Blind Bi-Wiring Test
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PolkThug
Posts: 7,532
There is so much talk about bi-wiring that I had to give it a shot. Since I have extra speaker wire, this test only cost me time.
I'm using 16gauge wire on RTi70's. I biwired the right speaker only. I then unplugged the subs, and set the front speakers to large. Then I played various Beastie Boy tracks and walked back and forth between the two subs.
I thought that there was a slight difference. The right side sounded a little cleaner. Now, I know how strong the placebo effect is, I knew which speaker I bi-wired, so I was probably subconsciously wanting the right to sound better, so I called in the big guns...
My girlfriend knows nothing about home audio and likes to give me a hard time about how much I spend on the theater so I thought she would be the perfect test subject for a blind test.
I mentioned nothing about what I had done and I brought her downstairs and asked her to listen to the Beastie Boys and tell me if one side sounded different than the other. After going up to each speaker she said that the vocals on the right side had more clarity, then she walked back and forth again and said the right side had better treble, and she described it as "if you were in a car and you turned the treble up a little bit, that's what the right side sounds like."
The Conclusion: The bi-wired speaker sounded better.
The Mystery: Did it sound better because the woofer and tweeter were more "electrically seperated" or because I essentially increased the wire gauge by having two sets?
The Answer: It doesn't matter. It sounds better, so I'm hooking up the left side the same way. It's a cheap tweak that works.
Regards,
PolkThug
I'm using 16gauge wire on RTi70's. I biwired the right speaker only. I then unplugged the subs, and set the front speakers to large. Then I played various Beastie Boy tracks and walked back and forth between the two subs.
I thought that there was a slight difference. The right side sounded a little cleaner. Now, I know how strong the placebo effect is, I knew which speaker I bi-wired, so I was probably subconsciously wanting the right to sound better, so I called in the big guns...
My girlfriend knows nothing about home audio and likes to give me a hard time about how much I spend on the theater so I thought she would be the perfect test subject for a blind test.
I mentioned nothing about what I had done and I brought her downstairs and asked her to listen to the Beastie Boys and tell me if one side sounded different than the other. After going up to each speaker she said that the vocals on the right side had more clarity, then she walked back and forth again and said the right side had better treble, and she described it as "if you were in a car and you turned the treble up a little bit, that's what the right side sounds like."
The Conclusion: The bi-wired speaker sounded better.
The Mystery: Did it sound better because the woofer and tweeter were more "electrically seperated" or because I essentially increased the wire gauge by having two sets?
The Answer: It doesn't matter. It sounds better, so I'm hooking up the left side the same way. It's a cheap tweak that works.
Regards,
PolkThug
Post edited by PolkThug on
Comments
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I have a question for you. Does your reciever have a spot for biwireing or did u just plug the wires into the same spot on the back of the reciever. I have the same speakers as you but i have a harman kardon reciever. I know that some reciever have a spot for bi/wired speakers. Mine doesnt. But i want to hook them up the best way i can. If it sounds better i want to do it. Hoepfully u can answer my question for me!
ScottHarman Kardon AVR 230
Harman Kardon 400 Watt amp
2 Polk RTI70's
2 Polk RTI38's
2 Paragon Pro Series
1 Rockford fosgate car sub -
Originally posted by PolkThug
The Mystery: Did it sound better because the woofer and tweeter were more "electrically seperated" or because I essentially increased the wire gauge by having two sets?
Try it again, this time bi-wire one speaker, and simply replace the cheap brass jumper on the other with a short run of wire.Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service. -
Scott,
Same place on the back of the receiver. So, there are two wires going into each + and - terminals.
Regards,
PolkThug -
Originally posted by RuSsMaN
Try it again, this time bi-wire one speaker, and simply replace the cheap brass jumper on the other with a short run of wire.
You read my mind Russman!***WAREMTAE*** -
PolkThug,
Are you sure it's the bi-wire that made the difference, or could it have been the increase in wire guage because you added a second wire? I'm curious as to what your results would be if you replaced your 16ga wires with a single run of 14 or 12ga wire. -
PT,
Once you've bi'd them both, ask your girl friend to ID any difference again... same test material...More later,
Tour...
Vox Copuli
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. - Old English Proverb
"Death doesn't come with a Uhaul." - Dennis Gardner
"It's easy to get lost in price vs performance vs ego vs illusion." - doro
"There is a certain entertainment value in ripping the occaisonal (sic) buttmunch..." - TroyD -
Originally posted by Frank Z
PolkThug,
Are you sure it's the bi-wire that made the difference, or could it have been the increase in wire guage because you added a second wire? I'm curious as to what your results would be if you replaced your 16ga wires with a single run of 14 or 12ga wire.
Frank,
That seems to be one of the main bi-wire debates, hence my "mystery" from above.
Wish I could have done the "brass jumper test" first. The techcraft AV rack looks cool, but it is a pain in the butt to wire things. Might have to wait a couple days for the results on that one.
