to bi-wire or not?


Looking for advice on whether to bi-wire my Joseph Audio RM22si speakers.  Am currently running Acoustic Zen Satori mono cables which I love.  My local dealer tells me moving to bi-wire cables (either Satori shotgun or Hologram II) will make a huge improvement.   I have always been under the general impression that unlike bi-amping, bi-wiring is not all that beneficial - but I may be way off base.

Thoughts?  
vinylbliss
I've revisited the topic of bi wiring now that my system has changed since I last posted my observations. What I've found is this:
Before I settled on my present system, using the bottom two posts gave the best results (with jumper cables). It is also the way JBL recommends the way to do it when using a single set of SCs.
Using the top two seemed to confuse the sound and rob it of it's naturalness.
Using the bottom terminal for the Plus cable and the top, opposing side for the Neg cable audibly improved the sound, making me wonder if going full bi wire (or using another pair of SC) would result in bigger gains.

If lazy, I would have stopped right there as the sound was more alive,  believable, and fuller sounding. Scrounging through my older cable sets I came up with some Tempo Electric 16GA solid silver SCs with bare wire ends and used those for the top terminals and my Cabledyne Ulitmates  (10GA) with locking banana plugs for the bottom two bass terminals.

What I got was the most believable sounding presentation yet. It's more relaxed and natural sounding compared to before. There was so much MIA in regards to background playing, singing, etc. that this new set up revealed. The only downside, if it is that, is a lessening of the bass in regards as to how forceful it can sound. It's there and it's detailed, complex and full of timbre and grit but it doesn't overpower like it used to. It could be that it's now properly presented compared to before. In fact, the bass I'm getting is eleciting sympathetic vibrations higher up the scale than before and at lower SPLs.That seems to indicate it's a lot more accurate.

It seems that some speakers are truly bi wirable and not done for the sake of gimmicks. I called the dealer where I got them from and they assured me that they are truly meant to be bi wired to sound their best.

Now I'm at that point where do I settle with the awkward look of the competing wires or go for a set of SCs that are purpose made and look the part. A high end dealer I conferred with just laughed and said he'd just keep it the way it is and not be in a hurry and just enjoy the music.

One more thing I noticed is that after hours of playing, my integrated runs cooler to the touch, barely getting warmer and I thought, if anything, it'd run a bit warmer because of the extra load that another set of SCs would bring to the equation.

All the best,
Nonoise







Cool experience @nonoise. If you have the opportunity, try running cables of identical topography to your speakers or even better, identical pairs of cables to your speakers. IMHO the best deal in speaker cables right now is Wireworld. I got two 8 foot pairs of Equinox 8 cables made of the purest copper currently available for a mere $1400.00. In the 3 and a half years I’ve had my speakers I have the most spacious, detailed and musical sound ever. I consider that a deal at the price. Good luck with your system. 
Enjoy the music.  
@hifiman5 , Funny you should mention trying out cables of identical design as I'm teetering on the edge of doing just that. After talking to my high end dealer friend, he reminded me that every cable out there is going to sound different, system to system, so I'm heading for some good old trial and error.

I'm in the solid core silver camp but I'm leaning towards the Audioquest Rocket 44 bi wires as a starting point. They use 4 solid, long grain copper runs per side (double barrel) and are ideal for bi wiring whereas their other types that use a single casing aren't, even it they're higher up in their line up. 

I just went through another lengthy listening session and am still somewhat floored by the amount of musical info that was being masked by the use of single run SCs and jumpers. The bass is now back to it's former, formidable self and the transition from the bass on up is so coherent now. Thanks for the input and encouragement.

All the best,
Nonoise



@nonoise  If you are looking at Audioquest cables go for the PSC+ conductors if possible.  I used to biwire with Volcanos on the mid-treble and Calderas on the bass.  The Volcanos were all PSC+, the Calderas were PSC. When switching them and putting the Calderas on the mid-treble, the music acquired an “edge” that wasn’t there before. I tried this at a friend’s with different speakers and components and we both heard the same thing. When switching back, the music returned to its previous beauty. 
The good news is that MusicDirect has PSC+ Audioquest speaker cables on sale for half the original retail cost!  If you haven’t already done so I would urge you to check their Clearance cables out. Purer conductors= purer music.
Enjoy the music!
For maximum benefits, separate cables should be used for bi-wiring, one for bass and one for midrange/tweeter. Also, the two cables should be separated 3-4 inches to minimize cable interaction. For my Vandersteen 2CEs. I used Kimber 8TC for bass and 4TC for midrange/tweeter. Heavier gauge is needed for bass because of the higher current demand of the woofer.