Center wire - short length

masterpp
masterpp Posts: 9
edited February 2005 in Basic Hookup/Wiring Questions
Is it okay to have short length like a foot or 2 for the center speaker? the center speaker is right next to the receiver on top of TV. The main front speakers wires are 6 ft each.
Post edited by masterpp on
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,200
    edited February 2005
    Yes it's fine but I perfer the front 3 to be of equal length. I'm all anal about this sort of thing.
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • unc2701
    unc2701 Posts: 3,587
    edited February 2005
    On the one hand shorter is always better; the speaker wire has some electrical properties that will impact your sound and the less wire, the less impact for it to have.

    However, if all your wires are the same length, brand and type, then any impact that the wire has on the sound will happen equally to all the speakers.

    So, if you have a center that is particularly well matched to your fronts, I would make the wire the same length as the wire to the fronts. NEVER coil the spare wire, especially if it's close to a TV. If you have a more Mix-n-match type system, then it's of greater benefit to have a short wire.
    Gallo Ref 3.1 : Bryston 4b SST : Musical fidelity CD Pre : VPI HW-19
    Gallo Ref AV, Frankengallo Ref 3, LC60i : Bryston 9b SST : Meridian 565
    Jordan JX92s : MF X-T100 : Xray v8
    Backburner:Krell KAV-300i
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Willow
    Willow Posts: 11,041
    edited February 2005
    Unless you are losing sleep over it don't worry. If the sound in the cables travels at almost the speed of light doesn't matter what distance if it's almost speed of light that faster than you will ever be able to detect. But if you have the sweats and can't sleep and feel as though there is no exit and you want to end it all then by all means change the damn thing.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • unc2701
    unc2701 Posts: 3,587
    edited February 2005
    I agree wholeheartedly on the speed-of-light logic, but you're forgetting the resistance, capacitance and inductance of the wire. These can change measureably in fairly short lengths of wire and color the sound. The biggest culprit being the inductance which is why I say not to coil the wire... but the others are a consideration, too.

    Of course, any stereo is going to probably have bigger worries than the lengths of the speaker cables :)
    Gallo Ref 3.1 : Bryston 4b SST : Musical fidelity CD Pre : VPI HW-19
    Gallo Ref AV, Frankengallo Ref 3, LC60i : Bryston 9b SST : Meridian 565
    Jordan JX92s : MF X-T100 : Xray v8
    Backburner:Krell KAV-300i
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited February 2005
    Blah Blah Blah....it doesn't matter....use the short length.
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • TroyD
    TroyD Posts: 13,077
    edited February 2005
    A couple of feet either way isn't going to make any difference. Anyone who tells you that they can hear the difference of a couple of feet is FOS.

    BDT
    I plan for the future. - F1Nut
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Willow
    Willow Posts: 11,041
    edited February 2005
    Originally posted by unc2701
    I agree wholeheartedly on the speed-of-light logic, but you're forgetting the resistance, capacitance and inductance of the wire. These can change measureably in fairly short lengths of wire and color the sound. The biggest culprit being the inductance which is why I say not to coil the wire... but the others are a consideration, too.

    Of course, any stereo is going to probably have bigger worries than the lengths of the speaker cables :)

    Anyone who will owrryabout a couple feet affecting resistance,cap/ induc......seems to suffer from OCD.
    You may want to shorten the lenght of your power cords while you're at it.

    I can understand if you are running a 2ft and a 30ft, but a couple of ft come on!!
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • unc2701
    unc2701 Posts: 3,587
    edited February 2005
    wow everyone jump on that at once...

    Let me clarify: with straight- wire, 2 feet vs 10 feet no you won't hear any audible difference unless your cable really, really sucks. Put a coil in the wire, say two 6 inch radius loops and you've got an inductor, which will turn your speaker wire into a first order low pass crossover and depending on the guage and speaker resistance it'll be somewhere between 1500-10000hz... Which you WILL hear.

    Just trying to be thorough.
    Gallo Ref 3.1 : Bryston 4b SST : Musical fidelity CD Pre : VPI HW-19
    Gallo Ref AV, Frankengallo Ref 3, LC60i : Bryston 9b SST : Meridian 565
    Jordan JX92s : MF X-T100 : Xray v8
    Backburner:Krell KAV-300i
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Willow
    Willow Posts: 11,041
    edited February 2005
    this whole coiling thing is it rule as well for IC's ?
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • gatemplin
    gatemplin Posts: 1,595
    edited February 2005
    Originally posted by unc2701
    wow everyone jump on that at once...

    Let me clarify: with straight- wire, 2 feet vs 10 feet no you won't hear any audible difference unless your cable really, really sucks. Put a coil in the wire, say two 6 inch radius loops and you've got an inductor, which will turn your speaker wire into a first order low pass crossover and depending on the guage and speaker resistance it'll be somewhere between 1500-10000hz... Which you WILL hear.

    Just trying to be thorough.

    But, in an inductor, the affect of the opposition to change in current is because of the stored magnetic field in the coil. I dont think this can happen in coiled speaker wire because current is travelling in both directions at the same time. No field will be stored in the coil, so you shouldn't have any inductive reactance.
    Graham
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • unc2701
    unc2701 Posts: 3,587
    edited February 2005
    Willow- You'll see them sticking up off of circuit boards sometimes, if that's what you mean? It'd be hard to have one flat on an IC since it'd have to be layered up in a spiral...

    gatemplin- Very good point, but the geometry won't be perfect, so you'll get slightly different results in each direction, so they don't cancel. But no matter what, when you have a coil of wire, any fluctuating magnetic field is going to induce a voltage in that wire... and any voltage in the wire will induce a magnetic field. Thus your speakers might start "talking" to your TV and vice-versa.



    Gallo Ref 3.1 : Bryston 4b SST : Musical fidelity CD Pre : VPI HW-19
    Gallo Ref AV, Frankengallo Ref 3, LC60i : Bryston 9b SST : Meridian 565
    Jordan JX92s : MF X-T100 : Xray v8
    Backburner:Krell KAV-300i
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Willow
    Willow Posts: 11,041
    edited February 2005
    No I'm talking about from your cd player to your receiver what if it's too long and coiled up a bit under the stereo stand ?
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • unc2701
    unc2701 Posts: 3,587
    edited February 2005
    oh... duh. Interconnects, not Integrated Circuits. Yep, same thing applies, but depending on your IC's the mileage will vary. Balanced cables typically should be fine, but why risk it? Zig zag if needed.
    Gallo Ref 3.1 : Bryston 4b SST : Musical fidelity CD Pre : VPI HW-19
    Gallo Ref AV, Frankengallo Ref 3, LC60i : Bryston 9b SST : Meridian 565
    Jordan JX92s : MF X-T100 : Xray v8
    Backburner:Krell KAV-300i
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited February 2005
    Originally posted by unc2701
    wow everyone jump on that at once...

    Let me clarify: with straight- wire, 2 feet vs 10 feet no you won't hear any audible difference unless your cable really, really sucks. Put a coil in the wire, say two 6 inch radius loops and you've got an inductor, which will turn your speaker wire into a first order low pass crossover and depending on the guage and speaker resistance it'll be somewhere between 1500-10000hz... Which you WILL hear.

    Just trying to be thorough.

    Any day you're in the area, I'll show you how that isn't true.
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • unc2701
    unc2701 Posts: 3,587
    edited February 2005
    uhhh. yeah. Anyday you're in NC I'll let you hear how it is true...

    seriously, Doro- let's say you walk into your listening room & see that someone has coiled your speaker wires. Do you leave them like that?
    Gallo Ref 3.1 : Bryston 4b SST : Musical fidelity CD Pre : VPI HW-19
    Gallo Ref AV, Frankengallo Ref 3, LC60i : Bryston 9b SST : Meridian 565
    Jordan JX92s : MF X-T100 : Xray v8
    Backburner:Krell KAV-300i
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited February 2005
    If you think two 6" turns of a cable affect sound quality to an audible level, I'm sorry, but it's not correct.

    You are over-simplifying upon actual theories and application as it pertains to audio interconnects.

    We can go back and forth I'm sure, and get technical, but it doesn't matter. We just have to agree to disagree in the end.
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter