Speaker switchers (also, hiding cable; cabling advice) for multiple amps & speakers

[nobo]

Hi,

I’m hoping to wire up a new system, which requires a slightly convoluted arrangement(!) and lots of speaker cable / switchers. I’m hoping for some tips and advice on suitable cabling and switchers.

In the studio room, I have a computer, recording equipment and Cambridge Audio 640Cv2 (no decent interconnect yet) into a mixing desk (Spirit Folio SX). The mixing desk acts as a source selector/pre-amp and feeds 2 x Flying Mole DAD 100 HT-Pro digital monoblock amplifiers.
The plan is then to run to a speaker switcher box (probably B-Tech BT913, but possibly the either the QED SS40 or the cheaper B-Tech BT13). Again, I need a decent interconnect for this (possibly up to 2.5 meters).
The speaker switcher box feeds:
- PMC TB2 - in the same room; biwireable, short run (c. 1-2 meters); 8 ohms
- Dynaudio BM5 studio monitors - in the same room; not biwireable, short run (c. 1-2 meters); 4 ohms
- Rega Kyte – (8 ohms???) in the room next door (c. 12 metre run; quality less crucial) via an active subwoofer (Definitive Technology Pro Sub 60 – using the speaker level inputs)

The PMCs and BM5s are used as studio monitors and for general listening, so precision, accurate, etc is important. The room is acoustically treated with bass traps, acoustic foam, rockwool panels, etc.

The Kytes have fantastic treble extension and sound very airy, but with a tendency towards harshness (at least with the A400, which is a bright amp; I’ve not yet heard them with the Moles, though these are quite a valve-y sounding amps with a warm, well extended low end). They are used in the second room, which is an open plan kitchen / reception (no acoustic treatment).

My questions are:

Speaker switchers:
Ideally I would also like to run a separate amp (Pioneer A400) into the Rega’s in the second room. This would require a kind of inverse speaker splitter box – taking two sets of speaker cable into a switcher (series) with one set of outputs. (This would then output into the Pro Sub 60 and then into the Rega Kytes.) I’ve not come across a box designed for this.
1. Wired in reverse, would something like the QED SS20/21/22 or the B-Tech BT911 or BT12 be suitable?
2. Any recommendations / experience re: B-Tech BT913, BT13 and QED SS40?
3. How would the amp/speakers react if the PMCs (8 ohms) and/or Rega Kytes were accidentally switched (via one of the boxes in qu 2) on at the same time as the BM5s (4 ohms)? I’d not want to do this, but this is possible as the units in qu 2 allow parallel switching.

Speaker cable:
I’m not looking to spend a lot of money (if possible). Budget is around £80-140 total, though if it’s highly recommended I might be able to spend a little more. I already have some Linn K400 (biwireable) cable or some Cable Talk 4 (or 4.1?) long enough for either the PMCs or the BM5s. I suspect the Cable Talk would not be up to the job and should be ditched or used to run from the Pioneer to the second inverse switcher box (qu 1). I also have some fairly decent white, flat cable (I forget what it is but could look it up) I bought about 10 years ago (c. £8 per m) that I could probably use from the sub to the Rega Kytes; if I cut it, I might also do from the second inverse switcher box (qu 1) to the sub.
4. In short – any recommendations for the various speaker cables? (In more detail, see 5-8).
5. Would the PMC and/or Dynaudios benefit from better cable than the K400 (run is c. 1-2 metres; PMCs will be bi-wired)? What would you recommend?
6. The run from the Flying Mole amps to the switcher box (in qu 2) will feed all other cable runs – presumably this is the most important place to have a high quality, transparent cable (as it affects 3 sets of speakers). The run will be short (c. 1-2 metres, possibly less). What would you recommend?
7. For the long run (c. 12m) from the speaker switcher in (qu 1) to the Rega Kytes, what would you recommend? The Kytes can be quite trebly, so presumably a warm but inexpensive (as quality is less crucial – general hifi, not for studio monitoring) cable would be good here. I was thinking QED Silver Anniversary XT (c. £5 / m), though it’s not exactly the warmest cable. Perhaps the long length of the run would help to round things out a bit! The Supra Ply 3.4 (£7.50 /m) would probably be better, but that’s getting expensive for such a long run. This needs to be quite a discret / easy to hide cable - ideally something thin and white. Any recommendations?
8. Presumably a fairly warm cable would be sensible from the A400 to the Rega splitter box (qu 1). Again, any recommendation? Supra Ply 3.4 might be justifiable as it’s a fairly short run.

Interconnects:
I realize that the limiting factor here is that everything is going via a mixing desk, which is probably not wired with the highest quality internal cabling. Also, the mixing desks outputs are on TS (1/4 jack) sockets, so I’d need to run RCA to mono 1/4” adapter plugs (which tend to be of rather nasty quality – unless you’ve any tips for a good quality brand/supplier). Given this, how vital / how much is it worth spending on interconnects here? Again, I'm not looking to spend too much - sensible recommendations (given the system and the circumstances - tru a mixer, etc) most welcome:
9. The most important one is from the output of the desk to the Flying Mole amps (this might be up to 2.5m). Recommendations?
10. The other runs from CD player (640C v2) to mixer. Recommendations?
11. Finally, the 24bit output of my digital audio workstation rack unit is on balanced TRS (1/4” cable). I’ve been running this via standard balanced TRS cable (from studiospares) into my mixer. Given that this is for critical listening, any recommendations on an upgrade? I note that most studios don’t get too worried about their cables in their setups… !

Hiding speaker cable
Any tips appreciated! Critical ones are running around a skirting board, and up a wall (next to a chiney breast, which has been sealed off) up to behind shelves (the Regas are on bookshelfs on top of some Auralex MoPads).

Many thanks for any tips / general thoughts / advice, and apologies for the long (and hopefully not too confusing) post.

Cheers,
Dan