Long Runs of Unbalanced Interconnects

Walnut Horns

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May 11, 2015
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Are long runs (> 17ft) of unbalanced interconnects detrimental to sound quality and noise suppression?
 

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
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I think very long runs (> 50 feet) of unbalanced interconnects are not favored.

I personally would have no problem with a 17 foot single-ended interconnect run. If the length of my interconnect run were 17 feet rather than about 55 feet I personally would not use balanced interconnect.
 
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Kingrex

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Feb 3, 2019
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I will let you know in a couple weeks. My tape deck is moving and will have 42 foot single ended interconnects.
 
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Lagonda

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Feb 3, 2014
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I run 33 foot unbalanced to main amps without problems.
 

Alrainbow

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Dec 11, 2013
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My experience is beyond 6 feet simple 2 cond se is at its max. Beyond this you loose sound and and pick up nose why is simple. now if you use let’s say a Mogami bal cable fitted to se you can of the the Shield is used correctly yes it’s good.
 

tima

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Mar 3, 2014
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Yes the shield can act like an antenna but isn't it somewhat a function of the context, the EMI/RFI environment?

I do agree with Al that something like a Mogami Neglex 2534(?) fitted single-ended is good wrt noise. Whether you care for the sonics is up to you.

I run 7 meters RCA and have a matching length of the exact same cable XLR. I don't hear a difference or a problem.
 

kodomo

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Apr 26, 2017
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I think before going out and talking about sound quality etc. the first thing that should be checked is if the cable is able to send the signal between 20hz to 20khz without loss. This would be the minimum requirement.

This depends on the output impedance of the source you are connecting the cable into, the capacitance and the length of your cable. If you know all three, you can actually calculate the -3db point. I think this often overlooked part should actually be the first thing to check and should be a minimum requirement. There are even online calculators to help you do the maths. for ex. http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-cable.htm

If anyone specifies a length and says it is ok or not, that would actually just tell you their personal experience and has no application whatsoever to anyone if the setup is not exactly the same.
 

MRubey

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Mar 20, 2022
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I like reviving old things.
Especially when they are endlessly relevant.

I just moved my lrg 60”w x 24”d x 36”t rack from between and behind the speakers where it seemed to destroy the integrity of the stereo illusion to the back wall. The amp stayed up front on the floor. This required a 10.5M single ended interconnect pre to amp. I’ve worried if it would work.

Budget restrained I called Jeff at Bluejeans Cable and he fixed me up with 10.5M of their Belden sourced house ics. Capacitance 36.6pf/M. Delivery from Seattle to Texas was in like 3 days. Bravo Jeff!

The calculator in the site linked above let me know that with my preamp (output 50ohm) 10.5M run of cable with 36.6pf/M. The treble cutoff frequency is 8282Khz. 8 million 282 thousand hz. 3db treble rolloff occurs at a cable length of 4348M.

It looks like again, 99% of all worry is for naught.
btw the input impedance on my FW SIT3 is 200K ohms.
Also, I’ve been in contact with Jeffery Jackson about a future project which would involve this long single ended run. He told me he won a best sound of show award using a similar length ic between their passive autoformer pre and one of their SETs.
No worries.

My drivers are out getting the Nenuphar V2 update. They will be back soon and I’ll get to see how this goes.
 

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