fgklipsch Posted July 3, 2001 Share Posted July 3, 2001 I was told that I have to use speaker cables of the SAME LENGTH for all the 5 speakers. I was wondering can we really hear the difference if the wires are less then 100 ft long? Two 50 ft Carol Brand Command Studio Grade 12g speaker cables are wired to my rears. For front and center I am thinking of using Monster Z1 or Z2 Biwire. To cut the cost, I wonder if I can use 15ft for one front, 5 for the other, and 10 for the center. Will this cause any synchronization problem between the speakers? Thanks for any help. Receiver: Yamaha RX-V1000 Front: Klipsch RF-3 Center: Klipsch RC-3 Rear: Klipsch RS-3 Sub: Klipsch KSW-15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seb Posted July 3, 2001 Share Posted July 3, 2001 differences? to an instrument, maybe. to your ears? i doubt it. unless you've got a REALLY good ear, i'd say there's no way you'd hear the difference. remember, don't try to cut costs too much... better tohave a little too much wire that cost you a couple bucks more than just too little, which would force you to buy another complete length for much more... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Garrison Posted July 3, 2001 Share Posted July 3, 2001 Unless you have a wire stretcher. No toolbox should be without a wire stretcher. ------------------ Music is art Audio is engineering Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulharrisx46 Posted July 3, 2001 Share Posted July 3, 2001 I agree with above. You are probably splitting hairs on making all runs the exact same length. For myself, I matched the length for my mains, another matched length for my surrounds, and just ran a 4ft run to my center channel. As far as the under 100ft rule, I have heard both side of the story. I always keep my runs matched and to a minimum on length. Paul ------------------ System: RF-3 Mains RC-3 Center SB-1 Surrounds KSW-12 Sub 795A Yamaha A/V Pioneer CD/DVD DV-C503 35" Sony Trinitron Monster Interconnets Monster Speaker Cable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prana-Bindu Posted July 4, 2001 Share Posted July 4, 2001 Ray: Are you being facetious? Geeezz! A wire stretcher.... Sounds like something out of Spaceballs. ------------------ May the bridges we burn light our way.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J M O N Posted July 4, 2001 Share Posted July 4, 2001 Remember that the speaker wire adds to the "resistance/impedance" of your speaker. The longer the wire, the higher the resistance. I personally wouldn't have all 5 lengths the same, but I always make all matching L&R (i.e., L & R front or L & R surround) wires the exact same length. I prefer to match the resistance/impedance load on the amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted July 4, 2001 Share Posted July 4, 2001 Well,here's something you all can savor.Couple weeks ago I ran surround speakers for the mom-in-laws HT set up.One surround speaker wire about 35 feet long.The other about 51 feet.The rat shack SPL meter showed 2 decibles difference with pink noise.Noticeable. Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boa12 Posted July 4, 2001 Share Posted July 4, 2001 yea i got the same thing w/ the same length speaker wires to each keith musta been the room characteristics or something else Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted July 4, 2001 Share Posted July 4, 2001 Don't know.The room is a perfect rectangle,16X20.Both speakers are mounted approximately 24" from corner,on side walls.Both same height,67".Test was done in sweet spot 8' from each speaker.I saw nothing that would have an effect on the one speaker,other than wire length. Another mystery! Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boa12 Posted July 4, 2001 Share Posted July 4, 2001 hummm...well good thing we gots those level controls. anyway, i always thought it might be a problem over 50ft w/ 16ga but not 12ga unless it's maybe over 100ft. who knows. i'm movin on to tryin to figure out how a sub high pass filter interacts w/ the low pass on the speaker out terminals. though i don't even use mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Garrison Posted July 5, 2001 Share Posted July 5, 2001 Prana-Bindu, Sorry, old joke. Came from old auto sound installation days. After spending 18 hours tortuously routing wires through interior of, say, 1976 Capri II back to the EPI LS70s installed in the rear deck, you'd find you'd cut the length 5 inches shorter that you ought've. Standard vocal outburst at that point: "Oh, for God's sake... *$(#$&*%&^... Hey Fred, can I borrow that wire stretcher?" Ray ------------------ Music is art Audio is engineering Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted July 6, 2001 Share Posted July 6, 2001 Due to the way my system is set up, one run of wire is SIX FEET longet than the other. I think that this is a MUCH better option than having a bunch of wire coiled up in the corner behind the speaker. I use Wireworld wire that retails for a bunch of money, but I acquired it as part of a "trade." My wife owns a cigar store and the owner of the audio store down the road a piece loves cigars and so a bargain was struck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKlipsch Posted July 6, 2001 Share Posted July 6, 2001 Ideally the speaker cable should be the same length, especially with longer runs. I have one 30' run and a 8' run to my K-horns. I run them tru the floor and into the basement, so the extra is coiled there. Same for the Belle.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eq_shadimar Posted July 21, 2001 Share Posted July 21, 2001 I had the same question. The HK manual for the AVR 510 that I purchased stated that all lenghts should be the same. I have a 43' run to the surround and didn't really want to coil that much wire for the center and mains. I am afraid of noise being induced and creating hum. Looks like there is no good answer. The 510 uses the EzSet feature and it boosted the rears 4db over the rest of the system with unequal length runs. I guess if the amp can balance the difference it won't matter. ------------------ HT - RF-3's RC-3 RS-3's (white) Advent Powered Sub Harman Kardon AVR 510 PC - ProMedia 4.1 Bedroom - KG4's Harman kardon AVR 20 MKII Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted July 22, 2001 Share Posted July 22, 2001 If the question is "delay" because of a long cable, I wouldn't worry. Two rules of thumb. Sound at sea level travels at 1000 feet per second. Light in a vacuum travels at 1000 feet per microsecond. That being 1 / 1,000,000 of a second. Cables have a "velocity factor" which is the factor by which the electrical signal is slower. I think one approximation we can make is that the cable has a velocity factor of 0.1. So it is travelling at 1/10th the speed of light. We just can't hear the delay. Loses are another matter. 2 dB (mentioned) is a more than I'd expect. Still, it is something that can be adjusted at the HT amp. Keith, what gauge wire is that? Do I understand that an extra 16 feet of wire caused a 2 dB loss. That is odd. But going back to the original question. If you are getting a loss in the run to the surrounds, so be it. I'd say it makes little sense to cause the same problem with the mains by duplicating the long run to them. I can't see that having the same problem (even if a small one) all around is "better" than just having it in the surrounds. Of course, this is just a opinion and some experimentation might well show I'm wrong. Gil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted July 22, 2001 Share Posted July 22, 2001 Gil, I was using that cheap Home Depot 14ga with the plasticy cover that splits along the length when you strip it.Don't know what caused the difference in the SPL,unless it was simply the speaker.I'm not finished with the fine tuning,however.The Definitive ProCinema system sounds superb,nevertheless. Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boa12 Posted July 29, 2001 Share Posted July 29, 2001 ran across this again on the net. kinda funny but makes one think. http://www.vxm.com/21R.64.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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