does the length of an inter connect matter

[admin_exported]

how much differance does the length of an inter connect make to the sound, im adding a dac and the inter connect will need to be 5 meters as my pc is on the other side of the room.

 

[bernasmeister]

It does matter. More on the analogue signal rather than digital. If you are connecting your PC to a DAC it will be via digital interconnect. Could be USB, optical or digital coaxial (depending on your computer outputs).

Optical is the best connection for longer distances (plus you remove possible electrical interferences), then USB and then digital coax. You should be fine and not notice any difference between these media at least up to 10m or so.

 

[Anonymous]

Try the TCI optical interconnect, very reasonable cost and won the awards as well.

 

[Anonymous]

i have all ready ordered the usb lead, its a 0.5meter kimber ag, the dac is the music streamer 2 featured in w/h magazine, it only has a usb option, its now just the interconnect needed, ive never used one above 1meter, im new to playing flac ect and i want it to sound as good as my cd player as im a bit of an audio snob (aint we all lol)

thanks for all and any help with this

 

[Anonymous]

I use a 3 metre Chord Chrimson , and id be very suprised if it sounded any different to the 1 metre Chord Chrimson!!!!!..

 

[SHAXOS]

The longer the better. Or so im told...

 

[lazar1980]

SHAXOS:The longer the better. Or so im told...

+1

 

[SHAXOS]

On a serious note i would be very suprised if it made a difference especially when dealing with wires under 10-20 meters. Having said that some audiophiles have hearing from the realms of fantasy so it would not suprise me if some supported the contrary...

 

[bernasmeister]

Personally, I would get a long USB cable and short analogue interconnects to the amp. But that's my opinion.

 

[bernasmeister]

...at least would be cheaper...

 

[chebby]

bernasmeister:Personally, I would get a long USB cable and short analogue interconnects to the amp. But that's my opinion.

Yes it is far better to site the DAC near the hifi and use a short interconnect with a long USB (recommended USB standard limit is 5 metres) or a long optical cable.

Get a well known brand of USB (like Belkin) but there is no need for fancy 'audiophile' digital connections so long as they are USB approved. (Even a £1000 DAC like the Benchmark DAC1 USB only uses the USB 1.1 protocol, so it is hardly very 'demanding' in terms of the amount of data going down the line. Even a £30 Belkin USB 2.0 cable is probably overkill.)

I use 0.5 metres of Chord Crimson for the analogue connection and a 5 metre USB lead.

 

[proffski]

It matters, as the cable length increases so does the capacitance, this acts like a 1st order filer so gradually losses at HF will build up. The cable also has characteristic impedance which is a combination of other factors. The impedance of a coax cable is the square root of (the per unit length inductance divide by the per unit length capacitance. If the terminating connector on the equipment as well as the cable are the same impedance as the cable then all is well, but losses at higher frequencies will still be apparent and length dependant. Impedance mismatches can cause some interesting effects, arguably at only the higher frequencies. It is a shame that manufacturers seldom quote impedance of their input and output sockets, and only a few connector manufacturers do so as well.

 

[ESP2009]

I am using two 5m USB cables (one of which is a booster - essential for this length of run) from laptop to DAC (my laptop is not optical/coax capable) and good quality 1m interconnects from DAC to amp. The sound is pretty darned good.

It is a cost effective solution. The USB cables are nothing exceptional (maybe £20 for the two - can't recall).

 

[Anonymous]

Does the length of an interconnect matter? Only if it's too short.

Seriously, in the good old days of serial and parallel cables for printers, it was reckoned that serial whould be used if the run was over 3 metres. QED I would agree that running a long USB to the DAC and short analogues to the hifi would be the best bet, and, of course, means only running one cable around the skirting boards.

 

[Babur72]

Hi guys,

A slight variation on the theme alluded to in the original post.

As my hi-fi rack will be over 4.8m(16ft) from the position of the 'speakers,i was advised to consider having longer runs of analogue interconnects between the C2300 pre-amp. & mono./stereo power-amp/s.And place the power-amp/s. beside the 'speakers using shorter lengths of speaker-cable.

Apparently because,after amplifying the signal,the potential losses in speaker-cabling are significantly greater for a given length than through analogue interconnects before the amplification stage.I always thought that there wasn't a great deal of difference in the components/construction between analogue interconnects & speaker-cable.

Anybody else come across this theory? It would be interesting to know of any evidence or research carried out to support the claims of a potential sonic benefit in having longer runs of analogue interconnect & speaker-cable of less than the standard 3m/8ft...Even though speaker-cable of 2m or shorter wouldn't necessarily cost any less.

Regards.

BABUR.