Should I bi-wire my LSi7's

Stevenmbell

Iam going to buy speaker wires and need to know if bi-wiring is better? Please help me with this as I want the best sound possible. Thankyou

PSOVLSK

You'll get a thousand different answers, but the bottom line is this: if you don't bi-wire you'll always wonder if bi-wiring would make a difference.

I bi-wire, but I do it pretty much for the reason I just stated. I probably couldn't tell a difference in a blind A/B test:o

Stevenmbell

It is clear to me now I bi-wire, thankyou for the insight

danz1906

GO for it,,,,,,,,Bi-wire:D

Barefoot

The answer is no.

gdb

Alot of bi-wire sets are nothing but single runs that are split into two at the speaker end. (not all are like that) If you want a TRUE bi-wire setup you can run two sets of conventional speaker cables, that way you can see if there's any difference in sound. No difference ??? You can use the extra set elsewhere, or if possible, return them for a refund.:)

vlam

I've bi-wired and bi-amped my Lsi-7,Lsic-C and Lsi-15 and to be honest with you.. my ears could not hear a difference. My brain tells me and eyes tell me that there is a difference in my connection but I couldn't hear it.

My conclusion is that it didn't make sense and it wasn't worth running the extra set of speaker wires.

Rocco1

GDB is right. most people that can use a sodering iron can make there own bi-wiring set ups. I personelly single wire to my speaker and them have a custom jumber with 8 gauge wire. This seems to work well for me. I dont trust those flat pieces of metal.

MLZ

I read an article in the Polk Educaton page ("Why are there two sets of terminals on my speakers?" http://www.polkaudio.com/education/showanswer.php?question_num=53 ) touting bi-wiring which stated "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 decided to get some Canare 4s11 speaker cable, which it has 4 strands of 14 gauge wire, and so was easy to check out bi-wire. I heard no difference in sound quality. I then looked at wiring diagram and realized bi-wiring is effectively moving the jumper freom the speaker's binding posts to the amps binnding posts.

I could have single wired with the Canare (which becomes 11 gauge) by combining the wires at the speakers, but have been to lazy to do so. I might do it if I have the need for 4 extra spades.

fast1

PSOVLSK wrote: »

You'll get a thousand different answers, but the bottom line is this: if you don't bi-wire you'll always wonder if bi-wiring would make a difference.

I bi-wire, but I do it pretty much for the reason I just stated. I probably couldn't tell a difference in a blind A/B test:o

man this is so true, go for it!

DV1

Keiko is correct.
Spend your money on a good pair of wire!

ben62670

Another vote for some good single wires. I use different wire for highs, and lows. My silvers work great for the highs, but my AQ(AudioQuest) CV4's are better for the lows. It can get expensive. Personally my advice is shop around for some AQ type4's setup for straight wiring, and replace the jumpers with some decent wire.

Freak When C

gdb wrote: »

If you want a TRUE bi-wire setup you can run two sets of conventional speaker cables, that way you can see if there's any difference in sound. No difference ??? You can use the extra set elsewhere, or if possible, return them for a refund.:)

Hey guys, really good info and opinions from some veteran members in this thread. Like OP, I too am looking to get speaker wire and was considering a bi-wire set. But can someone please explain to me how you can run two sets of speaker cables? My speakers have four binding connectors per speaker but my amp only has two per channel ( + and - ). How would you run two sets in this configuration?

dorokusai

I use bi-wires only because I own them but have never heard a benefit from bi-wiring....anything.

Freak When C

Thanks, that helps but I'm still confused. How can two sets of speaker cables (8 connectors) be connected to an amp that only has 4 binding posts (two per channel)?

gdb wrote: »

If you want a TRUE bi-wire setup you can run two sets of conventional speaker cables

polkatese

I would try it if I were you, just to have the experience and your own conclusion.

Freak When C

OK, you guys are not understanding my question. So if I have two sets of standard speaker cables, in order to connect them to my amp I would connect:

a.) two positive speaker cables to the RIGHT + terminal on the amp
b.) two negative speaker cables to the Right - terminal on the amp
c.) two positive speaker cables to the LEFT + terminal on the amp
d.) two negative speaker cables to the Right - terminal on the amp

Is this correct? It's OK to have the speaker cables touching each other on the amp terminals?

comfortablycurt

I tried bi-wiring my RTi8's with my Onkyo TX-SR606 a week or so ago.

It wasn't worth the effort of hooking up the extra cables and removing the jumpers from my speakers. I heard absolutely no improvements at all. If anything, the midrange seemed a little dryer, which I'd hardly call an improvement...

I'd just spend the money on a good pair of single run cables myself.

Freak When C

That's interesting that you had noticed "a little dryer" sounding mids. Not what I'd call an improvement, either. Liquid is what we're after, not dry sounding.

Tanks Keiko, that's very helpful and the link explained a lot and answered my questions. You da man! (well, one of them anyway)

Freak When C

Dayam! :eek: And I'm a **** trapped in a mans body.

comfortablycurt

Damn Mike!! You're hot!

I'm coming down to Hawaii to spend a really long weekend with you.;):p

Freak When C

Well thanks you guys, you made my night plus helped me realize that bi-wiring is not something I need to concern myself with right now. So I'm going for quality standard speaker cables. I'll also try the wire in place of the jumper configuration.

Yes, I do have another question. :rolleyes:

I read to keep your speaker wire as short as possible. Is 15 feet too long? The way I have my system set up, my components are in a rack that's located on the side, next to my right speaker. So my right speaker would only need bout a 5 foot cable at the most. But my left speaker is located on the other side of my big freakin DLP TV. I use my speakers for both TV and two-channel music listening (not looking to get into surround sound right now).

Anyway, so my left speaker is going to need about 13 to 15 feet while my right only 5 feet. Anything wrong with getting like 15 foot speaker cables and neatly coiling the excess for my right speaker under my rack or something?

Freak When C

Thanks, that's what I thought. I'm pretty sure I wana go with copper. Those Analysis Plus Black Oval 9 cables I linked to in the other thread look really excellent but I noticed they also make speaker cables utilizing silver. Ever tried silver?