"unshielded metal jumpers” - curious, how do you shield jumpers?
If Bi-Wiring is an option, should I choose Bi-wiring over single banana with free jumpers
Hello All!
Newbie here : ) I have a pair of speakers (MartinLogan Motion 40i) that have, according to the website, "dual five-way binding post speaker terminals which allow bi-amping or bi-wiring." As you can see in the top right photo of the speaker terminals in this link, the speakers came with free jumpers (the jumpers look like just a sheet of conductive metal) between the 4 terminals.
https://www.martinlogan.com/en/product/motion-40i
So when purchasing speaker cables, placing the best quality connection over cost, should I:
1. (Cheapest) Get single banana plugs and use the included free jumpers, or
2. (More costly but will it be WAY better?) Get Bi-wire speaker cables and remove the free jumpers.
3. Get single banana plugs, and find some high quality jumpers to replace the free included jumpers.
If it doesnt matter much to sound quality, it seems option #1 is best as its cheapest. However my goal is to get the best/most efficient connection so i suspect options #2 or #3 might be the way to go?
Many thanks for any advice!
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- 51 posts total
If you go with jumpers replace those with good wired ones, e.g. Cardas or the like. If you decide to biwire, which I would do if cost not a big consideration, get separate runs coming off your one amp with one set spades and the other bananas for the amp connection at least. They could be either on the speaker end. If you're biamping just terminate with whatever you want. As far as the thoughts about bewiring (biamping being a totally different issue, and expensive) there are plenty of folks like Paul McGowen who say it definitely helps. Others use electrical theory arguments as to why it's nonsense. I did it, because I already had half of the cables, so didn't have to think about it any more. I doesn't hurt, anyway, and you can then stop thinking about it. This stuff can make you crazy. But at least replace those jumpers should you go that way. |
@westcoastaudiophile I do not know if your inquiry was directed to me. IMHO you cannot shield an unshielded chunk of copper supplied as a jumper by the extinct Apogee Acoustics as I described and by Martin Logan as @steve_a001 describes. These are best suited for the metal recycle bin. That is why I recommended buying an audiophile cable equal to or better than your speaker cable. |
One technical issue I forgot to mention. Bi-wiring effectively reduces wire gage a few units. The reason is that an effectively larger diameter has less inductance since it has a larger cross-sectional area, allowing current to flow more easily and creating a weaker magnetic field around it. When bi-wiring with a cable designed with very low inductance, reducing inductance further by bi-wiring may contribute to amplifier stability issue, potentially leading to oscillation and ringing. I actually made this mistake. Goetz Alphacore was well regarded in the Absolute Sound in the late 90s. I bi-wired my Apogees with their M1 cable, a low inductance design. It caused my Krell KSA300s to oscillate, triggering the protection circuit on turn on. Goetz graciously let me return their product with no restocking fee that time. Just assure you do not use a very low inductance cable, or ask your amp mfg. for input if you bi-wire
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- 51 posts total