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Is bi-wiring worth it


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Just now, keitha said:

Just after opinion on those that have and those that have not. Is it worth it or not, both my amp and speakers allow for it so just asking the question

The replies here will vary, but all I can say is that, over many years, with many speakers and many amplifiers, I have never been able to detect any improvement whatsoever by bi-wiring, but to be fair I also have never experienced any negative effects either.

 

What worked far easier and definitely audibly better to me, was to use higher quality jumper leads on the speakers, than what is provided by the speaker manufacturer, preferably with the same cables as the speaker cables  you are using (if possible ), but if not then just some quality cables.

 

This has worked for  me almost every time.

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13 minutes ago, rantan said:

The replies here will vary, but all I can say is that, over many years, with many speakers and many amplifiers, I have never been able to detect any improvement whatsoever by bi-wiring, but to be fair I also have never experienced any negative effects either.

 

What worked far easier and definitely audibly better to me, was to use higher quality jumper leads on the speakers, than what is provided by the speaker manufacturer, preferably with the same cables as the speaker cables  you are using (if possible ), but if not then just some quality cables.

 

This has worked for  me almost every time.

 

Another plus one. 

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From my experience, yes it is worth it.

When I single wired with jumpers, whichever terminal received the speaker cables first was most prominent. Using the 'cross' technique just muddied it up and collapsed the soundstage.  Everyone's mileage will vary depending on their system.

I think the contributing factor in my system was that the speakers require high current delivery to sound good.

 

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May depend on Equipment etc. I've heard a worthwhile difference, by using seperate brand Cables on Bass/ (Mid-hi). A  worthwhile difference over using Single Cable and Jumpers., and also single Bi-Wire Cable i.e. 2 out to 4. In fact I just purchased another Pair of Speakers to add to the Collection and was a bit disappointed to find they are not Bi-Wireable.

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1 hour ago, keitha said:

Just after opinion on those that have and those that have not. Is it worth it or not, both my amp and speakers allow for it so just asking the question

No........nothing to be gained running another set of wires to your loudspeakers. If you were going to bi amp your loudspeakers and if done correctly, that definitely has potential for improvement.

 

Cheers,

 

Keith

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1 hour ago, rantan said:

The replies here will vary, but all I can say is that, over many years, with many speakers and many amplifiers, I have never been able to detect any improvement whatsoever by bi-wiring, but to be fair I also have never experienced any negative effects either.

 

What worked far easier and definitely audibly better to me, was to use higher quality jumper leads on the speakers, than what is provided by the speaker manufacturer, preferably with the same cables as the speaker cables  you are using (if possible ), but if not then just some quality cables.

 

This has worked for  me almost every time.

+1 again (IME)

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1 hour ago, keitha said:

Just after opinion on those that have and those that have not. Is it worth it or not, both my amp and speakers allow for it so just asking the question

 

AIUI, whether bi-wiring your passive spkrs makes a difference or not … depends on how the internal passive XOs have been wired up.

 

If there is a common ground between the LP section and the HP section … then it doesn't (make a difference).  If the LP filter is completely separate to the HP filter (each one just connects to its respective BPs) … then it can make a difference.

 

Andy

 

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52 minutes ago, keitha said:

Cambridge Audio CXA81 and Wharfedale Denton 85th Anniversary

Not for those speakers unfortunately.

 

Some bigger speakers it can, (Jamo D590, Some 7 & 8 series B&Ws come to mind) but I find Bi-Amping along with the Bi-Wiring is where the real difference is. 

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40 minutes ago, 81Vintage said:

Not for those speakers unfortunately.

 

Some bigger speakers it can, (Jamo D590, Some 7 & 8 series B&Ws come to mind) but I find Bi-Amping along with the Bi-Wiring is where the real difference is. 

What do you mean, not for those speakers, they are bi-wiring capable, just asking if it’s worth it.

 

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20 minutes ago, keitha said:

What do you mean, not for those speakers, they are bi-wiring capable, just asking if it’s worth it.

 

Hello keitha, there are many loudspeakers that are capable of being bi wired and if your loudspeakers allow you to do it, why don’t you go ahead and give it a try? As I mentioned earlier though, there is nothing to gain from it and if you were to bi wire and bi amp your loudspeakers and you had a gain in performance, that would be totally down to the bi amping.

 

Good luck with it though and it won’t cost you much to run another set of wires to your loudspeakers.

 

Cheers,

 

Keith

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6 minutes ago, cheekyboy said:

Hello keitha, there are many loudspeakers that are capable of being bi wired and if your loudspeakers allow you to do it, why don’t you go ahead and give it a try? As I mentioned earlier though, there is nothing to gain from it and if you were to bi wire and bi amp your loudspeakers and you had a gain in performance, that would be totally down to the bi amping.

 

Good luck with it though and it won’t cost you much to run another set of wires to your loudspeakers.

 

Cheers,

 

Keith

Thanks, seems like it’s not worth it. I’m happy with the little system and was just curious. As we are with everything Hi-Fi

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1 hour ago, cheekyboy said:

 

if you were to bi wire and bi amp your loudspeakers and you had a gain in performance, that would be totally down to the bi amping.

 

 

C'mon, Keith … are you seriously suggesting it is worth bi-amping loudspeakers when you continue to use the passive XO inside them?  (As distinct from active bi-amping.)

 

Andy

 

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I’d generally agree with @rantan. You’d generally be better to spend your budget on a better speaker cable, taking a small section from it for links.

 

Having said that, I tri wire my Whatmough speakers based on a strong recommendation from Whatmough. 

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The advantage of bi-wiring is doubling the thickness of your speaker cable. Whether you do it with two sets of terminals or one is purely cosmetic, but the audiophile world is happy perpetuating many myths.

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yes it’s worth it you are running thin speaker cable smaller than  14ga. 

 

but if you have thick speaker cable already then it’s not worth it. 

any sort of cheap speaker wire will be fine for jumpers just keep it as short as possible.

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