David
New Member
Posts: 2 
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Post by David on Mar 2, 2016 15:33:22 GMT
Dear all,
Hello, apologies for this being a rather generic question but I think this forum is likely to be at least partly populated with folk who may have had similar issues.
I have a small jazz vinyl collection of my own and have inherited a much bigger collection from my father in law. And am now trying to build a system that will do them justice. My wonderful other half has a bit of an issue with the potential 'clutter' of speaker cables. So - I am trying to get advice on 2 things (forgive me if these are stupid questions).
I have a hardwood floor and currently the bottom of the skirting is hidden. Measuring along both walls, it looks like I will need an asymmetrical 8m and 4m set of speaker cables.
The questions: i) are there any sound implications from that asymmetry and ii) what do I need to check/watch out for when trying to find ways of hiding the cables?
Thoughts? |
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Post by gregorythefish on Mar 2, 2016 20:41:31 GMT
quick response from me: the asymmetry shouldn't be an issue. it only affects how long the signal travels from the source to the speaker, and we are talking differences of nanoseconds. so you shouldn't notice a difference, theoretically. i'd be astounded if you did. even electrical engineers consider enormous lengths of kilometers or more to have effectively instantaneous signal transmission. i work with a few, including a few audiophiles.
as we often say, though: it matters what you hear or what you THINK you hear. if you DO notice a difference, buy an extra cable to match the length of the other one, use it in place of the shorter one, and bundle it with a rubber band or hair tie in the middle and stash it somewhere. (this is also a good thing to do so that if you move things around you have lots of space for the cables to lengthen if need be! (plus, taught cables are a recipe for tripping, or knocking of hardware!)
hiding cables is mostly about creativity. things to mindful of: can pets get to them? is it a nook or cranny that gets much hotter or colder than the rest of the wire? this would degrade them and in extreme cases be audible right away. does it place strain on the connections to any equipment? risk of water or liquid? will they be smashed or pinched? any sharp turns which might crack the insulation over time? dryness? but in your average home, especially with hardwood floors, you'll probably be fine. i am fairly skilled at hiding my cables because i hate visual clutter, so i'd be happy to help further if i can.
not an audiophile, though. fair warning. ha.
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David
New Member
Posts: 2
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Post by David on Mar 3, 2016 8:19:41 GMT
Many thanks for the response and advice, very much appreciated. As you can tell I know nothing and it's nice when people aren't sniffy - so many thanks.
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Post by gregorythefish on Mar 3, 2016 18:27:57 GMT
yeah, this is a good place. stick around!
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Post by alunsevern on Mar 10, 2016 19:21:55 GMT
When I replaced my speakers a couple of years torso back for the very first time in my life I went out shopping for cables. Yes, cables! Fortunately I only needed two short matching lengths and I bought -- I think -- Chord cables (or are they strictly speaking "interconnects"? God knows). Anyway, they seemed a step up from anything I had used in the past. But in the course of doing this I read more boring stuff about cables than I ever thought I would and I'm pretty sure I remember reading suggestions that as far as possible symmetrical lengths are best -- but I think this only really matters with very long lengths. I think GTF's idea of buying matching lengths and simply bundling the longer one out of sight is sensible.
Enjoy your new record collection.
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