Extend Existing Sub Cable or Brand New Cable? (1 Viewer)

[Rick-S]

I am moving my sub to the rear of my sofa for corner loading purposes. and I either need to add an additional 18 ft cable to my existing Monster 300 cable (18 ft to 36 ft) or buy a new one.

(1) Will I experience degradation in sound if I use a female to female connector and add an additional Monster 300 18 ft cable?

(2) Assuming I get a new one piece 36 ft cable, is there really a sound quality difference between the following:
a: Monster 300
b: Bettercables
c: RG-6 coaxial
d: Bluejeans cable

Monster and Bettercables advertise better subwoofer sound quality and tighter bass. Alot of members on this forum just use RG-6 for extended runs.
What should I do??

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[ChrisChap]

You could make a nice cable with RG-6 and good connectors for less than $20, so I would do that before using the coupler and two cables. The second Monster will cost more than making one good 36 foot cable.

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Of all the signals in your system, the subwoofer signals are the lowest of the low, and the smallest bandwidth. Almost any well-built cable will work fine. Personally, I have found that subwoofers 'like' tight-fitting RCA plugs. I suspect this is behind some people hearing a difference when switching to a botique cable - the RCA plugs are extra tight.

While you CAN use ordinary RG6 coax - it's stiff and ugly being rated for outdoor use. the custom cable places make nice cables that both look and feel great, as well as lying flat. So it's an appearance issue more than 'sound quality'. The AR brand of cables make some nice, long cables for under $50.

Dont forget: you get a LOT of subwoofer sounds reflected from your walls. (That's why you are corner-loading). Dont fool yourself into thinking that the cable is a dominate contributor to the sound quality for all this reflected sound. The quality of the sub, placement and reflection property of the walls all come before the cable.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Personally, I have found that subwoofers 'like' tight-fitting RCA plugs.

That’s a new one to me, but since you mention it, it makes perfect sense given the high-vibration application. I’m surprised no one else has picked up on this.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Well it's not a vibration issue so much as signal transfer.

Try this: disconnect all other speakers and start a A/B repeat loop with lots of bass.

Pull the subwoofer cable from the sub and just barely push it back on. Note the sound. Push the connector on about half way - the sound changes. Push the connector on all the way - yet another change.

In the early days of SVS, a customer bought one and complained here that the SVS did not perform much better than his existing Energy sub. Some back-and-forth with Tom caused them to send him a new cable, but the guy had found a different (still Radio Shack quality) cable that worked much better. The difference - tighter RCA plugs.

Monster has a reputation about it's "Turbine Grip-of-death" RCA plugs. People have actually broken connectors off their equipment with these. So why would Monster make these plugs so tight? I suspect it's because they learned it makes a difference.

But - the more expert opinions dont agree with my conclusions. This is why I am careful to call it a "personal finding/opinion".

 

[Rick-S]

Bob & Chris,

Thank you for the advice! Great analysis Bob...now I understand the proper hierarchy for sub cable and your explaination makes sense.

I have looked for AR in 36+ lengths and can't find anything so far but I will keep looking. I agree with you about the looks/feel so RG-6 will be my last choice.

This is the answer I was looking for.

thanks again

 

[Matt_Doug]

When I moved my sub to the back of my room I simply coupled my existing subwoofer cable to spare interconnects I had lying arround with Rat Shack RCA couplers. Though I love this hobby I'm a cheapskate at heart