Bi-wiring and Bi-amping for Dummies (Well, One dummy amyways)

From the Wilson-Benesch ACT 3zero manual:

"3.1 Bi-wiring

Improvements can be heard through separating the energy from each filter in the crossover. Cables vary in construction but a good quality cable should be low in impedance, inductance and capacitance. Do not use cables that act as additional crossover components. Experimentation is crucial in this situation and a cable that works well in one situation with a given amplifier may not always perform as well when one of these variables is changed."

Since my monoblocks have dual speaker outputs, it is not difficult. In fact, it’s seemingly encouraged, it is so convenient.

Does it help?  Don’t know, but it doesn’t hurt.

Here ya go!

Advantages of Bi-Wiring Speakers

Bi-wiring speakers offers several advantages, particularly for those who seek to enhance their audio experience. Here are some of the key benefits associated with bi-wiring:

• Improved Clarity and Detail: Bi-wiring can lead to better clarity and detail in the audio reproduction, especially in the mid and high frequencies. By separating the signals, each driver can receive a cleaner and more focused signal. 

   

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• Reduced Interference and Distortion: The technique aims to minimize interference and distortion between the low and high-frequency signals, resulting in a cleaner and more accurate sound reproduction. 

   

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• Better Power Distribution: Bi-wiring can provide better power distribution to the speakers, ensuring that each driver receives an appropriate amount of power, which can result in improved dynamics and a more balanced soundstage. 

   

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• Enhanced Soundstage: By separating the electrical paths for the woofer and tweeter, bi-wiring can widen the soundstage and improve imaging, leading to more precise sound reproduction. 

   

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• Improved Control Over Drivers: Bi-wiring can provide better control over the different drivers within a speaker, allowing them to work independently and reduce unwanted interactions. 

   

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  While bi-wiring can offer these advantages, it is important to note that the benefits may not be noticeable to everyone and can depend on individual preferences and the specific setup. It is recommended to experiment with different setups and listen carefully to determine if bi-wiring makes a noticeable difference in sound quality for your specific audio system. 

   

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Got cell service again and was able to watch the video. Its paul! He is a very smart manufacture as I have toured ps audio and asked he and Chris many questions i can not read his mind but he is speaking in general terms. I have his fr 30 and love the ribbons/ planars. They are made of captons mylar with glued aluminum  but in Paul's case Chris b made them out of textreme like material that won't stretch fade and up light does not bother them as much . I was privileged to much information and manufacturing info. Now I have some older ps audio .extreme cables that are bi wired from paul. He is speaking in general and opinions do swing from time to time. I have bought speakers from Paul that are tri amped but they are big.in general most speakers don't need tri amped. I have had a set of kef 11 worked fine off one amp like paul said however , the big ones with 6 12 inch speakers per tower love tri amping like mcintosh xrt 2k. I drive the fr 30 with 1 kw michi m8 or bryston 28b3 or mcintosh 1.25 kw. Its not the watts that kill drivers but distortion. Compression is the heat that builds in speaker voice coil and does play a fa tor as well. Happy listening , you will love your new system as it has great synergy.

@78sman  ... People bi-amp if one amp is better for bass, and the other is better for treble. As others have stated, this increases cost a lot because one needs to purchase another amp. This seems logical for someone who has money to burn.

There is definitely more to bi-amping than just burning money.  As a working stiff with a large family, money for audio was very tough to justify, but I did have some excellent sounding old tube monoblocks that didn’t have incredible deep bass impact and control.  For $385 (that I saved up for) I was able to add a very nice used Linn LK140 solid state amp to the woofers that does have excellent deep bass performance,  while maintaining the beautiful harmonic textures, vivid midrange overtones, and soundstage of my tube amps for the midbass and tweeters.. 

A few major improvements were possible as a result going to a horizontal bi-amp setup from just using the tube monoblocks full range.

1 - The solid state amp offered notably better deep bass impact and control than the tube monoblocks did. 

2 - Biamping allowed me to easily bypass the passive low pass woofer crossover and add a very affordable active low pass crossover in it’s place, which was a fairly significant improvement on it’s own.   

3 - The tube monoblocks went from driving a 4 ohm load to an 8 ohm load, which notably improved clarity. 

4. Bi-amping also allowed me to add an inline high pass filter that limits deep bass for the tube amps and to the midbass drivers, which resulted in even more clarity improvements. 

These changes all added up to some major improvements in what was already a very good system.  It was not a subtle improvement.  It is absolutely next level now, and sounds amazing from top to bottom.  It’s one of the best moves I’ve made for my system in the 35 years I’ve been tweaking it.  

It’s rare for two audio situations to be identical, but there are definitely situations where bi-amping is beneficial, affordable, and effective.  Adding an active subwoofer is bi-amping 101, and it’s quite common to not only get better bass from the move, but also improved clarity by limiting bass duties from the main amps and woofers.  

@bdp24 Okay but WHY does Richard Vandersteen recommend bi-wiring? I'm sure he's smarter than me but the evidence produced so far most definitely shows it's a waste. Now bi-amping, from what I've learned so far, does have advantages in some cases. 

@shooter41 "there are no "middle binding posts" on Kef speaker terminals, those are knobs to either connect or disconnect the built-in jumpers". Yes, I see that now. And thanks for the reminder about turning the knobs. 

@78sman "I don't understand why you would want to bi-wire. You're spending more money that way without any sound improvement." I don't want to bi-wire. I thought it was required or maybe better for the speakers I ordered. I know different now. I'm still learning here. 

@yogiboy Yes, but that seems to be snake oil according the posted video link and the video is very convincing.

@mark200mph Read your whole post of course but really am thankful for your last sentence. Synergy. It's one of the first things I learned about on Audiogon and it's what I am striving for with my new system. Your comment is reassuring since not everything I've bought has arrived yet. I'm hoping several weeks of online research and bothering other people gets me where I want to be. I'm pretty sure I did good like you say though.