Page 1 of 1

Speaker Cable Lengths

Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 10:44 am
by JFK
Hi Guys I have 2 x 5m lengths of Chord Rumour spk cable but want to cut the left hand side to around 2 mt , does it make any difference having cables different lengths ?

Tks
John

Re: Speaker Cable Lengths

Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 12:25 pm
by Ivor
well yes it does but nothing significant. Would it not be better to simply roll one up and secure with cable ties until it was a more suitable length?

Re: Speaker Cable Lengths

Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 1:14 pm
by DaveF
A 3m difference is next to nothing in this case. You won't notice any difference whatsoever.

Re: Speaker Cable Lengths

Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 1:53 pm
by paulb
...and i would be interested in the 3m lengh left, if you decide to do it...

Re: Speaker Cable Lengths

Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 4:20 pm
by JFK
Thanks Guys , Yes agree Ivor but was just trying to get rid some of the Spaghetti behind the rack ..

I will coil it up and see what it looks like


cc Paul , will let you know if i decide to cut it . Might use it to wire my front three M1s

Tks
John

Re: Speaker Cable Lengths

Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 4:26 pm
by Diapason
JFK wrote: I will coil it up and see what it looks like
Oh, won't somebody think of the self-inductance!

Re: Speaker Cable Lengths

Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2012 12:42 pm
by james
Naim recommend using equal lengths of speaker cable with their amps ..

They also recommend a special folding arrangement for the excess cable ... [this is from a forum member on avsforum ] ...

http://www.avsforum.com/t/686371/dynaud ... read/17250


"What I do with my extra length of Naim speaker cable is to zip-tie them in a looping switchback arrangement. That's what Naim recommends and it works very well. Takes up no more space than coiling and doesn't have the potential electrical issues."

and ..

"Think of switchbacks going up a mountain. Just loop the cable back and forth like that, using zip-ties to hold it in place. Sort of like a folded firehose..."


Image

Re: Speaker Cable Lengths

Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2012 6:45 pm
by james
More on how to fold speaker cable ..


http://forums.naimaudio.com/displayForu ... 9062263093

"...
Cable length for left and right channel should be of exactly equal length – even if one speaker is closer (as is often the case) to the power amplifier.

It is advised that you position the system away from between the speakers, either off to one side of the room or at the opposite end. As such, longer lengths of cable are ideal and will work without significant information loss.

Spare speaker cable should not be coiled – excess cable may be tidied up in a way similar to that employed in the “Jumping Jack” firework illustration below. - and -

Use cable ties or similar at either end to hold in place.

Additional: I would not recommend any particular length for the folds - you can make the folds suitable for hiding but use some sense. You are most likely to end up with one cable needing to be tidied - that to the nearest speaker - giving the distance between the speakers as the amount to be dealt with.

Avoid running the cables parallel to mains cables.
..."