Is bi-wiring worth it

[075Congo]

Using a single run of good quality speaker cable with some Jumper leads of similar quality cable for each speaker is my preference. Doing this with my pair of KEF R3's produced very positive audible differences.

Cheers

[agelessgoodguy]

In the end as you've seen, its a matter of your ears choice, not the views of the different members here. You asked and have been given  good advice, try it out mate its not going to cost much in your case to find out.  I can say I'm in the Bi-wire Bi amp camp but then my mains are large floor standers too; but that's really got nothing to do with your question.  Enjoy and have fun learning and listening closely.

[cheekyboy]

13 hours ago, cheekyboy said:

No........nothing to be gained running another set of wires to your loudspeakers. If you were going to bi amp your loudspeakers and if done correctly, that definitely has potential for improvement.

 

10 hours ago, andyr said:

 

C'mon, Keith … are you seriously suggesting it is worth bi-amping loudspeakers when you continue to use the passive XO inside them?  (As distinct from active bi-amping.)

 

Andy

 

Hello Andy, the first point I would make is that I never mentioned passive crossover networks, although I did think of mentioning it, but thought better of that because it would probably have been misconstrued/misunderstood.  The second point I'd make is that I said [see quote above] that the bi-amping would need to be done correctly. It could be possible to get a lift in performance by bi-amping a loudspeaker and using a passive crossover network, simply by being able to match more specifically the amp/s to a driver/s, be it LF or HF, or both. The OP was only focused on adding additional wire to his loudspeakers and my mention of bi amping I thought was probably not necessary, let alone to start talking about active bi-amping.

 

As I said to the OP in an earlier post, for a relatively small additional cost, he can bi-wire his loudspeakers, it just won't make any difference to the performance. I agree that active bi-amping would be the way to go [exactly what I do with my main loudspeakers here] and if you want to open that can of worms in this thread, be my guest..............seriously!

 

Cheers,

 

Keith

Edited September 2, 2020 by cheekyboy

[Cloth Ears]

14 hours ago, andyr said:

 

AIUI, whether bi-wiring your passive spkrs makes a difference or not … depends on how the internal passive XOs have been wired up.

 

If there is a common ground between the LP section and the HP section … then it doesn't (make a difference).  If the LP filter is completely separate to the HP filter (each one just connects to its respective BPs) … then it can make a difference.

 

Andy

 

I would agree, certainly with the "can" (including bold and italics).

 

Personal experience showed improvement when I bi-wired, when I had an amp that wasn't really pulling it's weight. But I also found that simply replacing the jumpers on the speaker with a 3-inch piece of the same cable showed the same improvement.

 

When I decided to try bi-amping the same speakers (I love them - I've had them longer than Mrs CE) I certainly got an improvement. Maybe not as much as if I'd got a single amp worth more than both the ones I'm using...or maybe more.

 

Caveat - I use only copper cables (of reasonable cross-section), nothing fancy.

[Wayne Elliott]

Personally, I'd be upgrading Speakers & Amp well before before even thinking of Bi-Wiring

[GaryT]

I run a 2 to 4 Bi-Wire, but only because jumpers annoy me for completely unfathomable OCD reasons.

 

 

 

[GregWormald]

On 02/09/2020 at 5:02 PM, keitha said:

Just after opinion on those that have and those that have not. Is it worth it or not, both my amp and speakers allow for it so just asking the question

I can't answer for your specific set-up or your ears, but I certainly heard an improvement when I tri-wired my old Linn Kabers. Dr Rod Crawford (the designer) said it definitely made a difference.

[drummerboy01]

I have the Yamaha HX8 Mains HX7 Centre and HX4 surrounds and have had lengthy discussions with Yamaha some years ago and also place of purchase and was advised that if i bi wired the speakers there could be some benefit as the HX8 especially were designed that way in mind. Me personally, would not know for sure as they have always been setup that way from day 1. My speakers are THE LOAD in my system and sound unreal and that's all i can say.I say if you really want to know then take the test and find out with your own ears as that is the only true answer in this situation.

[DarylB]

I upgraded my single wire to a bi-wire cable on my floor standing speakers and noticed a better sound especially with the imaging but I also did go for a better cable as well. As a few people have already said, it comes down to your own ears. 

[emesbee]

Bi-wiring is cheap and easy to do. You may or may not notice a difference, but if you do it is likely to be quite small. If you want to try it, I say give it a go and judge for yourself. Nothing to lose in doing so.

 

[krebetman]

My (limited) experience is that there is a difference with bi-wiring, but it's not necessarily better.  When I was bi-wiring and returned to single-wiring, there was an increased sense of 'togetherness' in the music.  I also have found that wiring the jumpers like here (

) brings the best musical integration/flow.

[doogie44]

I do think cables make a difference.

 

My jury is now back, on the side of single-wiring. After many years of bi-wiring with SYMO and Analysis Plus (for high current electrostatics and such) I have found that using a 'higher-quality' single wire is preferable to a double quantity of 'lesser' wire. For example, my Auditorium 23 single run speaker cable (4m for ~$1,000) is outstanding--and an improvement (to my ears) on the previously mentioned cables. But you do need a very good quality jumper too.

 

Do fanatics who lash out on Synergistic Research or Cardas or Crystal Cable or Nordost top-of-the-line go for bi-wired for preference?? Enquiring minds wish to know.

 

For fun I went back to try out the long service types I had and couldn't tell the difference between single runs and bi-wired... oh well. But I regret nothing.

 

Just my 2c worth

[jeromelang]

go double run of cables to your speakers, but connect only from 1 pair of terminals at the cambridge amp.

either A or B, but never A+B

 

 

[MarkLSF]

Q acoustics has explained the benefit of bi-wiring, I myself using a pair of Canare 4s11 for bi-wring and am very happy with them. 

https://www.qacoustics.co.uk/blog/2016/06/08/bi-wiring-speakers-exploration-benefits/

[Bunno77]

6 minutes ago, MarkLSF said:

Q acoustics has explained the benefit of bi-wiring, I myself using a pair of Canare 4s11 for bi-wring and am very happy with them. 

https://www.qacoustics.co.uk/blog/2016/06/08/bi-wiring-speakers-exploration-benefits/

And then there are companies like Dynaudio that only have one set of speaker posts. 

[Cloth Ears]

1 hour ago, MarkLSF said:

Q acoustics has explained the benefit of bi-wiring, I myself using a pair of Canare 4s11 for bi-wring and am very happy with them. 

https://www.qacoustics.co.uk/blog/2016/06/08/bi-wiring-speakers-exploration-benefits/

Puff piece, no author and apparently no electrical background. The difference between single wire and bi-wire in the stated case is an increase in cross-section of the cable. Which can provide an improvement (albeit small).

 

But a lot of that article was just oil of snake.

[Wilco]

if you purchased Dynaudio speakers, you won't have a choice of bi-wiring, so case closed.

choose Dynaudio.

lol