I have a friend who has a pair of Polk speakers that have the capability of being bi-wired
He asked me if it was worth it. So is it?
Yes, I know it only involves a bit of wire and he can experiment but, I am curious myself.
I should add that it is only a low to mid range, low powered sys to begin with and he is currently using 18 gauge lamp cord to connect the speakers.
Am I right in assuming that it can't hurt though he may not notice any difference at all?
Is there any potential downside to it?
He asked me if it was worth it. So is it?
Yes, I know it only involves a bit of wire and he can experiment but, I am curious myself.
I should add that it is only a low to mid range, low powered sys to begin with and he is currently using 18 gauge lamp cord to connect the speakers.
Am I right in assuming that it can't hurt though he may not notice any difference at all?
Is there any potential downside to it?
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18 gauge is small. Usually #14 is more adequated, depending of the impedance, power level and length of wire.
http://www.av-outlet.com/en-us/dept_216.html
Selecting Speaker Cable for Whole House Audio - HomeTech Solutions
Bi-wiring helps especially if you have two dedicated amplifyers on each channel (4 in total).
http://www.av-outlet.com/en-us/dept_216.html
Selecting Speaker Cable for Whole House Audio - HomeTech Solutions
Bi-wiring helps especially if you have two dedicated amplifyers on each channel (4 in total).
I read somewhere that bi-wiring can reduce intermodulation, in that the cable leading from amp to the treble drivers won't be carrying current for low frequencies as it simply won't pass the crossover, and similarly the cable between amp and bass won't carry the treble. Sounds like it's ultimately just going to be, yes, like having cables twice as fat ;P
As long as it's American copper wire, it will be at least 99.5% pure. Some of the Chinese copper wire has been tested in the 80 something percent range.
Best Regards,
TerryO
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Can we be so sure about the technical fact that dividing the ground returns will be so beneficial to sound ?
We have seen 3 different things
One is different cables for different amplifiers ; another is splitting to the two sections of the crossover ; the following is the classical ,and I ask :
can it be also beneficial to have all components and drivers to share a common ( Return) wire ? the benefits of having a true biwiring was exploited by Kenwood at the end of '70s
with the Return wire connected to a sensitive place in the amplifier circuit ,making cable's resistance negligible .
If that NFB , that may transport EMF from the speaker , is then applied to the same point ,after being split at the origin ...dffffff
We have seen 3 different things
One is different cables for different amplifiers ; another is splitting to the two sections of the crossover ; the following is the classical ,and I ask :
can it be also beneficial to have all components and drivers to share a common ( Return) wire ? the benefits of having a true biwiring was exploited by Kenwood at the end of '70s
with the Return wire connected to a sensitive place in the amplifier circuit ,making cable's resistance negligible .If that NFB , that may transport EMF from the speaker , is then applied to the same point ,after being split at the origin ...
dffffff
That's my take on it as well. I've never seen anything that indicates any benefit for bi-wire in the sense that it is commonly used.
Best Regards,
TerryO
Yes ,but crossovers have caps& coils in series and in parallel....
All of my speakers recently have been either fullrange speakers or used a series crossover. I still wouldn't bother. Bi-amping is a different story and in that case, I would use "Bi-wiring".
Best Regards,
TerryO
And your point is?Yes ,but crossovers have caps& coils in series and in parallel....
Bi-Wiring dowsn't eliminate nothing that is INSIDE the speaker enclosure. And since we are not talking about Bi-Amping, I see no real benefit of running four #18 wires opposed to two #16 (63% resistance) or, better, #14 (40% resistance)... All those speaker wires are multistranded.
LE: I can see a benefit if you want, for some reason, to go "bigger" than #12 and you cannot find #10. Plus that won't fit in the posts to well...
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In response to Terry O
Have you seen the video on PE site that shows the Dayton big FRs ?
Regarding OP's question , I would ask and invite his friend to a well furnished cable shop ,if it does ever exist , and ask the retailer - if well informed of the matter - whether or not and in which manner each cable ( set ) can be used .
intresting, indeed.
bi-wire for me would be useless, i use a cheap heavy duty cable.
it was ment to be a jumper cable. Is supposed to be able to handle 100 A load.
There are articles of blind tests where the audiophiles where unable to tell the difference between:
-some monster cable therated with slain lion's blood and unicorn **** mixed with snake oil
-and a speaker wire made out of an ordinary coat hanger.
running 2 set of wires instead of 1 is pontless, unless you have used a wire that was allready too thin for the job.
bi-amp ing, having a separate amplifier for every speaker does have benefits.
Specialy if you have active x over. And you should do, it is just 1 tiny step from having 4 mono amps to power a set of stereo 2 way system.
bi-wire for me would be useless, i use a cheap heavy duty cable.
it was ment to be a jumper cable. Is supposed to be able to handle 100 A load.
There are articles of blind tests where the audiophiles where unable to tell the difference between:
-some monster cable therated with slain lion's blood and unicorn **** mixed with snake oil
-and a speaker wire made out of an ordinary coat hanger.
running 2 set of wires instead of 1 is pontless, unless you have used a wire that was allready too thin for the job.
bi-amp ing, having a separate amplifier for every speaker does have benefits.
Specialy if you have active x over. And you should do, it is just 1 tiny step from having 4 mono amps to power a set of stereo 2 way system.
I had come across zip cords (fortunately, used it as test wires with allig clips) that are said to be copper, and they look like copper wire. But the strands stick to a magnet!!
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