Which combo is the best ?

[hybridauth_Google_117364081398234604241]

Hi ,

I have a new problem with my next hi-fi system :

I don't know what would be better :

-My speakers far from my amp , my amp , near my dac , near my pc : That is a short USB cable , short RCA cable but long speaker cables which are of different length : one 4m and one 7m

-My speakers near my amp , which is far away from my dac which is near my pc : that makes short speaker cables of the same length , long rca cable (6m) and short USB .

(edit) -Another choice would be a 5m USB and a short rca and short speaker cable

So i really don't know which cable loses the less if it's long : the RCA cable ? The Speaker cable ? Would there be even a small lag between 2 speakers cables that aren't the same length ?

Thanks a lot !

 

[matt49]

Long speaker cables are better than long RCA interconnects.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

Equal lengths of speaker cable,regardless of the distance between amp and speakers.timing will be out otherwise.

 

[Andrewjvt]

Under 2m

 

[davedotco]

Equal lengths of speaker cable,regardless of the distance between amp and speakers.timing will be out otherwise.

You would need a much bigger imbalance than that described for there to be any percievable difference, maybe 100m vs 4m. And it will not be 'timing' that suffers, just level, which may possibly be frequency related.

I have documented my own 'obsession' with speaker cables of equal length, but have proved to my own satisfaction that it is all in the mind. this was with a 3m and 7m pair.

 

[friendly_ghost]

Equal lengths of speaker cable,regardless of the distance between amp and speakers.timing will be out otherwise.

You would need a much bigger imbalance than that described for there to be any percievable difference, maybe 100m vs 4m. And it will not be 'timing' that suffers, just level, which may possibly be frequency related.

I have documented my own 'obsession' with speaker cables of equal length, but have proved to my own satisfaction that it is all in the mind. this was with a 3m and 7m pair.

Exactly! Electrons travel at around 5 cm (or 2 inches) an hour through an electrical cable given typical voltages and amps, so I would also doubt a timing issue would arise *biggrin*

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

Ok.thats good to know,next time I'm buying spkr cable then,it'll be a length of 1.5m and 4m for my setup.saving 2.5 mtrs,saving me around £50,nice, I doubt my not so local dealer would recommend it though or the boys at Salisbury.eh?

 

[davedotco]

Ok.thats good to know,next time I'm buying spkr cable then,it'll be a length of 1.5m and 4m for my setup.saving 2.5 mtrs,saving me around £50,nice, I doubt my not so local dealer would recommend it though or the boys at Salisbury.eh?

Being a Naim dealer was part of my misspent youth, I was brought up on the 2 x 5m Naim mantra.

I have documented how, when listening to a system with mismatched cable lengths, the soundstage always skews off to one side, providing I know about the missmatch.

If I don't know then the soundstage is fine, even if it turns out that the cables are of unequal length.

It is the knowing that makes the difference.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

Yeah,ok,but from very early on in my hi-fi interest,i have always assumed we should use equal lengths of speaker cable,am I wrong,does everyone here on the site use mismatched lengths of cables?,does rca cables come in mismatched lengths? I think not.And I very much doubt any of you would promote using speaker cables in this configuration to anyone seeking help or information on this forum.ok,my answer was maybe wrong about timing but I don't believe it was misguided.anyways,enough I'm off to drink some beer.

 

[Vladimir]

Good thing Naim owners are drinkers. *biggrin*

 

[davedotco]

Good thing Naim owners are drinkers. *biggrin*

The thing about hi-fi 'obsessions' is that once aquired they are very difficult to shake. Despite being totally unable to hear any difference when tested blind, I still can not listen to a system where I know the speaker cables are different lengths, so no way would I criticise someone for insisting on equal lengths.

Similarly I avoid wireless connection for critical music signals, my brain 'knows' that I wired system is best, so I always prefer wired....*unknw*

 

[Vladimir]

I've spent many hours listening to bi-wired speakers despite my logic refuting this practice. But it helped me sleep at night.

Anyway.

Isn't cable more important in a Naim system than elsewhere since it needs a certain added capacitance to keep the amp balanced (no zobel)? Something like that. But some said even with standard low capacitance cables the amps were stable. What was that all about?

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

The older naim amps had no extra inductance networks in the output and so prefered to use the speaker cables with the correct inductance and capacitance with nac a4(aka linn k20) and laterly nac a5,being the recommended cables to use,this rule of thumb is now all but gone with there newer amps,but definitely copper cable and no silver.My xs sounded awful with my left over qed silver anniversary from my arcams ,didn't think a cable could make such a difference,but with the xs it was very noticeable once I used some mogami and naca4.oh and equal lengths obviously.lol

 

[davedotco]

I've spent many hours listening to bi-wired speakers despite my logic refuting this practice. But it helped me sleep at night.

Anyway.

Isn't cable more important in a Naim system than elsewhere since it needs a certain added capacitance to keep the amp balanced (no zobel)? Something like that. But some said even with standard low capacitance cables the amps were stable. What was that all about?

Naim bullsh!t in the main.

 

[chebby]

Isn't cable more important in a Naim system than elsewhere since it needs a certain added capacitance to keep the amp balanced (no zobel)? Something like that.

Yes. They still recommend a minimum of 3.5 metres per channel of Naim NACA5 speaker cable (£30 per metre) ...

"Loudspeaker cables are vitally important. They should each be at least 3.5 metres long and of equal length. The recommended maximum is normally 20 metres although longer cables may be viable with some Naim amplifiers.

Some Naim amplifiers are designed only to work with Naim loudspeaker cable and using alternatives may degrade the performance or even damage the amplifier. Other Naim amplifiers can be used with any high quality loudspeaker cable although we recommend that Naim loudspeaker cable is used. Naim loudspeaker cable is directional and should be oriented so that the printed arrow points towards the speakers. The Naim loudspeaker connectors supplied are designed to comply with European safety legislation and must be used."

(From the latest Naim Manual for integrated amplifiers.)

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

They really do want to sell that nac a5 don't they(I ain't buying into it).bunch of bulls##t.there newer amps will work fine with other cables,and they don't need to be stupid lengths either.

 

[Vladimir]

They probably barely cover the manufacturing costs with £30 per meter, but customers are important.

 

[davedotco]

They really do want to sell that nac a5 don't they(I ain't buying into it).bunch of bulls##t.there newer amps will work fine with other cables,and they don't need to be stupid lengths either.

Some of their very early amps, late 70s, early 80s lacked stability and could blow up if used with heavily inductive cable such as the braided cable marketed by Monster and Monitor Audio (among others). Spaced twin conductor such as those marketed by Linn, Naim, Exposure etc is mildly capacitive which most amplifiers take in their stride.

The rest is largely bullsh!t.

Much the same as the explanation as to why the Nac A5 is so stiff and why the Armageddon turntable power supply does not have an illuminated power indicator.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

I think i said similar on earlier post.