Same length cables

One of the often asked questions concerns speaker cable lengths. Should they be identical? For some reason, we rarely ask the same question about interconnects. Interconnects feel like a pair and I have never seen anyone use them otherwise. But, speaker cables? All the time I see speaker cables of differing lengths. I succumbed to this oddness at several points in my long audio journey, and each time I found myself squirming in the listening chair, uncomfortable in the knowledge one speaker was different than the other. Here's the thing. Of all the analog interconnects in your system, speaker cables have the most impact on sound quality. The interactions between speaker and amplifier are complex, forming a type of network that impacts the audio. So, while it might feel wrong to have to coil up the speaker cables for one speaker, while the other channel sits in a proper straight-line connection between amp and speaker, you're better off with two equal lengths. Where cables are concerned, symmetrical lengths rule the day.