Cable length?

[Kirk]

Greetings once again... Before I order three speaker cables from Signal Cable, I wanted to know if there are any problems or concerns associated with the length of the speaker cables. I might be forced to move my rack about 15' away from the tower speakers (RTi12's), the CSi5 center and TV so as to open up the sound stage for a better sound. I have a Marantz 8500 receiver and 3 Outlaw monoblocks for the front speakers. I'm kind of looking forward to hearing this set up, and the only thing holding me back are the speaker cables.. Oh, and a quick question about the placement of the FXi5 speakers on the back wall.. I figured on about 3 feet above the listeners head. My couch is against the back wall and I can't move it forward. Here's the question. Is the distance measurement above your head to the bottom of the speaker, or to the horizontal centerline where the speakers are? I also have no clue how far away from the walls to place them for the best sound... The wall is 10' wide (open on one side) and I was wondering the placement of the centerline of the speaker.. Any help would be great...Thanks, KIRK

[Skynut]

My speaker cables are all 15' long and I coil up the excess behind each speaker. So far this has not been a problem.
As for speaker placement I recomend you play with that a little.
Run wire to the speakers and place them on ladders or stacked boxes or whatever to get them close to where you think you want them and see how they sound.
Watch a few trailers or a movie.

[opus]

Originally posted by Skynut
My speaker cables are all 15' long and I coil up the excess behind each speaker.

Is this not bad?

[Skynut]

I hope this is not bad.
I keep the excess rolled and tied up away from anything else.
I kinda figure it is best to have all cables the same length and I plan to center my system on the wall someday and use most of the L/R cables in a straight run. The center will still be rolled up.

[Dennis Gardner]

The length of speaker cables won't matter in your system. If a hum or noise is finding its way into your setup, check the wire runs for interference by power cables, etc. Coiling wire, bunching it with power cables, etc. can all create some unwanted noise at times. You may notice it more in speaker wire since it isn't shielded like your other interconnects are.

Just FYI

[Skynut]

I try to keep them all seperated but what a nightmare in a HT.
That is what I am doing tonight, (actually I am taking a break right now) I am re wireing everything and adding my new outlaw ICBM.
Wish me luck, I'm going back in there.
What a mess.

[janmike]

Good luck. It probably will be a long night, but worth it in the end.

[wingnut4772]

According to the audiophile gurus, coiling is bad but I know several people who do so without problems. I try to avoid it though because I am just mental like that.

[BobMcG]

1) Coiling is bad. (And yes, left and right channel cables should be the same length. Catch 22? Or need to re-think system setup strategy?)

2) For general HT and HS use on general systems, probably doesn't matter.

3) Getting serious about 2-ch listening? Don't get into the habit.

4) People into high end 2-ch critical listening. Wouldn't even consider doing it.

[wingnut4772]

I would have to say unless you are talking about some major diferences in speaker cable length ( like 50 ft or so) that you would not notice any difference in sound due to speaker cable length. A few feet or so will be fine. I have a 6 foot length or my LF and 10 for my RF and they sound great.

[amulford]

I like to keep the lengths the same. If you have excess, don't coil it. this can create problems. Run it in lengths around 2 ft long.