Bi-Wire

[phil8702]

Hi All

Thinking of bi-wiring my MA Bronze BR2's (Marantz cd6002/pm6002) using QUED or Chord. Not everybody recommends this thinking the money is better spent on better stereo pair wiring. Anybody with any experience of this. Regards Phil8702

 

[Anonymous]

Save your money. I used to have the same set up as yours and it did not make any difference to the sound.

Bi-wiring is recommended only if you intend to bi-amp - then it's a worthwhile upgrade. My opinion, at least.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Phil when auditioning my latest kit a couple of weeks ago i listened to the br2's single and bi wired and the bi wired had a more open sound and a deeper bass. have just ordered atlas hyper bi wire for my b&w 685's, as again the 685's improved with bi wiring. thats what my ears told me anyway. maybe you could get a demo at your local dealer and hear for your self.

 

[jaxwired]

Just add my 2 cents here...I would definately buy better single cable wire than bi-wire. This is one tweak that I have not found to be effective.

Apparently some of the major speaker brands agree with me as more are starting to eliminate the extra binding posts from their speakers. Recently reviewed by WHF with only single posts include Aurousal VS, Dynaudio X32, Spender A5/A6. Plenty more I'm sure.

I also don't like the extra bulk in my cable or the complication at connections...

On a simlar subject, there may be some value in replacing the metal connector between the posts with quality cable. I have not tried this, but would not be surprised to see this reap benefits.

 

[Anonymous]

yes i would bi-wire but i would use cheaper cable for high freq and dearer cable for low freq and same cables if bi amping

 

[Anonymous]

Bi amping is a different story, but biwiring makes no difference at best, and at worse can destroy the balance of a speaker, which I think may be part of the reason why the extra binding posts are beginning to disappear. Some of the upmarket manufacturers have never had the extra binding posts.

 

[Anonymous]

Just to add my 2 cents in this, biwiring the BR2's definitely did have a notable effect on the openness of the sound. I had the opportunity to hear the same speaker cables with both single and biwire, I opted for the single wire in the end because the biwire was not long enough and thought it wouldn't make a difference, to my ears it did. Therefore my thoughts are if the speakers have been designed to be bewired then go for it but I also agree it's probably more worthwhile in investing in a more expensive single cable. As has also been noted, my current speakers only have one pair of terminals so it's not as if biwiring is the be all and end all.

 

[phil8702]

Thanks to all who have responded. Guess the best thing is to find a dealer to have a listen. Cheers Phil8702

 

[Anonymous]

This thread is just as interesting as the last in that opinion varies. My opinion is spend your dosh on the best single cable you can afford until you decide to bi-amp.Then you buy another set of cabes. Bi-wire cables are the Mothers Day cards of the speaker cable industry.

 

[Anonymous]

My opinion is buy a better single wire than bi-wire and then use the single wire to replace the stock jumpers that are on the speakers. IMO biwiring just removes the jumper which is why it sounds better.

 

[Messiah]

I would also bear in mind though that whilst some people have commented that bi-wire makes a difference they do not mention if this is a better result than spending money on better runs.

Personally I would buy the better quality, single wire runs every time. I have bi-wired speakers in the past and compared them to when they were single wired and not really noticed much difference. However, when moving up in quality of cable I have certainly noticed an improvement.

 

[Anonymous]

I bi amp and bi wire with Kimber 4TC/QED SA, but, and it is a BIG but there are other areas in which far bigger improvements are made and should be done 1st.

 

[Anonymous]

trevor79:I bi amp and bi wire with Kimber4VS/QED SA, but, and it is a BIG but

Trevor. It's exactly this kind of sentence structure which ends up confusing people. Without wanting to sound too "Top Gun" I'd like to ascertain what's going on here. You seem to mention both in the same sentence yet they are of completely different pedigrees as the electron goes.

 

[Anonymous]

See what you mean, to clarify I run the front Left & Right seperately bi amped, also I run them bi wired as well with Kimber 4TC to the mid/treble and QED SA to bass

 

[Anonymous]

trevor79:See what you mean, to clarify I run the front Left & Right seperately bi amped, also I run them bi wired as well with Kimber 4TC to the mid/treble and QED SA to bass

You see, I had to read that twice to understand. Running cables from two different manufacturers is not bi-wiring. Oh Trev, you do confuse me...

 

[Anonymous]

Bi-wiring or Buy-wire makes no difference in the slightest (how can it?) save your money and buy cd's.

ÿAll scientific evidence points towards bi-wiringÿasÿphysiologicalÿfoo

 

[Anonymous]

I second advice given, rather than spending 2x on two runs of wires, spend 2x on a much better single wire and replace the links on BR2s with same speaker cable.

 

[Anonymous]

Octopo:
trevor79:See what you mean, to clarify I run the front Left & Right seperately bi amped, also I run them bi wired as well with Kimber 4TC to the mid/treble and QED SA to bass

You see, I had to read that twice to understand. Running cables from two different manufacturers is not bi-wiring. Oh Trev, you do confuse me...

Have a lay down and a cuppa.

Bi-wiring is simply running 2 sets of cables to a speaker, the benefits of which are a lower impedance through 2 cables rather than 1, better separation on the crossovers (providing you take the links out) leading to wider sound staging.
With that in mind I choose to run the better cable (Kimber 4TC) to the top crossovers to gain better clarity and detail in the Mids & Highs. The QED SA to the bass. Furthermore (to further confuse) on the 875AV amp equalizer settings (I run the front pairs on 'Full' speaker settings, not THX) I slopped back the bass response letting the SUB take over the heavy work.

This gives the Amp more headroom to use its power to supply effortless signal detail from 120hz upwards when driven on Pavarotti on full throttle!

Music is wonderfully detailed, dimensional with great presence (never a big wall of sound hitting you) and on good recordings the timber and texture is beautiful. With the various music settings on the 875 one can quickly find one that improves the poor recorded CD's than the totally revealing PL2 setting.

Yep Bi-wiring is a improvement, but your system needs to be up to scratch to get noticeable improvements out of it. Otherwise using 2 better quality / thicker cables in the 1st place will give similer results IMO.

 

[Anonymous]

trevor79:Octopo:
trevor79:See what you mean, to clarify I run the front Left & Right seperately bi amped, also I run them bi wired as well with Kimber 4TC to the mid/treble and QED SA to bass

You see, I had to read that twice to understand. Running cables from two different manufacturers is not bi-wiring. Oh Trev, you do confuse me...

Have a lay down and a cuppa.Bi-wiring is simply running 2 sets of cables to a speaker, the benefits of which are a lower impedance through 2 cables rather than 1, better separation on the crossovers (providing you take the links out) leading to wider sound staging..

ÿ

I dont see how better separation happens , either way of wiring the speakersÿreceivesÿthe exact same signal , Its just like using thicker wire ,thats it

 

[Anonymous]

drumlins4ever:trevor79:Octopo:

trevor79:See what you mean, to clarify I run the front Left & Right seperately bi amped, also I run them bi wired as well with Kimber 4TC to the mid/treble and QED SA to bass

You see, I had to read that twice to understand. Running cables from two different manufacturers is not bi-wiring. Oh Trev, you do confuse me...

Have a lay down and a cuppa.Bi-wiring is simply running 2 sets of cables to a speaker, the benefits of which are a lower impedance through 2 cables rather than 1, better separation on the crossovers (providing you take the links out) leading to wider sound staging..

I dont see how better separation happens , either way of wiring the speakers receives the exact same signal , Its just like using thicker wire ,thats it
Ok what about bi wiring with different types of cable ie atlas hyper bi wire uses stranded for low freq and solid core for hi freq or make up your own combinations

 

[Anonymous]

Bi-amping is a waste of time on two-way speakers never mind bi-wiring, which offers no benefit to anyone except to a shop selling cables.

Ash

 

[Anonymous]

Unlikely to make a difference, unless you're running lengths over 50ft. The whole biwiring thing is a myth.

 

[Anonymous]

I have tried bi-wir, bi-amp, using same type and different on treble and base or as it is sometimes called shotgun. before you spend your hard earned cash go to a good dealer and borrow some dem cables. If you can't hear a difference save your cash. cheap option speaker jumpers.

 

[Anonymous]

Ashley James:Bi-amping is a waste of time on two-way speakers never mind bi-wiring, which offers no benefit to anyone except to a shop selling cables.

Ash

But it does on 3 way speakers, which is what I have.

As to cables, on good quality HiFi choosing the right match for your system is essential in fine tuning the music.

Having said that I suspect you could make most systems sound pretty good using bell wire or the good old '79 strand' if the Mains was effectively dealt with 1st!

 

[Gusboll]

trevor79:Ashley James:Bi-amping is a waste of time on two-way speakers never mind bi-wiring, which offers no benefit to anyone except to a shop selling cables. Ash But it does on 3 way speakers, which is what I have. As to cables, on good quality HiFi choosing the right match for your system is essential in fine tuning the music. Having said that I suspect you could make most systems sound pretty good using bell wire or the good old '79 strand' if the Mains was effectively dealt with 1st!

Not being a techie; how come a 3-way speaker benefits from bi-amping/bi-wiring while a 2-way does not?