bi wire or not to bi wire

I have been reading about this as an audiophile who would have been skeptical initially. I recently sold my ATC SCM40's and stepped down to the Bowers & Wilkins CM5 due to the design of my living room. I never bothered trying this with the ATC as it was tri-wireable and that is just silly based on the rest of my kit. After reading a document from B&W on the subject, I connected the CM5 to my Yamaha A-S2000 with my old Audioquest Type-4 and my more recent GO-4 and I was amazed at the difference it made. The vocal centering was razor sharp and the soundstage was somewhat expanded. All of this time I had assumed that the bookcase behind one of my speakers was throwing the image off. I have actually ordered another run of GO-4. I know that $1300 worth of cable on a $1500 speaker is strange but there might be 802's or 805's in my future.

My experience

As highlighted in these threads, the benefits can be varied and are your kit-specific.

I had quality bi-wires from two different name manufacturers: both worked "okay". (2 to 4 configuration)

Then I upgraded to NORDOST FREYs in a single run shotgunned configuration -- (4 cable runs configured 2 to 2) with matched shotgunned jumper ( 4 cable runs configured 2 to 2).

RESULT: Whoa .... that new configuration SMOKED the prior bi-wires with a significant improvement in ALL phases , top end, bottom end, clarity, soundstage et al.

THE POINT: this a trial and error journey with no guarantees; and this can only be acheived by rolling up your sleeves and actually doing your own listening tests in YOUR rig.

FYI re comments directly fom a couple of heavyweights in upper range cables in the industry: CHORD and NORDOST

CHORD (from their website)

Bye Bye Bi-wire?

We have taken the decision to discontinue our range of dedicated bi-wire cables. The reason being, that in the vast majority of cases we believe that the best, and more importantly the most musical performance is obtained by using the best quality single wire speaker cable that falls within your budget, rather than a bi-wire cable of the same cost.

As an example: - instead of using a set of bi-wire Rumour 4, try the heavier gauge conductors of Odyssey 2, which will bring definition, detail and dynamics and most important of all, a greater sense of musical coherence - all of which will lead to a more involving and immersive musical experience.

We believe that the majority of hi-fi systems will perform at their most coherent best when single wired. There are of course exceptions to the rule and we are very happy to build bi-wire sets of speaker cable using two sets of single wire cable. The typical termination for these would be both sets of cables connected to one pair of banana plugs at the amplifier end and two pairs of banana plugs at the speaker end. These sets can be produced to order for those systems where bi-wiring is definitely the better option. Email us for more info.
http://www.chord.co.uk/products.php?pg=242

NORDOST (from their website)

Many modern speakers offer a split bi- or tri-wirable crossover configuration, fed by multiple sets of terminals on the rear panel. Properly executed, there is no doubt that a bi- or tri-wirable crossover can indeed enhance speaker performance, but this requires groundup
design and far too many companies simply split a conventional crossover after the fact, in an attempt to meet the demands of fashion over sound quality
http://www.nordost.com/default/downloads/NorseJumperinstructions.pdf

The Dos and Don’ts of Bi-Wiring (in that same NORDOST article)

It’s easy enough to establish whether your speakers will benefit from bi or tri-wiring, or not – just suck it and see. Any competent dealer should be equipped to demonstrate the difference, but there are a number of things to take into account:
• Always use the same cable to feed each leg of the crossover.
• Only use the best cable that you can; one run of cable will invariably
sound better than two runs at half the price.
• Many speakers sound better bi-wired simply because the supplied links are sonically inadequate. The metal plates or wire jumpers might not seem like they have a big effect, but they do. So whilst a speaker might sound better bi-wired than with its own jumpers in place, it’s a fair bet that the same cables wired in a shotgun configuration (or
all wired to the bass terminals) and used in conjunction with purpose built links, like the Norse Jumpers, will offer better performance still.
• Just because your speaker offers multiple input cabling doesn’t mean that bi- or tri-wiring will necessarily produce better results.

Optimal Bi-Wiring

Even if your speakers do sound better bi-wired, often the best route to optimum performance will involve a period of single-wired operation (that’ll be while you are saving up for a second run of really good speaker cable).

So, how should you set about cabling your speakers?
• Use a single run of the best cable you can afford.
• Use a set of matching bi-wire jumpers constructed using the same cable or cable technology as your main speaker wires.
• Apply normal housekeeping procedures to your jumpers as well as your main cables. That means running them in, cleaning the connectors, treating them with ECO3 and fi nally making sure that spade connections are securely clamped down with the correct socket wrench. Also, make sure that you check phase integrity (red to red, black to black) and directionality when installing.

Are the cables you are comparing identical?

Most of the improvements and benefits I've experienced has been with what Tmsorosk said. Single wire with good quality jumpers. The jumpers I've used have ranged from Blue Jeans 10 White speaker wire to Black Cat Morpheus jumpers.

To Tbromgard. Are the bi-wire cables you used with the Usher's a thinner gauge than the non bi-wire cables you used? Maybe the thinner sized wire on the lows is the problem?

From checking the archives previously there have been some members who have used thicker gauge speaker wire on the bass and thinner wire on the highs. I've also read people using different kind of cables entirely. E.g. Thicker OCC copper cables for the lows and Silver type speaker wire for the highs.

Good luck with the trouble shooting.

Bi-wired in most cases shows some improvement but a single wire with a good jumper can also be of equal benefit. But there are so many variables ( type of wire , speakers , amp etc ) that you really must listen for yourself and decide .

Kr4 thanks for your input.

Try one set of bi wires on one speaker and a set of single wires on the other in mono stereo and use the balance switch to hear if there is enough difference or any. Kr4, if this is a waste of YOUR space please move on if you have nothing to contribute. People that are interested have a right to learn.

Another bi-wire thread? Sigh. What a waste of space.

It's very speaker dependent. Some speakers show little or no improvement with bi-wiring. I've read Vandersteen's respond to bi-wiring.
With my Polk LSi9's the improvement is huge. The speakers open up greatly with a larger, more detailed midrange. The transition from bass to midrange is enhanced. Lateral soundstaging and front to back depth are better rendered. This speaker goes from good mid-fi to a real high-end stand mount monitor.
Try it!