40ft: speaker cable or interconnect?

I think you're better off with a 40' interconnect, which should be balanced if possible.

If you have balanced circuitry go for the long IC. If you have ordinary RCA then stick with the longer speaker cable.

I don't think it is worth replacing a bunch of equipment for the sake of 15 extra feet of speaker wire. You could try a blind test (with a friend) to prove to yourself what is very likely; the effect will be inaudible.

I agree with Ghostrider.
I am using Nordost Valhalla, 30 ft runs, and am very satisfied with the results (although not a cheap solution here ....).

While my amp is balanced (Bryston 5B-ST) I'm driving it from a Denon 3806 receiver (obviously unbalanced.) I went through a bunch of gear including Outlaw 990, Halo C2, Sherbourne 7/2100A and Gemstone to arrive where I am now. I wanted a good sounding setup while the whole HDMI thing gets settled. Therfore, using balanced would required some new gear (pre/pro and amp for the other channels.)

I've compared the cost between Frank's Analog 2 interconnect and the Basic speaker cable. "Frankly" (couldn't resist) its a wash....the cost is about the same. I'm sure you could spend more in either application if you wanted to.

Thanks for the input so far!!! :-)

The Blue Jeans Cable LC-1 is what I chose because of the same situation. Plain vanilla, but I wanted a shielded cable due to running it very near other interconnects, AC lines and outlets. The cost for 40 foot pair is $110 plus shipping. I placed the amps right next to the speakers and used short speaker cables. It worked for me. If it doesn't suit you, you can return them in 30 days for a full refund. Have fun experimenting!

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/audio/index.htm