Speaker cable advice please

[jamescfyfe]

Hello,
I am currently using audioquest flx/slip 16/4 2x runs to each speaker in a 2 core to each banana plug bi-amping my Bowers and Wilkins 684's from a Marantz PM6005 and a CD6004, Connected using Chord Crimson VEE RCA. Will i benefit from buying chord odyssey 2 and going back to jumper wires across the terminals? The cost of chord for 3m terminated is £200 for a pair. Will i hear much difference? Any advice appreciated thanks!

 

[Covenanter]

Save your money and buy some music.

Chris

 

[Native_bon]

Hey jamescfyfe, May I ask why you want to change your speaker cables. If nothing major then dnt waste your money. If its something major then still dnt waste your money on cables. You need to be looking else were. If not just enjoy your system.

 

[slice]

I agree with the previous replies - there can't be any sense in using speaker wire that costs nearly as much as your amp.

 

[BigH]

I agree save your money put it towards a better amp. I think you mean bi wiring not bi-amping. Bi wiring also a waste of money imo.

 

[MeanandGreen]

I agree with all of the above, it would be a waste to spend so much on speaker cables. What gains are you hoping to achieve? That £300 would be better put towards either upgrading the equipment or just buying more music.

 

[Infiniteloop]

Biwiring your speakers (if that's what you mean) can make an appreciable difference to the sound of your speakers since you will be bypassing the crossover circuitry that splits the signal to both woofer and tweeter.

Whether it's worth doing is going to be up to your ears. - See if you can borrow an extra set of cables from your dealer and have a good long listen. If it makes a positive difference and you consider that difference worth the cost of doing it, then go ahead.

If not, I'd agree with other posters on here and go and buy some more music.

 

[BigH]

Biwiring your speakers (if that's what you mean) can make an appreciable difference to the sound of your speakers since you will be bypassing the crossover circuitry that splits the signal to both woofer and tweeter.

Whether it's worth doing is going to be up to your ears. - See if you can borrow an extra set of cables from your dealer and have a good long listen. If it makes a positive difference and you consider that difference worth the cost of doing it, then go ahead.

If not, I'd agree with other posters on here and go and buy some more music.

Really, how's that work then?

 

[Infiniteloop]

Biwiring your speakers (if that's what you mean) can make an appreciable difference to the sound of your speakers since you will be bypassing the crossover circuitry that splits the signal to both woofer and tweeter.

Whether it's worth doing is going to be up to your ears. - See if you can borrow an extra set of cables from your dealer and have a good long listen. If it makes a positive difference and you consider that difference worth the cost of doing it, then go ahead.

If not, I'd agree with other posters on here and go and buy some more music.

Really, how's that work then?

Search for the benefits of biwiring on the interwebs. - lots of info on there.

 

[BigH]

Even cables companies say there are no benefits

http://www.achievum.eu/bi-wiring.html

the only benefit is if single cables are too thin for the length.

maybe you should do some reading: http://www.sonicdesign.se/biwire.html

 

[davedotco]

Biwiring your speakers (if that's what you mean) can make an appreciable difference to the sound of your speakers since you will be bypassing the crossover circuitry that splits the signal to both woofer and tweeter.

Whether it's worth doing is going to be up to your ears. - See if you can borrow an extra set of cables from your dealer and have a good long listen. If it makes a positive difference and you consider that difference worth the cost of doing it, then go ahead.

If not, I'd agree with other posters on here and go and buy some more music.

Really?

Are you sure?

 

[ID.]

(1) I think you are biwiring rather than biamping, and

(2) You want to spend almost as much on speaker cable as you spent on a component?

Even if there is a difference, I'd argue that your kit probably isn't revealing enough for the subtle difference to show. You'd get much more benefit from selling your amp and combining those funds with the 200 pounds to get a better amp. I think the 684s are actually quite hard to drive and would benefit from a more powerful amp.

 

[MeanandGreen]

Biwiring your speakers (if that's what you mean) can make an appreciable difference to the sound of your speakers since you will be bypassing the crossover circuitry that splits the signal to both woofer and tweeter.

Whether it's worth doing is going to be up to your ears. - See if you can borrow an extra set of cables from your dealer and have a good long listen. If it makes a positive difference and you consider that difference worth the cost of doing it, then go ahead.

If not, I'd agree with other posters on here and go and buy some more music.

Biwiring does not bypass the crossovers in the speakers. Electrically speaking biwire is no different to single wire whatsoever.

Biamping is a different matter, but again the speakers internal crossover is still filtering out the signal to the relevant drivers. The difference with biamping is that the speaker load is being split across separate amps, one for the woofer, one for the tweeter. Full range signal is still being sent to each driver and then being filtered by the crossover in the speaker.

 

[ellisdj]

Only way to know is to try for yourself - I have lived with Odyssey and Epic and heard the Audioquest at the WHF Towers.

obviously both were on different systems - the Audioquest was on the reference system @ WHF not the reference speakers though. Its very good cable, but I have heard much better but costs a lot more. But this might not be an area that needs improving in your system by the looks of it

I have done test on speaker cables recently that were very interesting.

Dont listen to the cable nay sayers - listen for yourself there are companies that will do you a home demo. Only you can judge

 

[Vladimir]

Only sure way to know if something is snake oil or real is to try it for yourself.

Post back with the results.

 

[bigboss]

Only way to know is to try for yourself - I have lived with Odyssey and Epic and heard the Audioquest at the WHF Towers.

obviously both were on different systems - the Audioquest was on the reference system @ WHF not the reference speakers though.  Its very good cable, but I have heard much better but costs a lot more.  But this might not be an area that needs improving in your system by the looks of it

I have done test on speaker cables recently that were very interesting.

Dont listen to the cable nay sayers - listen for yourself there are companies that will do you a home demo.  Only you can judge

Surely, even you would agree that spending as much on speaker cables as on the amplifier makes little sense? Instead of buying a budget amplifier and connect with high end cables, is it not better to get a better amplifier and spend less on cables?

 

[cheeseboy]

Surely, even you would agree that spending as much on speaker cables as on the amplifier makes little sense? Instead of buying a budget amplifier and connect with high end cables, is it not better to get a better amplifier and spend less on cables?

you are aware you talking to a guy who bought an expensive sata cable yet buffers all his music in to ram?

 

[davedotco]

For a dem I once cabled a sub £1000 budget system with nearly £6000 of the (then) top of line Nordost Cables.

The difference was amazing, revelatory, night and day, whatever cliche you want to trot out. I was stunned.

 

[chebby]

For a dem I once cabled a sub £1000 budget system with nearly £6000 of the (then) top of line Nordost Cables.

The difference was amazing, revelatory, night and day, whatever cliche you want to trot out. I was stunned.

As good as a £7000 system without boutique cables?

 

[davedotco]

For a dem I once cabled a sub £1000 budget system with nearly £6000 of the (then) top of line Nordost Cables.

The difference was amazing, revelatory, night and day, whatever cliche you want to trot out. I was stunned.

As good as a £7000 system without boutique cables?

Easily, the con was very, very convincing........*nea*

 

[steve_1979]

Biwiring your speakers (if that's what you mean) can make an appreciable difference to the sound of your speakers since you will be bypassing the crossover circuitry that splits the signal to both woofer and tweeter.

No it doesn't. The signal still passes through the crossover circuit just the same.

 

[BryO]

Even cables companies say there are no benefits

http://www.achievum.eu/bi-wiring.html

the only benefit is if single cables are too thin for the length.

maybe you should do some reading: http://www.sonicdesign.se/biwire.html

So I have read these articles and it has me questioning the bi wire set up on my Ojan 3s, I'm using Rega FSC Quattro Bi-Wire Speaker Cable which was cheap enough but to be honest a little on the thin side. If it's true and biwiring has a negative effect on the sound should I try the speakers via single wiring and make a link to the tweeter with the wire I have left over.

Or is that just a waste of time? I guess trying it for free can't hurt or can it!

 

[davedotco]

Even cables companies say there are no benefits

http://www.achievum.eu/bi-wiring.html

the only benefit is if single cables are too thin for the length.

maybe you should do some reading: http://www.sonicdesign.se/biwire.html

So I have read these articles and it has me questioning the bi wire set up on my Ojan 3s, I'm using Rega FSC Quattro Bi-Wire Speaker Cable which was cheap enough but to be honest a little on the thin side. If it's true and biwiring has a negative effect on the sound should I try the speakers via single wiring and make a link to the tweeter with the wire I have left over.

Or is that just a waste of time? I guess trying it for free can't hurt or can it!

Best trick here is to 'double up', Use two single runs for the red +ve and two for the black -ve. If you can, run the cable through both sets of terminals on the speakers, effectively the same as making up links, but less bother.

 

[BryO]

So I got home from work and took out the bi-wire, joined both red, both black and links from an old piece of 79 strand.

Do my ears deceive me, well after reading this forum I'd be inclined to accept that possibility. So this deception somehow sounds to be bass deeper, tighter and fuller. Damn these ears

 

[Vladimir]

It has been repeated again and again but here goes once more.

1) Best cable connection (in the absence of soldering) is bare wire and the worst is banana jacks.

2) Wire should be periodically (once a year) cut on each end to make fresh connection since metal oxidizes.

3) Always clean terminals, wires and link plates with alcohol after touching them, to remove grease from human skin because it speeds up oxidation.

4) Once or twice a year connections (speaker terminals, RCA and XLR jacks etc.) should be checked and retightened slightly if loose.

5) If you hear significant differences when experimenting with cables, it is placebo. If you hear slight or no difference, it is more likely real.