Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Speaker wire: lengths, temperatures, rodents, etc.

Henry, there's no good reason to be uneasy either about different wire lengths for front and back speakers or for different lengths between the two speakers at either position. The electromagnetic wave which carries the power and musical information to the speakers rides down the outside surface of the wire at around 3/4ths the speed of light, or about 700,000,000 feet per second. As you can see, a difference of 30 feet or so in wire length results in a time difference of less than a millionth of a second, and is meaningless for audio purposes. Of course, suitable gauge wire, considering the length of the run, should be selected, as suggested in the table here .

As to temperature effects, the resistance of copper increases slightly at higher temperatures, and while this effect is measurable with instruments, the difference in sound level between summer and winter is insignificant. The wire itself doesn't deteriorate because of these higher temperatures, although the PVC jacket covering it may have a slightly shorter life.