Long Cables-Speaker vs Interconnect

[audiofox]

I am in the process of laying out my HT, and I am faced with an interesting design decision. I have approximately 50 feet of cable distance between my main electronics cabinet and the front left/right/center speaker location, and I am assessing two options:

option 1: run large (10-12 ga) speaker cable to the speakers, locate power amps in main cabinet, short interconnect cables between pre/pro and power amp

option 2: run line level interconnects from main cabinet (preouts on pre/pro) to power amp located adjacent to main speakers, short speaker cable lengths to speakers.

I have two amp options for the mains: a 3 channel Adcom 5503 with unbalanced connectors, and a Rotel RB-1080 2 channel/Outlaw 2200 monoblock with balanced and unbalanced connectors.

I currently have two pre/pro options: a Denon 3806 and an Outlaw 970, both which have unbalanced preouts only. I plan to use one in the HT, the other in an adjacent a/v room. I do not currently have a way to run a balanced line level interconnect between the pre/pro and the remote power amp.
50 feet seems to be right on the edge of acceptability for an unbalanced line level interconnect, but I wanted to ask if anyone here had any experience running unbalanced cables of this length-the signal will be pre-amplified from the receiver, so it is not as small a signal level as that for a microphone or other similar small signal device. The speaker cable run, OTOH, would probably only suffer from a voltage drop that would reduce the max power capability at the speaker terminals. The HT room is 3000 cf, and I am using relatively inefficient Dynaudio speakers for the mains (homebuilt Xennon 3 ways and a TBD 3 way center channel based on Dynaudio drivers).

I have considered swapping the Outlaw 970 for a 990, but I want to make sure I need a balanced interface before I do that.

Comments?

 

[agarwalro]

Go with option 1. 10 -12 gauge wire will be perfect.

Option 2 might result in degradation of signal quality and signal strength. Consequently, reducing fedility and creating the need for line level amplification. It will become a mess.

 

[j_garcia]

It is definitely easier and cheaper to go with a longer run of speaker wire.

 

[Swerd]

I agree, go with option 1.

10 or 12 gauge speaker wire is inexpensive compared to 50-foot long RCA interconnects. Your amps are powerful enough to make up for whatever loss may occur over 50 feet of speaker wire.

 

[audiofox]

Thanks all-I intuitively leaned toward the speaker cable option, partly due to the obvious cost savings but also because of avoiding the possibility of noise pickup with the unbalanced cables. If I go that route, I can also use my existing Adcom 565 preamp for my analog sources-it is a good match for my TT setup (VPI HW19 Mk 4, SME V tonearm, Grado Platinum cartridge), and it has been a reliable workhorse for me for the last 10 years. I kinda wanted to find an excuse to buy a new preamp with balanced connectors (the Rotel RC-1090 looks very nice for the price if I can find one), but I need to phase my upgrades over time so as to not offend my "finance manager" too much. I plan to take the low cost path for the speaker cables (probably Radio Shack 10 or 12 gauge or similar), even though I risk diminshed clarity and slow bass response by ignoring skin depth effects and not using unidirectional crystal-aligned conductors and platinum banana plug connectors. Sorry, I couldn't resist!!

 

[mtrycrafts]

I plan to take the low cost path for the speaker cables (probably Radio Shack 10 or 12 gauge or similar), even though I risk diminshed clarity and slow bass response by ignoring skin depth effects and not using unidirectional crystal-aligned conductors and platinum banana plug connectors. Sorry, I couldn't resist!!

You may want to look at other sources. Doubt RS has 10ga. Try Home Depot or Monoprice.com. Even low voltage landscape wire will do and it tends to be inexpensive.

 

[Resident Loser]

Option #1...

...My loudspeakers are in the living room...my equipment in the spare room some distance away...50ft/ch of 10ga. jacketed PA wiring connect the two...a fairly circuitous route running on and across floor joists avoiding any path that would run parallel to electrical cables...

jimHJJ(...haven't had a problem yet...)

 

[jcPanny]

Speaker wire

If you are running the wire through walls make sure it is CL2 rated like the Belden 5000UP speaker wire (12 AWG). They have a 10 AWG and a 14 AWG / 4 conductor version available in bulk from Westlake Electronic supply for around $0.30 / foot. I think one of the AH articles recommended 14/4 vs. 10/2 because the resistance is equavalent and the 4 conductors will be more flexible. Either way, the resistance is only is about 0.05 ohms with a 50 foot run so you wont have any power loss issues.

http://www.westlake-electronic.com/cgi-bin/store.php?search=yes&detail=yes&and=1&category=CAB&SUBCAT=all&keywords=Belden%20UP&item_no=BEL-13318

Also, if you are running cable, put a few coax from your Main HT to the secondary one so you can send a digital and/or analog audio source from one to the other.

 

[audiofox]

Fortunately, I only have to run speaker connectors over these size lengths-all of my other connections, including those betweeen the zones, are less than 20 feet max, and most are of the 3-10 feet variety. The two exceptions are: (1) 50 foot, 6 conductors (3 speakers) between my power amp and my front l/r/c speakers in zone 1, routed partly through walls, and (2) 40 foot, 4 conductors (2 speakers) between the receiver and my outdoor speakers, routed through walls and with the speaker end of the cable exposed to the elements (under an overhang).