[feds27]

If due to the location of my speakers I'm forced to have a short run (~10') from my amp/receiver to one channel (left), but, a long run (~50') around the perimeter of my room to the other channel (right). I'm currently using the same gauge for both speakers.


-How does this impact sound and load on my amp/receiver?


-Gauge is based on speaker distance. Can different gauges be used for different speakers based on distance?


-Having one speaker physically further from the amp/receiver, will this load one channel of the amp more than the other?


-How do Home Theater surround settings affect the amp loads? They adjust +/- db per speaker placement. Is it insignificant?

 

[mcnarus]

The load your amp must drive is a combination of wire plus speaker. Fifty feet of 12 AWG has less than a tenth of an ohm of resistance. So if you've got 10' on one side and 50' on the other, the overall resistances (assuming a 4-ohm speaker) are about 4.02 and 4.09 ohms, respectively.


Also remember that your amp is often facing different impedances in each channel, because the channels are producing different frequencies, and speaker impedance varies with frequency. (And it varies a lot more than 0.1 ohm!)


Bottom line is that this is nothing to worry about.

 

[feds27]

Thank you for your response. I had a feeling the difference was insignificant. =)