Biwiring 101

The basics of bi-wiring: 2 wires sound better than 1...why? There are a bunch of theories but the best one that I have heard is that the drivers are acting as transducers in both directions...they turn electrical signals into sound and sound into electrical signals. The woofer can pick up the sound reflected off the walls, the inside of the cabinet, the other speaker etc and generate a small voltage that seeks its easiest path to ground. That path is through the xover into the midrange and/or tweeter. (To demonstrate this you place both speakers facing each other and disconnect one from the amp. Hook a voltmeter to the terminals of the one that you disconnected. Play music thru the other one and watch the voltmeter) The signal is small enough that you don't know its there until you biwire and then when its gone the mids and highs sound clearer and the bass is tighter. Biwiring requires that the generated signal from the woofer (or tweeter) travel back to the amp where the damping factor of the amp absorbs (overwhelms) it. It requires that your speakers have biwire terminals on them (1 set of term's for the bass drivers and 1 set for the high/midrange) and the cables can be identical or different for each set of terminals. If you buy a biwire cable it will have one set of spades (bananas, or whatever) on the amp end and 2 sets on the speaker end. If your amp has two sets of output terminals then you can use 2 pairs of speaker cables. There is more that one method of biwiring...but that is discussed in 102.

EEyiks,I always thought it was so the woofer could"see" the cable on its own;and not have to share.

For informed discussion of bi-wiring and its advantages go to Vandersteen speaker site under FAQ section, use this link http://www.vandersteen.com/pages/FAQ.htm

"Running separate wires from the amplifier can have a profound impact on relieving the tweeter circuit from the back flush of EMF (elector-motive force) generated by the woofer. " Recommended reading, check http://www.soundstage.com/synergize/synergize.htm

Assuming the science behind the empirical findings is correct, the Vandesteen FAQ info on bi-wiring makes terrific sense. The other topics on the page are also good reading, not just hype. Thanks, Megasam.