 18-foot run should not make an audible difference, and is feasible if you are using bulk cabling. However, if buying commercial cables you may want to consider equal runs to facilitate future resale. If you have significant extra length in one cable, don't coil it.

Forgot to add, a lot of people like the Goertz cables described by Sdcampbell above. They do have low inductance, which is desirable in a speaker cable. However, they also have very high capacitance compared to many other cables, and their use at your lengths could create problems for your amps unless you use the zobel networks recommended by Alpha-Core (and available from Alpha-Core).

Thanks for the input
I will try to elaborate on my needs as I am not one for dissecting Capacitance or loads I will state what the manufacturers lists in there manuals

Cary SixPac mono-blocks
50 watts RMS. 110/Watts IHF
Input sensitivity 1.2 V for 50 watt output
Input Impedance 150,000 ohms
freq Response 15 Hz to 23 KHz @ 50 watts Output

Conrad Johnson PV 15
Gain 28.5b
Max Output 5.5 Vrms
Bandpass 2Hz to More than 100kHz
Out Impedance 200 ohms

Gallo Ref 3s
34Hz-50hz
Impedance 8Ohms
88db Sensitivity

If I could get some suggestions on what would be a good IC with a 18ft+ run
Also is it OK to use different lengths ICs?
The speaker cables will be less than 3' as the mono-blocks are now sitting next to them.

I realize that there are a multitude of choices when it comes to ether the IC or speaker cables but as I am sure we have all learned it gets rather expensive using the trial and error approch.

With the above information hopefully I can make an informed decision based on your input.
Thanks again for the help

When I first started interacting with Robert Schult of Ridge Street Audio he was an advocate of long interconnects/short speaker cables. After a few years of intensive cable research/prototyping he told me he's changed his view. Dusty Vawter of Channel Islands Audio has insisted on long speaker runs.

Again, system specifics may dictate one approach over the other. At any rate, a great power amplifier will be able to drive long cable lengths and still properly control the drivers. Just go to a well designed disco. The cable runs are really long and the sound is tight. This I learned from the master club installer of the Caribbean, the late Emilio Quiñones. Classical music vinyl fan during the day, disco club man at night.

Make your system work for you.

With psychic power and primal intensity,

Mitch 2 is correct in his point that if you get Alpha-Core Goertz speaker cables, you should plan to insert a Zobel network on each speaker terminal. You can buy high quality resistors and capacitors from several online electronic parts retailers and make your own for about $25.

Tvad: Yes, I'm aware that A-C supplies Zobel circuits with their Goertz speaker cables. I still recommend building your own from quality components, as:
1. the resistor and capacitor that A-C supplies are not very good quality;
2. the value of the resistor in A-C's Zobel circuit is not optimal. I base this on several independent reviews of A-C's speaker cables. Here is the link to one review that was published on the Audioholics web site: http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/audioprinciples/interconnects/speakercable2p2.php

I've publicly recommended / been quite vocal about the use of longer speaker cables / shorter interconnects for 10+ years on various internet forums. Glad to see that some of these "expert" cable and equipment manufacturers are finally catching up : )

Having said that, you really have to look at the type of gear being used and the cabling that you have or plan to purchase. In many instances, longer interconnects may be less detrimental to the sound / performance of the system as compared to using longer speaker cabling. This takes into account the average loading characteristics of the equipment being used, the nominal impedances of most of the cabling on the market and the stability of each component being linked together.

Most of this has to do with the fact that most speaker cabling being sold & used is "crapola" due to being less than competently designed and / or improperly implimented. It is for this reason that using a shorter length lessens the detrimental side-effects / minimizes the potential for sonic degradation. If one consistently has to resort to something along this lines, they've obviously got other problems elsewhere and this is "band-aiding" the wound. Sean
>

PS... This takes into account that NONE of the cabling in the system is extremely long. Very long runs of ANY type of cabling can only be considered detrimental and should be avoided whenever possible.

Not only are the A-C Zobels free, they will integrate them into the cable for you, which is what they did on my MI-2.

They included them with my MI-2's and I didn't use them at first and had no problems. After reading of "potential" problems I intserted them just to be safe and they have absolutely no effect on the sound. With these jumpers high capacitance is a non issue.

BTW, I bought this cable after numerous recommendations and couldn't be happier. It really is a great cable.

I did read with interest the review discussing the Zobels as posted by Sdcampbell. I just have to wonder if it truly is accurate and even if it were if I can hear the difference. I'm not an engineer, but I have to think the people at A-C know what they're doing considering how good this cable sounds in my system. Perhaps Sean can chime in on the subject as he steered me towards these cables and has more of an understanding on the technical side of this than I do.

BTW - I ordered a 2m pair of A-C Triode Quartz Silver with the pure silver RCAs to try out. I needed a longer pair of ICs to reach another amp I want to put in my system so I thought these might work nicely since I really am a fan of short ICs and longer speaker runs. I'm not sure 2m qualify as a long run though, they're just longer than what I'm used to having in my system.