Bi-wire

TNRabbit

TOOLFORLIFEFAN wrote: »

Then why do all these speakers have the option if NO? it has been done for years from what i understand. You would think if it was'nt worth it they would have done away with it. I just wish i had a way of tring it with out it costing so much.:p

BI-WIRING isn't worth it. That's what you asked about.

BI-AMPING definitely is worth it; you get increased headroom & cleaner sound from both upper & lower register. You really need to be ACTIVELY bi-amping to get the most benefit (highs only pass through upper end amp, lows only pass through lower end amp).

Toolfan66

TNRabbit wrote: »

BI-WIRING isn't worth it. That's what you asked about.

BI-AMPING definitely is worth it; you get increased headroom & cleaner sound from both upper & lower register. You really need to be ACTIVELY bi-amping to get the most benefit (highs only pass through upper end amp, lows only pass through lower end amp).

Bi-AMPING is what i am asking about, What do you mean by i need to be ACTIVELY bi- amping? i have the understanding on how to do it. i just want to know if it's worth the cost. I have read a few things about it today, But i would like to hear from sombody that has done it, and if it was worth it.

Thanks,

Larry.

TNRabbit

TOOLFORLIFEFAN wrote: »

Bi-AMPING is what i am asking about, What do you mean by i need to be ACTIVELY bi- amping? i have the understanding on how to do it. i just want to know if it's worth the cost. I have read a few things about it today, But i would like to hear from sombody that has done it, and if it was worth it.

Thanks,

Larry.

EVERYTHING you would ever want to know about biamping:

http://www.soundstage.com/synergize/synergize031998.htm

...


For more info on active biamping, check here; there's a S*&TLOAD of threads on this:

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/search.php?searchid=4605783&pp=25&page=2

....

Then there's this:

"Now with bi amping. Bi amping is really misunderstood a lot. True bi amping is sometimes referred to as active bi amping. Active bi amping involves adding an external electronic crossover between the preamp and the amplifier. The crossover splits the full audio spectrum signal into segments just like a passive crossover inside a speaker. The divided signal is then fed to the respective amplifier channels to drive the particular driver(s) in a speaker directly. Note the use of my word directly. You have to remove the passive crossover out of the speaker and couple the driver(s) directly to the amplifier channel. The reason why running the electronic crossed over signal into the passive isn't a good idea is because of the whole cascading of crossover issues that causes wierd anomolies in the end resulting signal. When you use an electronic crossover, you really have to know what you are doing as you are now setting up the crossover points and the slopes. The advantage of active bi amping is clear as the amp is now more efficient in driving the load of one type of driver.

The other type of bi amping that is discussed is the idea of passive bi amping or pseudo bi amping. This is when you run the full frequency signal into the amp and the amp drives the speaker's passive crossover. Many say that this is a waste and doesn't provide much benefit. The proponents say passive bi amping still has a place as you are adding more power supplies to drive a particular speaker and the amount of loading a particular channel is seeing is also altered.

Other configurations of bi amping are vertical and horizontal. Vertical is using one amp to drive one whole speaker. Horizontal is the use of a stereo amp to drive both L/R speaker's woofers and the another stereo amp to drive the tweeter and if present midrange of both speakers.

Here are my thoughts on the subject. Active bi amping is definitely the way to go to get all the benefits of the exercise of doing bi amping. But doing active bi amping requires a lot of modifications that many people are not willing to do to their speakers and requires a lot of extra expenditures in cabling and an external electronic crossover; plus all the time required to tweek the electronic crossover. That said, I am currently running my system in a passive + bi amping configuration. I wasn't willing to modify my B&W 804s. But what I did was to add a dedicated HGS12 sub to the speakers and as such am utilizing the high pass crossover of the sub to filter the low frequency section of my bi amp configuration. I'm also running my two TFM-25s in a vertical bi amp configuration. The reason why I feel vertical bi amping is better than horizontal is because you divide the load the woofer presents across two power supplies and not on one. The biggest power consumer of a speaker is the woofers. This allows the amp in a vertical bi amp configuraiton to provide more available power to the demands of the woofer. I've been running in a vertical bi amp configuration for a long time and have been happy with the results."

Also check page 13/14 in this Sunfire manual: http://www.sunfire.com/pdf/Cinema%20Seven%20Owners%20Manual.pdf

That should keep you busy for a while.....

LessisNevermore

BjornB17 wrote: »

Don't lie.... you know you're into bi-wiring even though you know it's a waste of time.

B b b bbut my AVR manual says I can!.....

Toolfan66

Thanks for all the info TNRabbit. good reads.

Toolfan66

I don't see myself doing this, Even when i start my two channel set up not sure if i would BI-AMP. I was thinking more about mono block amps for 2 channel, But i really want to do my homework befor i start this. I know there can be a lot of trial and error. but the less the better. i really want to know what i am doing, and what i want to do. SDA's are a must that much i do know. I want to invest my money right.

I think i really hijacked this thread. SORRY;)

MLZ

http://www.polkaudio.com/education/showanswer.php?question_num=53

I got some Canare 4s11 speaker wire to bi-wire after reading the Polk FAQ (URL above) "Why are there two sets of terminals on my speakers?" which said "I was shocked by the difference bi-wiring made with LSi9s in my listening room. The midrange "opened up," becoming clearer and more detailed with improved three-dimensional imaging. Voices and other midrange sounds were more "out-of-the-box" than with the single wire hookup."
I heard no change in SQ with my 2-channel Onkyo A-9555 -> Canare 4s11 - RTi8 system, but ended up with better looking speaker cables for under $20.00 from BlueJeans Cable, so I was not overly disappointed.

treitz3

TOOLFORLIFEFAN wrote: »

But I really want to do my homework before I start this.

Very smart idea. A friend of the forum has said in the past.......

Piss poor planning leads to a piss poor performance.

If you really wanted to hi-jack the thread, you could just ask a question about tri-amping. :eek:

VTPOLK

Hello
New to forum and I actually had some decent results in Bi-wiring both my Mon 40s into a vintage HK330C and also some RTAi 1s into a denon 1705 just using 2 runs of 12 gage and two banana plugs on reciever side and four on speakers side.

It increase the clarity and soundstage of the speakers alot to the point where I was seriously considering up grading to maybe some EPOS or AV123 but think I will stick with these for a while...I would suggest trying it with one speaker and see what you hear.

GregoryOrme

I guess it depends on what is considered breaking the bank. I ordered from Heartland Cables. I got three runs custom length and terminated (a total of 20 feet) for $110. I am very happy with my setup, even though the stuff 90 percent of you LOVED four months ago when I was putting it together, you now despise--including bi-wiring and Emotiva.