Jump to content

Speaker wire length


Darqman

Recommended Posts

 

Thanks babadono, I guess the question was more related to whether it makes a difference if the length is different between the various channels.  

Again it makes no difference within reason. I've also heard so called golden ear people say not to coil up excess wire. At audio frequencies this also is rubbish. Cuz electrons don't like to go in circles, c'mon

 

 

Not exactly correct in my experience. If you are running a low power Set Amp of say 3 Watts/Channel or less equal length speaker wire works best. The wire s/b as short as possible but equal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you find that the wire isn't going to work out for you, then monoprice sells excellent copper 12AWG in 300' rolls here: http://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=102&cp_id=10239&cs_id=1023901&p_id=2790&seq=1&format=2. I have purchased this, and can say it is top quality.

Thx Mustang .Im sure i will find here in europe a good wire too i just needed much more infos and u give it to me.... 12awg is enough big for my 200Watts Rms Onkyo tx-rz 900

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14AWG would even be fine. On a 50' run, you would only lose .27 db. To put that into perspective, you can only make 1db at a time adjustments in your AVR. http://www.bcae1.com/images/swfs/speakerwireselectorassistant.swf. I use 14AWG on 100'+ runs at 100 watts. There are some peeps who say you need car battery wire, but I don't believe it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Wolfbane, would you mind elaborating what your experience was with unequal length speaker wire while using a low power SET amp? Thanks

 

An audible difference in volume when running a low power 2 watt tube amp between the left and right channels from a central listening position. In my experience this was absolutely noticeable at low listening levels. I could hear no audible difference when the amp was cranked up though.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Wolfbane, would you mind elaborating what your experience was with unequal length speaker wire while using a low power SET amp? Thanks

 

An audible difference in volume when running a low power 2 watt tube amp between the left and right channels from a central listening position. In my experience this was absolutely noticeable at low listening levels. I could hear no audible difference when the amp was cranked up though.

 

 

Therefore, the speed of electricity in a 12-gauge copper wire is 299,792,458 meters per second x 0.951 or 285,102,627 meters per second. This is about 280,000,000 meters per second which is not very much different from the speed of electromagnetic waves (light) in vacuum.

 

My friend you have some sensitive ear. :)   Most likely there is something else going on in the room.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Wolfbane, would you mind elaborating what your experience was with unequal length speaker wire while using a low power SET amp? Thanks

 

An audible difference in volume when running a low power 2 watt tube amp between the left and right channels from a central listening position. In my experience this was absolutely noticeable at low listening levels. I could hear no audible difference when the amp was cranked up though.

 

It would be interesting along the lines of voltage, resistance, and current, to see what is different between your two channels. Something like a test tone fed into both channels of your preamp and measured at the speaker's input terminals with an oscilloscope. If you can hear it, you should be able to measure it, and thus be able to figure out why the amplitude portion of the signal differs between channels.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

Wolfbane, would you mind elaborating what your experience was with unequal length speaker wire while using a low power SET amp? Thanks

 

An audible difference in volume when running a low power 2 watt tube amp between the left and right channels from a central listening position. In my experience this was absolutely noticeable at low listening levels. I could hear no audible difference when the amp was cranked up though.

 

 

Therefore, the speed of electricity in a 12-gauge copper wire is 299,792,458 meters per second x 0.951 or 285,102,627 meters per second. This is about 280,000,000 meters per second which is not very much different from the speed of electromagnetic waves (light) in vacuum.

 

My friend you have some sensitive ear. :)   Most likely there is something else going on in the room.

 

 

I don't believe the issue wrt audible volume is time differential, more likely its resistance related. The tin eared wife could hear it as well as my sharp-eared child (no. 2 of 2). I did not try measureing it with a sound pressure meter when I first noticed it but can reconnect a longer SW to one speaker and do so when I return home as I have a SP meter now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a relative question to this topic.. Hope you don't mind me asking mine as well here?

All of my front channels have speaker wires of 6-7ft max and the side surrounds, have about a 38 ft run, rear atmos ceiling about 42 ft, and 50 ft run on my rear surrounds.  I would've thought my receiver would do a better job at balancing the sound levels of my system but during a movie the front sound stage is soo overwhelming I can hardly hear the sound effects at all in the rear channels and in the side surrounds.

Do you think the speaker length of wires has something  to do with this or is it just how the Yamaha receivers program naturually sets up the sound stage?

Just wondering.. Really new to all of this stuff.

List of all my equipment in in my signature..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It has nothing to do with it. The rears typically blend so well, you cannot tell they are blasting. They are bi-pole speakers meant to saturate the background. The mains are directional... You get the idea.

 

From a wire standpoint, look at it this way:

 

200 watts, 5 feet, 14AWG, 8 Ohm, has only 0.03 db loss due to resistance

200 watts, 200 feet, 14AWG, 8 Ohm, has only 1.03 db loss due to resistance

 

Your AVR is more than capable of +1db on those rears. Comparing 5' of 14AWG to 200' of the same makes 1db of difference. You can't even hear 1db of difference.

 

With your wire and the 6' compared to 50', you are looking at a 0.15db difference. 

 

From a wire distance standpoint look at post #29 above.

Edited by mustang guy
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...