When wiring surround sound speakers, should all speaker wire be the same length?

Question

We are finishing our basement and the speaker wires have already been put in place for the rear speakers, but not the front speakers. I have been told the length of the speaker wires should all be the same so that the sound arrives at the speakers at the same time. Is this true? If so, i sure hope the contractors measured how much was used on the other side. Thanks for the help in advance.

Answer 1

I agree that this is a myth.

We did the math and you need a DIFFERENCE of 80 feet of speaker wire to get a 1% phase shift using good 12 ga wire.

My advice:

- Measure out the exact length you need of speaker wire you need, then add about 2 ft for play.

- Plan to cut the ends off every 2 years or so and re-strip to remove the oxidized copper.  

- IMPORTANT: a neat wire job is critical. Do not leave little strands of copper poking out. These tend to cause shorts later on. (Your receiver will turn on, then shut itself off saying "PROTECTION MODE")

If you are fumble-fingered like me, use banana plugs. The Radio Shack 278-308 Dual plugs or the 278-306 single plugs do not require soldering, make a great mechanical connection and make it easy to be neat about things.

Answer 2

That myth has been going around for years.  Please, please do not worry about it.  Whoever started that myth never studied audio engineering.

Speaker wires need to be as short as possible and of a proper guage (probably 16 guage or bigger).

Answer 3

The relative lengths of the wires to the individual speakers is inconsequential for a typical home installation. A difference of even as much as a few dozen feet won't be noticeable.

Answer 4

Only if the wires came with the surround system, but then you usually don't have a choice.

You'd be better off to get you some 14 gauge wire instead, and make the cords long enough where they'll reach and have some slack. Just run up to your nearest electronics store and get some...it's not very expensive.

Answer 5

The speed of sound in air is orders of magnitude more important for this application than the speed of electromagnetism in speaker wire. All decent surround processors and receivers have a setting in which you specify the distance from each speaker to the listening seat. This is how you ensure that properly synchronized sound arrives at your ears.

Answer 6

It doesn't matter how long the cables are in relation to each other.  For a home installation, you'll be fine.