Very short speaker cable length recommended?

I once had a setup using CJ monoblocks, Wilson Witts, and 4 feet of Kimber 8TC that sounded very good. I thought shorter had to be better and I would save some money so I tried a 6 inch run of various wires including some 8TC. The resolution increased but it was bright and irritating. This was very repeatable and it was not subtle. The very short wires were horrible. I have no explanation and I agree it is puzzling, but that was my experience and the results were confirmed by several others.

There is no empirical data to support this

I tried very short cables and it was bright and irritating.
I tried longer cables of the same type and it sounded very good.
I tried various other short wires with the same effect, bright and irritating.
I put the long cable back in and it sounded fine.
I did this for several friends and they all confirmed what I heard.

How emperical do you have to get to confirm the effect? Have you tried it yourself or just assuming?

I contacted Kimber (a reputable manufacturer) about this and they confirmed that if too short their cables would not sound good.

I believe the professionals who design and build the cables not the amateur listener.

Yes, very wise. I would always go with the opinion of the industry professional. I think to settle the debate we should consult Dr. Bose and see what he has to say on the subject. BTW McDonald's food is great, they told me so. Miller beer is the best, it tastes great and it's less filling. Or did you mean you believe only the industry professinals you want to believe?

On a less sarcastic note, you will find numerous "professional" cable builders who will tell you just the opposite of what you believe; Mapleshade and Kimber and others. So who do we believe? Look hard enough and you can find a "professional" to back up any position you want.

To be completely frank, there are any number of people who post on these forums and repeat what they have read in magazines, on line reviews, advertisements, and other forums. Unless they have tried it themselves their opinion carries no weight with me. It is sad to think there are those who are deeply involved in this hobby who trust the opinions of others more than their own ears.

Audiofiel, my conclusion is that you offer nothing but your opinion, which is based soley on the the opinion of others. In other words, you parrot what you read but have never tried it yourself.

Conclusion: until you try it yourself, your unfounded, unsubstantiated opinion is just that.

Audiofeil, I'll stick with my assessment. You dismiss me as an amateur, but I also have many years of experience in multiple systems. I have friends in the industry with well regarded ears who tell me my system sounds excellent. That doesn't mean I'm right all of the time , and even though at the very top end it comes down to a matter of preference, if I say it sounds horrible you can believe me.

The only thing you bring to this discussion is that several manufacturers told you that shorter was better. I say, which is backed up by other dealers on this thread, that some manufacturers say longer is better.

The only way I have to resolve this dispute is to try it myself, which I and others who have posted here have done with very clear results.

When I tried very short speaker cables it sounded horrible.

What were your results when you tried it?

Ok Audiofeil, we can leave it at that. I don't need to contact your sources as I can put you in contact with other prominent designers that say the opposite. As I said, I do believe you when you say that some manufacturers recommend short cables.

BTW, not that it really matters but you did dismiss me as an amateur in your post above on 7-14.

I think this is one of those things that doesn't have a definitive answer. I once went to great pains to build some diffusers. They worked but no matter where I put them they made my system sound worse. I took them to a friends house and they made his system sound better. I don't think there is a correct answer to the cable length question either. I had horrible results and others have great results.