Thoughts on interconnect vs. speaker cable length.

So what is your question?

In 40 yrs of playing with this very thing,I've concluded optimum is no m0re that 2m IC and no less that 2m SC, with
best at 1.5 m and 7 feet.YMMV

Tpreaves, To help you understand.....
The OP is considering a shorter SC run and a longer IC run from Pre to Amps.
General experiences suggest that shorter ICs and longer SCs are the better sonically with all else being equal. Others more knowledgeable will chime in.

As Schubert offered, as well.

I prefer IC to be 1 - 2 meters, speaker cable 8 feet. Lots of opinions on this, just don't assume that shorter is always better.

Thanks Schubert and Iso. To bring specificity to my question, I am indeed asking opinions on IC vs SC lengths for a run between pre and amp of 3-12 feet vs a run between amp and speakers between 6 and 15 feet. I am currently in position to try 8 and 15 ft SCs with 3, 6 and 12 ft ICs. Just looking for opinions and having fun with audio.

There is no universal answer, as it depends on various technical characteristics of the particular components, as well as on the characteristics of the cables, and the preferences of the listener. Those are among the reasons that opinions and reported experiences on this question tend to diverge.

In your particular case I don't think that the answer is predictable. The 3.8 ohm minimum impedance of your speakers, as reported here, works in the direction of favoring short speaker cables. The very high 1800 ohm or so output impedance of the preamp, as reported here, works in favor of short interconnects. The fact that the interconnects are unbalanced works in favor of short interconnects. Other factors that are sensitive to the length of unbalanced interconnects, such as susceptibility to emi/rfi pickup and susceptibility of the components to ground loop effects, are essentially unpredictable.

And then, of course, there is the question of listener preference, which may or may not favor the most neutral behavior of the cables.

The bottom line: You'll have to try it for yourself, as Elizabeth said.

In trying the long interconnect approach, I would suggest choosing cables having low capacitance per unit length (e.g., 25 pf/foot or less, the lower the better), to minimize upper treble rolloff and slowed transient response that may otherwise result from the interaction between cable capacitance and the high output impedance of the preamp.

Regards,
-- Al

To use a long (20ft-25ft) interconnect I recommend a preamp with low output impedance like Quicksilver Audio's full function preamp with only 2.5 ohms or Quicksilver Audio's previous full function preamp with only 12.5 ohms.

Thanks Elizabeth and Almarg. I was aware of the high output impedance of the 3A would beg for shorter ICs. The 4M pair that I was using seemed to diminish dynamics. I must admit that this is my first forum post and the first time that I have been in position to consider and try for myself such options. I for the first time have a dedicated room for my system, so room treatment is another area I am playing with. I think I might just be having to much fun with all this. Mike

Hi, I find that 1-meter i/c and 6 ft speaker cables work best sonically,if sound is what you are after,not all audiophiles can do this,they need longer runs of whatever to make their connections!Happy listening!

Thanks again to all respondees. I also have my equipment rack (sans amp) by my listening chair and am currently running AQ King cobra between sources and pre and pre to amp (6 ft). Am currently using 15 ft Monster Z2 bi-amp cables between Amp and speakers. I intend to explore other speaker cable options. This arrangement proves so far to be superior to the 12ft AQ diamond back and 8 ft kimber kable 8tc combination I was using. IMO the improvement was due to the different ICs. Thoughts on speaker cables?

I didn't realize that cable length affects phase shift. I stumbled into an interesting article by Empirical Audio: Is it better to have short interconnects and long speaker cables or visa-versa? He measured rolloff and phase shift and came to these general conclusions:

- Regardless of the cost of interconnect and speaker cable, it is always better to make the interconnects shorter and the speaker cable longer.

- Inexpensive interconnects should be limited to 1 meter or shorter.

- More optimized interconnects can be as long as 15 meters.

- 11 AWG ZIP used as speaker cable should be limited to 12 feet or shorter.

- More optimized speaker cables can be as long as 40 meters.

@ mesch,Hi,This depends on what you want to spend?Taralabs is the best at speaker cables bar none!,At eany price point!I would buy used,you can get bargains at times,again what can you spend?

It's all about synergies...

I own the AI 3B and before that 3A and have had great success with 20 foot interconnects from the pre to the amps. I should note that the amps (VTL compact 100's) were made with pro market in mind so their sensitivity is somewhat on the high side at 775mV. I use Crimson MusicLink interconnects and speaker cables... FWIW, my speaker cables are 8ft.

Good luck and enjoy.
Tony

Thanks all. Given I have ~$3500 invested in the amp and speakers, I believe $300 would be reasonable to spend on the used market.

@ Mesch,I wish you the best of luck!,For the first time,I believe I do not have a recommendation,not for $300.00, for $800.00 and above used,yes I could help,,To tell you the truth,I would invest in some quality cables,they are not out there at that price point!,I sold a Krell 300i not long ago,I put $2,800.00 I/c and $3,600.00 speaker cables on it,talking about wow!that little amp sounded fantastic!,I sold the amp to help me fund a taralabs zero gold i/c that retails for $15,950.00 to go on my main system,yes, Its a krell 700cx,kinda like krell amps!cheers!