|   BIWIRING | CUCO
Jan 17, 2002 8:50 PM | | Is there really an improvement in sound by biwiring speakers? It seems that all one is doing is moving the point of separation from the speaker binding posts to amps binding post. Please advise. |
| re: BIWIRING | diamondmjs
Jan 17, 2002 9:07 PM | | I posted the same message on another message board earlier today and most of the responses were that if you have good speakers you should try bi-wiring. I did it tonight with my brand new Monitor Audio 8i's and I have to say that I think there is a crisper sound with more seperation of hi's and low's. I would suggest that you give it a try. Speaker wire is pretty inexpensive and I think you will see a slight difference. |
| re: BIWIRING | OK
Jan 17, 2002 9:26 PM | | I found this article at http://www.magnepan.com/1-800-474-1646/consumer-reviews.html
The complete guide to High-end Audio/ part 6
Bi-wiring is running two lengths of cable between the power amplifier and loudspeaker. This technique usually produces much better sound quality than conventional single-wiring. Most high-end loudspeakers have two pairs of binding posts for bi-wiring, with one pair connected to the crossover's tweeter circuit and the other pair connected to the woofer circuit. The jumpers connecting the two pairs of binding posts fitted at the factory must be removed for bi-wiring.
In a bi-wired system, the power amplifier "sees" a higher impedance on the tweeter cable at low frequencies, and a lower impedance at high frequencies. The opposite is true in the woofer half of the bi-wired pair. This causes the signal to be split up, with high frequencies traveling mostly in the pair driving the loudspeaker's tweeter circuit and low frequencies conducted by the pair connected to the loudspeaker's woofer circuit. This frequency splitting reportedly reduces magnetic interactions in the cable, resulting in better sound. The large magnetic fields set up around the conductors by low-frequency energy can't affect the transfer of treble energy. No one knows exactly how or why bi-wiring works, but on nearly all loudspeakers with bi-wiring provision, it makes a big improvement in the sound. Whatever your cable budget, you should bi-wire if your loudspeaker has bi-wired inputs, even if it means buying two runs of less expensive cables.
You can bi-wire your loudspeakers with two identical single-wire runs, or with a specially prepared bi-wire set. A bi-wire set has one pair (positive and negative) of terminations at the amplifier end of the cable, and two pairs at the loudspeaker end of the cable. This makes it easier to hook up, and probably offers slightly better sound quality.
Loudspeakers can also be connected with a single bi-wire set in which a single cable with multiple internal conductors has two pairs of terminations on one end and a single pair of terminations at the other end. Although this approach is much less expensive than two runs of cable, you lose the benefit of magnetically isolating the low- and high-frequency conductors from each other.
Most bi-wired sets use identical cables for the high- and low-frequency legs. Mixing cables, however, can have several advantages. By using a cable with good bass on the low-frequency pair, and a more expensive but sweeter-sounding cable on the high-frequency pair, you can get better performance for a lower cost. Use a less expensive cable on the bass and put more money into the high-frequency cable. If you've already got two pairs of cable the same length, the higher-quality cable usually sounds better on the high-frequency side of the bi-wired pair. If you use different cables for bi-wiring, they should be made by the same manufacturer and have similar physical construction. If the cables in a bi-wired set have different capacitances or inductances, those capacitances and inductances change the loudspeaker's crossover characteristics.
I don't know how true is the above article, haven't found solid, serious, really technical explanations yet. This book is for grand public, not by a real engineer, even Harley is presented as:
"Mr. Harley is one of the world's leading experts in field of consumer electronic technology. He has worked as a recording engineer, CD mastering engineer, and technical writer. Mr. Harley holds a degree in Recording Engineering, and has taught a college degree program in that field. He is a celebrated author who has published more than 600 articles on audio and home theater, including reviews of more than 350 products. His two books are considered reference works for the industry, with more than 100,000 copies in print in three languages. He has written or co-written several papers presented at international Audio Engineering |
| re: BIWIRING | FLZapped
Jan 18, 2002 5:26 AM | | [In a bi-wired system, the power amplifier "sees" a higher impedance on the tweeter cable at low frequencies, and a lower impedance at high frequencies. ]
This is simply untrue, the amp sees the same load as it would with an equivalent single wire set-up. The only thing that has happened is the moving of the connection between the crossover sections from the speaker to the amplifier.
That should give you an idea of how technically sound the rest of the article is.
-Bruce |
| I just bi-wired my B&Ws and.... | steve6387
Jan 18, 2002 3:49 AM | | I'm still waiting to hear a noticible difference. I need o do more critical listening to really be sure, but so far, I am hard pressed to notice a differece...and those speakers are made to be bi-wired. Here's a article on the alleged benefits from B&W's website:
http://www.bwspeakers.com/service/getthemost/article_details.cfm?objectID=F5CA2E9F-3D20-11D4-A67F00D0B7473B37
--Steve |
| re: BIWIRING | FLZapped
Jan 18, 2002 5:35 AM | | Bi-wiring is an attempt at increasing the signal isolation between the crossover sections of your speakers by moving where the amplifiers output impedance falls in realationship to the two halves of the crossover by putting the speaker wire impedance in the loop.
However, there are at least 6 different variables one must solve for in each system since each combination is unique.
Therefore it is a crap shoot as to whether or not you'll actuall chieve that goal.
Even if you can work the problem out and show positve increases in isolation, is it audible? That is unknown.
You can certainly try it, however, I would go to my local building supply store and get either some 12 AWG "speaker wire" or go over and get some 12 AWG landscape light wiring.
Electrically, the same thing could be accomplished by placing a small amount of resistance(like 0.05 ohm) in each leg of the crossover and feeding the thing at the junction of those two resistances. Only on the "positive" side though. Again, if the speaker manufacturers thought this would actually make a real audible improvement, they would be doing it by now.
-Bruce |
| It's simple to test | Norm Strong
Jan 18, 2002 11:54 AM | | Unlike most things in audio, bi-wiring is a snap to test. Just bi-wire one of your speakers, using the wire from one speaker to temporarily bi-wire the other. Now just connect or disconnect the metal jumper strap that comes with the speaker. When this strap is connected, you are monowired; when you open the strap, you're biwired.
It should be simple to tell the difference--if there is one. My own experience doing this test is that there is no audible difference until you get to very small and very long wires. Then there is a difference--in favor of monowiring. |
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