Power amp close to preamp or speakers?

[josko]

I have about a 40' cabling length between my preamp and speakers (B&W803)and am wondering if I'm better off locating the power amps (ML 334's) close to the preamp and running 40' speaker cables, or locating the power amps close to the speakers, and running 40' RCA-connector cables. I will likely run 8 ga speaker wire and bi-amp the speakers. The preamp-power amp cables would be RG-58's with RCA terminations.
Is one setup preferable in any way to the other, sound-wise? (Let's ignore esthetics and cost on this one. )

 

[Rickster71]

If it were me.
I'd put the pre-amp where in was convenient for me to use, and run the wires accordingly.
Then I'd go for the shorter speaker cables. (8-AWG is overkill), unless you're going for the look. That's up to you.

This is the perfect situation to use balanced XLR's, instead of RCA's, they are made for long runs. Not to mention the great grounding benefits.

 

[MUDSHARK]

Yup, close to the speakers is the way to go unless using balanced cables.