Speaker cable length


Hey y'all,

I'm thinking about changing the setup of my rig so the equipment rack is off to the side and nothing is between the speakers. However, that's going to entail a much longer set of speaker cables. Is there anything about speaker cable length I should be aware of? And and am I right in assuming that I need to keep both pairs of cables equal length?
128x128simao

Showing 2 responses by b4icu

Mr.  simao

Speaker cable is all about resistance.

R = (ro x L) S
When R is the cable's resistance in ohms.
ro is the material's constant conductivity figure.
L is the length in meters.
S is the cross section in mm2.

If we talk abou your system, that for some reason, is not specified, what makes or breaks the deal is your Amp's DF.
If you own a tube amp or a HT receiver, cables won't change much.
If you own a good power Amp and pre, it might have XLR (balanced) in/out. Use a balanced cable (as long as you wish, up to 500m, and place your Amp's (monoblocks) as close to the speakers (speaker cables can then be reduced to 1/2 meter!), and place your source and pre. where you like it. That's the optimum solution, if you look for one.

If your line magnetic 518 is this:  https://www.stereophile.com/content/line-magnetic-audio-lm-518ia-integrated-amplifier-specifications
Than you should not be worried about the cablelength...just keep it with low C. The nature of Tube Amps is of low to very low DF. As so, cable's resistance is insignificant.