just purchased a set of b & w 685's are they worth bi-wiring is there a noticable difference?
thanks
thanks
B & W 685 biwiring
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No, if you're running it through an integrated amp.
Yes, if you're running it through a pre/power amp.
Yes, if you're running it through a pre/power amp.
ValianTX:
No, if you're running it through an integrated amp.
Yes, if you're running it through a pre/power amp.
So, is it not worth bi-wiring any speakers if run just through an integrated amp and if so wouldn't it be better to bi-amp if you are using a pre/power amp combo?
No, if you're running it through an integrated amp.
Yes, if you're running it through a pre/power amp.
So, is it not worth bi-wiring any speakers if run just through an integrated amp and if so wouldn't it be better to bi-amp if you are using a pre/power amp combo?
whiskywheels
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- Nov 1, 2009
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5cats35:ValianTX:
No, if you're running it through an integrated amp.
Yes, if you're running it through a pre/power amp.
So, is it not worth bi-wiring any speakers if run just through an integrated amp and if so wouldn't it be better to bi-amp if you are using a pre/power amp combo?
Old thread I know, but I'd be interested to know the answer to this as well.
No, if you're running it through an integrated amp.
Yes, if you're running it through a pre/power amp.
So, is it not worth bi-wiring any speakers if run just through an integrated amp and if so wouldn't it be better to bi-amp if you are using a pre/power amp combo?
Old thread I know, but I'd be interested to know the answer to this as well.
Frankly, ValianTX's original response makes no sense. There is no difference between using an integrated amp or a pre amp with a single stereo power amp if you are bi-wiring.
If you want to bi-amp a speaker you will need and integrated amp with a pre-out and another stereo power amplifier. If you are using a dedicated pre-amp, you will need two stereo power amplifiers (or four monoblocs).
Personally speaking, I've never heard any benefit from bi-wiring a speaker but have consistently experienced benefits from bi-amping.
If you want to bi-amp a speaker you will need and integrated amp with a pre-out and another stereo power amplifier. If you are using a dedicated pre-amp, you will need two stereo power amplifiers (or four monoblocs).
Personally speaking, I've never heard any benefit from bi-wiring a speaker but have consistently experienced benefits from bi-amping.
Al ears
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I never heard any difference when bi-wiring my 685's - and that was via a power amp.
Save your money and forget the extra for bi-wire cable.
Also definately forget the bi-amping bit. If you are running with the speakers original crossover still in place it will make no difference if each set of terminals is driven by a different power source or not!
Save your money and forget the extra for bi-wire cable.
Also definately forget the bi-amping bit. If you are running with the speakers original crossover still in place it will make no difference if each set of terminals is driven by a different power source or not!
Alears: Also definately forget the bi-amping bit. If you are running with the speakers original crossover still in place it will make no difference if each set of terminals is driven by a different power source or not!
I find that interesting. Why would it make 'no difference'? If each 'leg' of the amplifier is only presented with one part of the cross-over it will be operating over a narrower frequency range and only dealing with the load presented by that section and not both at the same time. So clearly there is a difference technically.
Surely it would be more helpful to say 'I tried it and personally didn't notice any improvements'?
I find that interesting. Why would it make 'no difference'? If each 'leg' of the amplifier is only presented with one part of the cross-over it will be operating over a narrower frequency range and only dealing with the load presented by that section and not both at the same time. So clearly there is a difference technically.
Surely it would be more helpful to say 'I tried it and personally didn't notice any improvements'?
ValianTX:
No, if you're running it through an integrated amp.
Yes, if you're running it through a pre/power amp.
So if I used an integrated worth 50k it wouldnt make a difference
But if I used a pre/power setup worth a hundred quid it would?
No, if you're running it through an integrated amp.
Yes, if you're running it through a pre/power amp.
So if I used an integrated worth 50k it wouldnt make a difference
But if I used a pre/power setup worth a hundred quid it would?
Bodfish:
Alears: Also definately forget the bi-amping bit. If you are running with the speakers original crossover still in place it will make no difference if each set of terminals is driven by a different power source or not!
I find that interesting. Why would it make 'no difference'? If each 'leg' of the amplifier is only presented with one part of the cross-over it will be operating over a narrower frequency range and only dealing with the load presented by that section and not both at the same time. So clearly there is a difference technically.
Surely it would be more helpful to say 'I tried it and personally didn't notice any improvements'?
I agree... Bit of a silly comment in my opinion
My B&W 685's are connected to the amp via Chord Carnival Silverscreen bi-wire BUT I'm using one lot of the speaker connections on the amp to connect all 4 speaker connections on the speakers (i.e. 2 - 4 formation)
I have been lucky enough to bi-amp the 685's and I felt and heard that it made a definate difference. The integrated powered the HF's and the power amp powered the LF's; for me the bass became tauter and more detailed and punchier, the midrange was again more detailed and had better timing and the treble was very crisp and precise.
I then bi-wired the 685's and felt that they lost all of the above and became a little muddled to be honest. Felt that they were still fairly bass proud but it had become overwhelming at times
As the power amp was just on loan I decided to keep the bi-wire and wire them in the 2-4 set-up as I've seen mentioned a few times on here and that gave me a good middle ground to the above 2 experiments and I think the 685's sound now is bob-on for what I was after
Alears: Also definately forget the bi-amping bit. If you are running with the speakers original crossover still in place it will make no difference if each set of terminals is driven by a different power source or not!
I find that interesting. Why would it make 'no difference'? If each 'leg' of the amplifier is only presented with one part of the cross-over it will be operating over a narrower frequency range and only dealing with the load presented by that section and not both at the same time. So clearly there is a difference technically.
Surely it would be more helpful to say 'I tried it and personally didn't notice any improvements'?
I agree... Bit of a silly comment in my opinion
My B&W 685's are connected to the amp via Chord Carnival Silverscreen bi-wire BUT I'm using one lot of the speaker connections on the amp to connect all 4 speaker connections on the speakers (i.e. 2 - 4 formation)
I have been lucky enough to bi-amp the 685's and I felt and heard that it made a definate difference. The integrated powered the HF's and the power amp powered the LF's; for me the bass became tauter and more detailed and punchier, the midrange was again more detailed and had better timing and the treble was very crisp and precise.
I then bi-wired the 685's and felt that they lost all of the above and became a little muddled to be honest. Felt that they were still fairly bass proud but it had become overwhelming at times
As the power amp was just on loan I decided to keep the bi-wire and wire them in the 2-4 set-up as I've seen mentioned a few times on here and that gave me a good middle ground to the above 2 experiments and I think the 685's sound now is bob-on for what I was after
Al ears
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- Nov 23, 2008
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hifilover1979:Bodfish:
Alears: Also definately forget the bi-amping bit. If you are running with the speakers original crossover still in place it will make no difference if each set of terminals is driven by a different power source or not!
I find that interesting. Why would it make 'no difference'? If each 'leg' of the amplifier is only presented with one part of the cross-over it will be operating over a narrower frequency range and only dealing with the load presented by that section and not both at the same time. So clearly there is a difference technically.
Surely it would be more helpful to say 'I tried it and personally didn't notice any improvements'?
I agree... Bit of a silly comment in my opinion
My B&W 685's are connected to the amp via Chord Carnival Silverscreen bi-wire BUT I'm using one lot of the speaker connections on the amp to connect all 4 speaker connections on the speakers (i.e. 2 - 4 formation)
I have been lucky enough to bi-amp the 685's and I felt and heard that it made a definate difference. The integrated powered the HF's and the power amp powered the LF's; for me the bass became tauter and more detailed and punchier, the midrange was again more detailed and had better timing and the treble was very crisp and precise.
I then bi-wired the 685's and felt that they lost all of the above and became a little muddled to be honest. Felt that they were still fairly bass proud but it had become overwhelming at times
As the power amp was just on loan I decided to keep the bi-wire and wire them in the 2-4 set-up as I've seen mentioned a few times on here and that gave me a good middle ground to the above 2 experiments and I think the 685's sound now is bob-on for what I was after
Your point is taken. I think the main sticking point is the word 'sonically'.
Personally i think the OP would not be better off paying out a large amount in order to bi-amp.
That however, was not the OP's original question. The answer to which would still be No
Alears: Also definately forget the bi-amping bit. If you are running with the speakers original crossover still in place it will make no difference if each set of terminals is driven by a different power source or not!
I find that interesting. Why would it make 'no difference'? If each 'leg' of the amplifier is only presented with one part of the cross-over it will be operating over a narrower frequency range and only dealing with the load presented by that section and not both at the same time. So clearly there is a difference technically.
Surely it would be more helpful to say 'I tried it and personally didn't notice any improvements'?
I agree... Bit of a silly comment in my opinion
My B&W 685's are connected to the amp via Chord Carnival Silverscreen bi-wire BUT I'm using one lot of the speaker connections on the amp to connect all 4 speaker connections on the speakers (i.e. 2 - 4 formation)
I have been lucky enough to bi-amp the 685's and I felt and heard that it made a definate difference. The integrated powered the HF's and the power amp powered the LF's; for me the bass became tauter and more detailed and punchier, the midrange was again more detailed and had better timing and the treble was very crisp and precise.
I then bi-wired the 685's and felt that they lost all of the above and became a little muddled to be honest. Felt that they were still fairly bass proud but it had become overwhelming at times
As the power amp was just on loan I decided to keep the bi-wire and wire them in the 2-4 set-up as I've seen mentioned a few times on here and that gave me a good middle ground to the above 2 experiments and I think the 685's sound now is bob-on for what I was after
Your point is taken. I think the main sticking point is the word 'sonically'.
Personally i think the OP would not be better off paying out a large amount in order to bi-amp.
That however, was not the OP's original question. The answer to which would still be No
hifilover1979:
My B&W 685's are connected to the amp via Chord Carnival Silverscreen bi-wire BUT I'm using one lot of the speaker connections on the amp to connect all 4 speaker connections on the speakers (i.e. 2 - 4 formation)
I have been lucky enough to bi-amp the 685's and I felt and heard that it made a definate difference.
I then bi-wired the 685's and felt that they lost all of the above and became a little muddled to be honest. Felt that they were still fairly bass proud but it had become overwhelming at times
As the power amp was just on loan I decided to keep the bi-wire and wire them in the 2-4 set-up as I've seen mentioned a few times on here and that gave me a good middle ground to the above 2 experiments and I think the 685's sound now is bob-on for what I was after
Is the final setup you've settled on the bi-wiring, ie the 2-4 setup? You mentioned this gave you the middle ground results. Just to clarify, one setup was the bi-amping, then the other was the 2-4 setup? I'm thinking of either bi-amping or bi-wiring too.
My B&W 685's are connected to the amp via Chord Carnival Silverscreen bi-wire BUT I'm using one lot of the speaker connections on the amp to connect all 4 speaker connections on the speakers (i.e. 2 - 4 formation)
I have been lucky enough to bi-amp the 685's and I felt and heard that it made a definate difference.
I then bi-wired the 685's and felt that they lost all of the above and became a little muddled to be honest. Felt that they were still fairly bass proud but it had become overwhelming at times
As the power amp was just on loan I decided to keep the bi-wire and wire them in the 2-4 set-up as I've seen mentioned a few times on here and that gave me a good middle ground to the above 2 experiments and I think the 685's sound now is bob-on for what I was after
Is the final setup you've settled on the bi-wiring, ie the 2-4 setup? You mentioned this gave you the middle ground results. Just to clarify, one setup was the bi-amping, then the other was the 2-4 setup? I'm thinking of either bi-amping or bi-wiring too.
Both speaker terminals on my 685's are connected via the Chord speaker cable to the amps 1st set of speaker terminals in a 2 - 4 set-up
Yes I did 'bi-amp' as I had a NAD C275 power amp on loan but decided that I didnt want to spend the money on that set-up just yet
The sound I get from the 2-4 set-up is much better than just standard single wire connections in my opnion
Yes I did 'bi-amp' as I had a NAD C275 power amp on loan but decided that I didnt want to spend the money on that set-up just yet
The sound I get from the 2-4 set-up is much better than just standard single wire connections in my opnion
I bought a pair of Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) 685 S2 speakers and a roll of 50’ feet audioquest SLiP 16/2 audio cable.
Since I had lots of cable, (even being a skeptic) I tried to double bi-wire it using the A and B exits of my Harman Kardon HK 4090 integrated amplifier. A exit going to the LF driver (as recommended in the manual to single wiring) and B exit connected to the HF driver.
The sound improved noticeably. The treble “opened up”, it became louder and more detailed. I did not hear an improvement I the bass department.
Talking about bass, since my room is large, the B&W 685 S2 just does not move enough air to deliver bass at low volumes as my old and big 3-way speakers did. So I am considering adding 1 or 2 eight inches subwoofers.
There is a good article about bi-wiring here: http://www.audioquest.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/UndrstndgBiWr.pdf
Since I had lots of cable, (even being a skeptic) I tried to double bi-wire it using the A and B exits of my Harman Kardon HK 4090 integrated amplifier. A exit going to the LF driver (as recommended in the manual to single wiring) and B exit connected to the HF driver.
The sound improved noticeably. The treble “opened up”, it became louder and more detailed. I did not hear an improvement I the bass department.
Talking about bass, since my room is large, the B&W 685 S2 just does not move enough air to deliver bass at low volumes as my old and big 3-way speakers did. So I am considering adding 1 or 2 eight inches subwoofers.
There is a good article about bi-wiring here: http://www.audioquest.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/UndrstndgBiWr.pdf
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