Subwoofer cables for 5.2

[hypermodecrits]

I’m putting together a 5.2 setup with one sub front left in the room and the other rear right. They are both Polk PSW10’s but one is quite a bit farther from the receiver (Yamaha RX-V673) than the other so I’ll need a longer cable. I’m just wondering how much performance will be affected by using different brands/lengths of subwoofer cables, or are there other factors I’m oblivious to.

 

[ryanosaur]

Nothing will happen.
It will work fine.
...unless one is 1/2 a mile away.

More than anything though, as I am not familiar with your receiver, is that it is able to manage two discrete subwoofers. Some AVRs have two outputs which are effectively treated as a single channel by the AVR. You can tell if the AVR only allows you to set 1 Sub Trim and Distance/Delay setting... or if you can set them differently for each Sub.
If your AVR only allows for one setting, you are better off trying to get both subs equidistant from LP and Symmetrical in the room.
Another option would be introducing a deep dive down the rabbit hole and utilizing a MiniDSP and REW to manage each Sub from that single output.

 

[hypermodecrits]

Thanks for the response. My AVR has two subwoofer outputs, but I’ll have to check the settings to determine if it manages them together or separately. My main concern (which was brought to my attention by a local shop owner) is that I “definitely should be using identical cables” for both subs for optimal performance. I’m guessing he was probably just trying to sell me another cable.

 

[ryanosaur]

Thanks for the response. My AVR has two subwoofer outputs, but I’ll have to check the settings to determine if it manages them together or separately. My main concern (which was brought to my attention by a local shop owner) is that I “definitely should be using identical cables” for both subs for optimal performance. I’m guessing he was probably just trying to sell me another cable.

Ya... not a thing. Don't get me wrong, if it were me I'd try to match up as much as possible... but no harm will come of it. Length of cable doesn't matter, really, even if 6' and 25'. Truth be told, its just nicer to not have coils of cable wound up and tucked away. Get the right cable for the run plus a few feet for slack: that's it.
If you really want to get crazy, get a pure copper conductor as opposed to CCA (Copper Clad Aluminum) or CCS (Copper Clad Steel). They should all be very affordable. If you have to run parallel to any power cords or power strips or bunches of other cables, perhaps something shielded.
Still shouldn't cost anything more than these:

Monoprice 25ft High-quality Coaxial Audio/Video RCA CL2 Rated Cable - RG6/U 75ohm (for S/PDIF, Digital Coax, Subwoofer & Composite Video) - Monoprice.com

This Digital Coax Cable is made from premium quality RG-6/U with double copper braid shielding to prevent signal degradation caused by EMI and RFI interference. This cable is ideal for conducting S/PD

www.monoprice.com

(What I use. Good cables, affordable and they work.)

 

[Speedskater]

Just chose RCA coax cables with heavy braided shields (more so for the longer cable).