How to Choose Loudspeaker Cables and Interconnects

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by Robert Harley
Oct 10, 2024

Loudspeaker cables and interconnects are an important but sometimes overlooked link in the music-playback chain. The right choice of cables and interconnects can bring out the best performance from your system. Conversely, poor cables, or those not suited to your system, will never let that system achieve its full musical potential.

It’s important to understand that a cable or interconnect can’t actually effect an absolute improvement in the sound; the good ones merely do less harm. The cable or interconnect should be as sonically transparent as possible, introducing no audible signature of its own. But because no cable perfectly moves an audio signal between two points without adding some coloration, we should select cables and interconnects with colorations that counteract the rest of the system’s colorations. Start with a high-quality, well-chosen system, and then select cables and interconnects that allow that system to achieve its highest musical performance.

For example, if your system is a little on the bright and analytical side, mellow-sounding interconnects and cables can take the edge off the treble and let you enjoy the music more. If the bass is overpowering and fat, lean- and tight-sounding interconnects and cables can firm up and lean out the bass. A system lacking palpability and presence in the midrange can benefit from a forward-sounding cable.

Selecting cables and interconnects for their musical compatibility should be viewed as the final touch to your system. A furniture maker who has been using saws, planes, and rasps will finish his work with steel wool or very fine sandpaper. Treat cables and interconnects the same way—as the last tweak to nudge your system in the right direction, not as a Band-Aid for poorly chosen components.

Cables and interconnects won’t correct fundamental musical or electrical incompatibilities. For example, if you have a high-output-impedance power amplifier driving current-hungry loudspeakers, the bass will probably be soft and the dynamics constricted. Speaker cables won’t fix this. You might be able to ameliorate the soft bass with the right cable, but it’s far better to fix the problem at the source—a better amplifier/loudspeaker match.

A typical hi-fi system will need one pair of loudspeaker cables (two pairs for bi-wiring, or connecting the speaker to the amplifier with two pairs of cables rather than one), one pair of long interconnects between the preamplifier and power amplifier, and several pairs of short interconnects for connections between source components (such as a turntable or DAC) and the preamplifier.

Once you’ve got a feel for how your system is—or will be—configured, make a list of the interconnects and cables you’ll need, and their lengths. Keep all lengths as short as possible, but allow some flexibility for moving loudspeakers, putting your preamp in a different space in the rack, or other possible changes. Although we want to keep the cables and interconnects short for the best sound, there’s nothing worse than having interconnects 6″ too short. After you’ve found the minimum length, add half a meter for flexibility.

Interconnects are often made in standard lengths of 1, 1.5, and 2 meters. These are long enough for source-to-preamp connections, but too short for many preamp-to-power-amp runs. These long runs are usually custom-made to a specific length. Similarly, speaker cables are typically supplied in 8* or 10* pairs, but custom lengths are readily available. It’s better to have the cable manufacturer terminate the cables (attach spade lugs or banana plugs to loudspeaker cables, and RCA or XLR plugs on interconnects) rather than to try to do it yourself. In high-quality cables the cable is fastened to the terminations through a welding process for greater electrical conductivity as well as increased reliability.

If your equipment has balanced XLR jacks in addition to unbalanced RCA connections, it’s usually best to choose balanced interconnects. (There are cases where the unbalanced connection will sound better but explaining why is beyond the scope of this short excerpt.) You’ll also need to choose the speaker cable terminations. The most common speaker cable terminations are spade lug and banana plug. Spades are the most versatile and popular, but some amplifiers (particularly those from European manufacturers) require banana plugs and won’t accept spades. A few manufacturers offer cables with removable terminations, allowing you to swap spades for banana plugs, for example, if the need arises.

Concentrate your cable budget on the cables that matter most. The priority should be given to the sources you listen to most often. For example, you may not care as much about the sound of your DAC as you do your turntable. Consequently, you should spend more on interconnects between the turntable and preamplifier than between the DAC and preamp. And because all your sources are connected to the power amplifier through the interconnect between the preamplifier and power amplifier, this link must be given a high priority. But any component—even a mobile device’s analog output—will benefit from good interconnects.

Tags: INTERCONNECTS CABLES GUIDE

By Robert Harley

My older brother Stephen introduced me to music when I was about 12 years old. Stephen was a prodigious musical talent (he went on to get a degree in Composition) who generously shared his records and passion for music with his little brother.