Single bi-wire or double bi-wire ?


Are there any significant advantages of using double bi-wire (a pair of wires) over single bi-wire for a two way speaker ? Please comment.
lee6ac7
My feeling has always been;get the best you can afford. As I believe 2 runs of a lesser wire don't equal that of the better wire run in single or bywire. Do as much research as to what works well with your particular amp-speaker comb.Don't forget about the Cable Co.---Free demo
If you can get rid off the bi wire option.There is no benifit to bi wiring.If you biamp that is ok.If not biwire is just a means to sell more cable.I had this done to a set of speakers.The sound is better now that they are single wired.Martin from Bound for Sound is also stating the same in the magazine.
I disagree with Leafs. I tried it both ways, and I prefer 2 separate runs of cable. I Compared a non-biwire setup, using Audioquest SA-40 full range, but connected to the high freq posts, and CV4 for the jumpers going to the bass posts, and a full biwire setup using SA-40 on the highs and CV4 for the low end. There was an appreciable difference. I have, in the past, used a large cable and run an internal biwire, which is only good for getting around the stock jumpers, since the wires are so close together. The wires for the lows and highs need to be separated by a couple of inches in order to alleviate the electrical field interaction. Notice that I wasnt merely comparing the stock jumpers to a better cable- I used the same cable for the jumpers as I did for the low end in the biwire setup, and I definately got a more dimensional soundstage, with more realistic sense of space. There are great cables that are fairly small in size, I agree with avgeorge-try it before you buy.
I agree with leafs. Bi-amping makes a considerable positive difference. With lots of experimenting on bi-wires I have heard no consderable differences. Save your money on something more important
I agree with Leafs & Snook2. I think Bi-wire is a marketing ploy. Any speaker sounds better bi-wired right...actually wrong. Cable companies love it though. Single wire does definatly sound better. In particular it offers better resolution & definition, however you may sacrifice a slight amount of bass. Avoid jumpers if you can. Simply remove your woofer & re-route one set of terminals unto the other. Hook up should be simular to how your external speaker wires are connected the posts. At least that's how my Sonus Fabers were. Good Luck.
I suspect that like almost everything, the results that you achieve with bi-wiring are system and taste dependent. I tried it with Castle Acoustic Isis speakers (already had the additional shotgun run after a failed bi-amp setup, so why not). Well, I preferred the sound of running a single cable and using a jumper (made from the same Kimber Kable) to that of the shotgun configuration. The bi-wire did give me increased separation of instruments, a lighter but more detailed midrange and additional bass response as well. The overall sound however did not seem as balanced and the crossover seemed to be more apparent in the mix as opposed to using the jumper. The sound obtained when using the jumper was more to my personal liking. Both ways sounded different. Other than my personal taste and preference it could have been my longer than normal cable runs, the crossover in the speakers (pretty high at 3500hz with a 12db per octave step) or who knows. If you have the extra cable or an internal bi-wire or can get one on loan, try it - you may like it.
I also don't believe in bi-wiring. If you analyze it, you're in effect just increasing the path the signal has to travel. I think bi-wiring usually decreases the overall quality of the sound. Bi-amping on the other hand, even without an active crossover, can give excellent results. I've heard rave reviews of Aloia pre-amp, amp ( made for bi-amping) and Dunlavy speakers.