[Housteau]

I have a basic question that I know the folks here can answer.  There are different options to running cables when setting up a bi-amped / tri-amped system when doing this passively, as one would do with an OXO RM-40, or the future V-60.  I was wondering if one way was sonically superior to the others.  I realize that some methods would be more practical and economic, but that is not my question.  Lets first assume that the preamp just has a single set of output jacks and is located 15' away from the power amps, which are closer to the speakers.  Also, would it make a difference on questions #1 and #2 if the preamp was closer to the power amps? 

1)  Is it better to split the signal at the preamp and run two (or three) interconnects to each of the power amps, or run single interconnects from the preamp and then split at the end of the run, at the power amps?

2)  Can you daisy-chain the connection?  That is run to one power amp and spit the signal at its input, then run to a second, a third etc?  Will you run into timing issues when doing something like this?  This leads to the next scenario.

Lets say we are using twin subwoofers with built in PBS requiring an interconnect to run directly to them.  The rest of the power amps for that bi / tri-amped system are located close to the preamp.  Does it make a difference that one set of amps will have very long interconnects and use very short speaker cables, while the other amps will do the opposite, having very short interconnects and very long speaker cables.  Are there timing (phase) issues involved here, or would they be so small as not to matter?

[warnerwh]

The speed of electricity which is the same as the speed of light, 186,000 miles per second is so fast my dog couldn't hear a difference. Phase issues 1000 times larger than that must be impossible to detect.

I also biamp and made my own IC's. I only make them long enough to comfortably reach the amp. One pair is at least 50% longer than the other.

I'd just split the signal at the preamp. Parts Express sells little RCA adapters with one male and two females just for this purpose. I use them too as I need three RCA outs and only have 2. These adapters are one piece machined parts so no wire is involved. Get the ones where the female is nineties degrees away from the other female or it's a tight fit.


Don't worry about audibility of phase issues that tiny. It's literally so tiny you'd need good equipment just to measure it.

[Housteau]

That makes sense for speed and phase issues, but are there ones of capacitance?  It seems that driving, say three cables in parallel to a set of amps, would be different than driving a single interconnect, then splitting it at the end of the run.  But, once again, those differences may be small.

[warnerwh]

I was going to add that I'd go with short ICs and long speaker cables. I remember someone Brian visited had a bass problem. The problem was the long IC the guy had been using.

[Hipper]

Brian himself recommends short ICs/long speaker cables.

http://www.vmpsaudio.com/faq.htm

 - about halfway down the page.