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  3. 166430-59

Need recommendations for 20' speaker cable

When I first moved in my place years ago, my speakers fired down the long wall in a rectangular room. The speakers were 5 ft out from the front wall and the rear wall was 12 ft behind my listening seat. My amplifier was between the speakers so the standard 10 ft run of cable was sufficient.

Currently the system is turned 90° and as shown in my Virtual System pics, the speakers fire down the short wall with my listening seat directly at the rear wall.

Out of curiosity, I purchased a 100 ft spool of generic speaker cable and moved my speakers to their old location. I knew this would happen but I immediately got more depth, more separation of instruments. More localization of musicians, etc.

I don't want to move my rack so if I keep it this way I'm going to need 20 ft of speaker cables. The fact that I now use monitors and the terminals are 2 ft off of the floor only worsens the situation regarding length.

So, long story long, I'm looking for recommendations on 20 ft speaker cables preferably under $1,000 new or used.

Thanks.
devilboy
speakermaster
738 posts
 
Find a way to setup a system with no more than ten feet of wire per channel because that is about as long as you would ever want because of the increased resistance and capacitance over long runs and you will be much more happy with the sound also keep your interconnects under 1 meter for the same reasons.
jacahn
28 posts
 
https://www.transparentcable.com/collections/custom-diy-speaker-cables/products/the-wall-premium

or

https://www.transparentcable.com/collections/custom-diy-speaker-cables/products/high-performance-10-...
devilboy OP
1,172 posts
 
@speakermaster In a blind listening test, do you think you could tell the difference between a 10’ speaker cable and a 20’ speaker cable?

I’m not disagreeing with you. Physics are physics. I understand that resistance and capacitance change as the length of cable changes. So please don’t take that the wrong way. At the end of the day, the proof is in the pudding. Can anyone tell the difference in a blind test, between a 10-ft speaker cable and a 20-ft speaker cable?

Like I said physics are physics so I believe the numbers may change but how much of an audible difference would it make, is my point.

devilboy OP
1,172 posts
 
So another issue has arisen...

My zip cord is 16 gauge and 20' long. 
When I put my hands on the sides of my class A amplifier, I THINK the heat sinks feel warmer than before.
Before I could hold my hands on the sides of my amplifier for 10, 15, 20 seconds without having to remove them. Yes it was  hot, but it was tolerable.
Now, after 5 seconds I think it's a bit warmer and I don't remember it being this hot. I could be wrong. I could just be getting inside my own head but I'm wondering if the added length and the thinner gauge of the zip cord could be a factor in my PERCEIVED increased temperature.

ghdprentice
6,340 posts
 
I have to agree not to worry about arbitrarily short runs. I have always worried about them but never actually heard a difference.
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One thing that my trusted audio guy (30+ years) recommended was doing the long run between preamp and amp instead of speakers and amp. Then if I got dual mono amps use really short < less than a meter cables. He said this gets you some real advantage in frequency timing (?) or something like that. I did not go with monoblocks, so didn’t pursue understanding the advantage. If I upgrade to monoblocks I’ll revisit it. I trust him... he has implemented probably a hundred high end systems. These kind of advantages are not likely to be heard in systems < $50K, which always has to be one of the considerations. What level of performance are you at, and going to be, and when?
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