Bi-wiring?

gregure

I'm new to the world of being a high end speaker owner. I'd like to know a little more about bi-wiring. First, does it make that much of an audible difference, or do the jumpers provide basically the same sound? Second, how does one go about bi-wiring? I've seen diagrams that indicate one should hook up two separate sets of speaker wire into one speaker jack on the receiver, which the receiver manual always says not to do. I looked into buying some bi-wire cable, but the only thing I could find (at Tweeter, Good Guys and Circuit City don't even carry it) was a huge cable by Monster (so big it had its own plastic case for two cables) for $300. It's not worth that much to me right now.
I've heard that bi-wiring can really open up the mids, and I've seen some complaints about the RTi 10's lacking in the mids, although I haven't found that to be the case at all. Should I bi-wire, or not? I currently wire with Monster 12 guage, standard stuff.

PolkThug

For most of your questions, you will get yes and no answers depending on each individual's opinion. The one proven thing bi-wire does is increase the physical amount of wire going to the speaker. I started out with single 16 awg wire, then 16awg bi-wire; now I'm at single 12awg wire.

If you want to experiment, go to home depot and get some 12 awg speaker wire at 36 cents a foot. Basically, you have to be your own judge on this topic.

Regards,
PolkThug

gmorris

hello again.

Bi-wiring is a hot topic on this forum, as well as in the audiophile world. Some believe the differences it makes is night & day. Some say it is total hogwash. I myself am somewhere in between.

I choose not to bi-wire because of the added cost & extra wires to route. I do not believe bi-wiring would be a worthy addition to my system. (RTi70's & Onkyo reciever) The point of diminishing returns is quickly reached with entry level gear.

If you had some $80,000 Dynaudio Evidence Temptations with a Krell amp and other silly high priced gear, then investing a few thousand dollars on bi-wireable cable makes sense. (heee heee)

Now to answer some of you actual question:

It is perfectly fine to bi-wire with 2 cables attached to the receiver. The impedance of the speaker does not change any, so the receiver is still seeing the same load. No harm, no foul.

Does bi-wiring make an audible difference? I guess that is up to you to determine. I don't believe it does, at least in my system. You may have different results.

Although, I think few will disagree with the benefits of replacing the stock brass jumpers that come with Polk speakers with some quality speaker wire. Here are mine:

Early B.

When I bi-wired, I couldn't tell the difference, but did it anyway only because I could. Someone with more sensitive ears might appreciate it more than me.

I agree with Polk Thug -- do it yourself very cheaply and see if it makes a difference to you.

gmorris

... and a shot of how to use the jumpers.....

gregure

Gmorris,

Thanks for the info. Are those all just banana plugs hooked onto regular speaker wire? If so, what connection do you use for the actual cable connected to the receiver, because it looks like you have some sort of connector at the end of that cable as well. Thanks.

PolkThug

Those at the bottom are Monster connectors you can get at CC. You just attach them to your Home Depot wire.

gmorris

The jumpers are Monster Cable XPHP wire, with banana plugs, covered with heat shrink tubing.

The cable connected to the receiver is also MC XPHP, with the MC spade connectors, as PolkThug correctly identified.

steveinaz

My opinion, and remember, their just like a$$holes, the difference doesn't justify the cost; at least with my system. You'll have to judge for yourself with your components. Borrow cables to test it out and see if its worth the extra expense.

BUT....if you're tight for money, you are better off buying 1 set of very good quality cables than you are with 2 sets of lesser quality cables...again, in my opinion. Example that I did myself:

2 sets of Audioquest Type 4 cables bi-wired, did not sound nearly as good as 1 set of Audioquest Granites, not bi-wired.