RTi 8 Bi-Wiring

Rrascal

I'm after some information about bi-wiring. I have a pair of RTi-8 speakers, driven by a Perreaux PMF 1050 Power Amplifier, with a Denon PMA-1500R Integrated Amplifier used as pre-amp. The Denon is also driving a pair of Klipsch Synergy speakers. Both amps have A & B speaker outputs, and I am using all of them with each individual cable having it's own post. I have recently aquired a Perreaux E110 Power Amplifier, which I wish to use instead of the PMF 1050, but it only has one pair of output posts. Does it make any difference if the speakers are wired to 2 posts rather than 4 at the amplifier end, yet still bi-wired at the speaker end? What difference does bi-wiring make?

I'm using a Thorens TD-160 turntable, fitted with a Bang & Olufsen SP14 cartridge, and a Denon DCD 685 CD player. I like quality gear, but I'm on a limited budget, so much of my equipment is second hand!

george daniel

If I were you,I'd just replace the jumpers on the RTI's with some good wire and get on with it.Just my .02. Good luck. Have fun

Rrascal

You mean like this? (If the pic loads) Lol

george daniel

Yep-- thats what I did with mine--see how you like it-- then if you want to experiment with bi-wire--have at it.BTW--you can make a set for little money,,dress em' up and they look nice-- spend the money you save on gear/music.Have fun.

Rrascal

yeah I made these up myself, cost me $90 NZ to make two 5m leads, bananas both ends.

george daniel

Well,, how do they sound compared to your original setup?BTW--welcome to the forum.

mrbofus

hello,
i have rti8s as well, trying to follow all this bi-wire stuff to no avail.
What does this achieve??????

olilugo

Rrascal wrote: »

You mean like this? (If the pic loads) Lol

Just for the record this is not bi-wiring.

All you did is to replace the jumpers that suppoesed to be in place when only two of the biding post are being used.

mufsoman

I had my Rti8's biwired and definately heard an improvement in the sound. However, I began to notice comments in several threads about using wire jumpers instead of the crappy metal jumper plates. I tried this and got the same sound as bi-wiring. IMO, save the additional lengths of speaker wire and use short speaker wire jumpers instead of the crappy metal plates. My 2 cents

mrbofus

mufsoman wrote: »

I had my Rti8's biwired and definately heard an improvement in the sound. However, I began to notice comments in several threads about using wire jumpers instead of the crappy metal jumper plates. I tried this and got the same sound as bi-wiring. IMO, save the additional lengths of speaker wire and use short speaker wire jumpers instead of the crappy metal plates. My 2 cents

Does that really help in sound quality. It looks like a simple fix. What is best to use for a jumper? If it makes a difference I may give it a try.

mufsoman

Others may be able to comment more on specific wire sizes. but i use 12 ga throughout my system and used the same 12 ga wire for the jumpers, very similar to the picture attached above. As always, try it determine what sounds best to your ears.

MLZ

I have RTi8's bi-wired using Canare Star Quad 4s11 with my Onkyo A9555 integrated amp and heard no difference. Wondering why, I looked at a wiring diagram and saw all bi-wiring effectively does is move the jumper from the speakers to the amp. But I also no advantage to return to conventional wiring so I am still bi-wired.

Rrascal

olilugo wrote: »

Just for the record this is not bi-wiring.

All you did is to replace the jumpers that suppoesed to be in place when only two of the biding post are being used.

Yeah, I know. Had them bi-wired from Denon PMA1500R amp, but Perreaux E110 power amp they are currently connected to only has two pairs of outputs, not four.

Rrascal

Thanks for the welcome, George. I admit it, I can't really tell any difference in sound from bi-wired to replacing jumpers. It looks to me like all bi-wiring achieves is a doubling of cable to the speaker, with maybe a slight drop in resistance? Even on an amp with two pairs of output posts, power is still coming from the same two transformers... I imagine a noticible difference would only be heard if bi-amping, where the output from both transformers in the amp could be seperately wired to each of the inputs on the speakers. I've increased the size of my speaker wire in any case, gone from 16 gauge 4 core to 12 gauge 2 core.

Boomer Tug

My research on the web indicates that bi-wiring can produce very marginal improvements. The theory of operation has nothing to do with resistance of the wire, rather, I understand it is all about inductance.

george daniel

I tried bi-wiring and finally opted to go with just some high quality wire instead.I could not hear a difference that was so compelling to keep the bi-wire.YMMV--have fun and good luck.

sTiLlLeArNiNg

Rrascal wrote: »

You mean like this? (If the pic loads) Lol

This is the best way to do it if on a budget I would however try putting the cable's to the bottom first.

olilugo wrote:

Just for the record this is not bi-wiring.

All you did is to replace the jumpers that suppoesed to be in place when only two of the biding post are being used.

I'm pretty shure we all know this by now

Rrascal

Have changed things around several times... Tried bi-amping for a while, but Denon is rated at 70w RMS per channel, and Perreaux is rated at 100w RMS, and tests at 132w RMS, so I thought that was a bit too much difference. Had Perreaux driving the bass, and Denon connected to midrange/treble. The main noticable difference was a lack of volume compared to driving them solely with the Perreaux, due I assume to the lower power amp driving the upper range. Have gone bi-wire now, RTi8's driven by the Perreaux, Klipsch's driven by the Denon. Sounding good... Especially vinyl!!

Rrascal

Polks now bi-amped with two Perreaux E110 power amplifiers. Noticeable improvement in sound qualty, clarity and separation bi-amped.