Bi wiring
- Thread starter JeffBuerster
- Start date
SoCal Sam
Lunatic Member
The novelty of debunking bi-wire is no more.
Funky54
Super Member
Yeah, you’re right, once a person tries it with speakers where it matters, he can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube and realizes the science can only get him so far.
I won't go there except to say that I also sometimes hear what I expect to.
That doesn't mean its real.
Which is why I said I don't have actual measurements.
The more I'm on AK, the more I find it useful to separate whats measured from what someone (including myself) heard.
SoCal Sam
Lunatic Member
Anything goes as long as one adds the qualifier "for me". For example:
"When I tried {add mouse trap here}, the sound was the epiphany of epiphanies. FOR ME, it was as if a thousand angels parted the heavens and led me to audio paradise."
Where there is trouble is when a retailer comes in and tries to tell others that what they like is all wrong. You know, the "unleash the inner you" or "hear what you are missing" spiel.
SoCal Sam
Lunatic Member
Much better.
SinglePoint
Active Member
It may or may not have an audible effect, but it can be fun experimenting. Music out of my Monitor Audio BX5 / Cambridge Audio combo did not seem to benefit. I might try the bi-wired MAs with my Rotel amp just for fun.
Thanks for the link. I read it all and was impressed that the improvement was measured conclusively. I only take issue with this statement from the conclusion:
"We theorised and proved by measurement, the counter-intuitive notion that the high and low frequencies travel only in their designated cables."
Counter-intuitive? I would have thought it was obvious that the high and low frequencies travel only in their designated cables.
whoaru99
Epic Member
I think the point about counter-intuitive is a bit of unclarity.
All the frequencies are present in both cables as voltage signal/signature since they are parallel from the same source. However, the currents of high frequency constituent and of low frequency constituent are respective to their own branches.
All the frequencies are present in both cables as voltage signal/signature since they are parallel from the same source. However, the currents of high frequency constituent and of low frequency constituent are respective to their own branches.
jek57
Active Member
Then don't do it
It's odd, also, that they would say "theorised", given that behavior is dictated by having parallel paths to two circuits with very different impedance characteristics. Nonetheless, the testing and measurements seem very legit. I've never really given much thought to it, so it was interesting to read this.
Funky54
Super Member
And that is only true if you have a speaker designer that is using a premade crossover we’re all the information is a mishmash anyway. Not everybody builds a speaker that way. Many high-end speakers build true filters per driver and they never intersect. And that’s why bi or try wiring truly does make a difference. Nobody’s ever trying to say that it always helps or it’s always negative. We’re saying based on the crossover design it may or may not make a serious improvement, a subtle improvement or no improvement.
And I’m not saying that a speaker Designer that uses a premade crossover where the information intersects is making an inferior speaker. Maybe that’s his design and that’s the way he skins that cat. But that’s not always true of the way they are all designed.
Scroll down a bit on the page to read Richard Vandersteen's take:
https://www.vandersteen.com/support/faqs
And Nola's Carl Marchisotto observations:
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0502/aloncapri.htm
Some of the posts in this thread are hilarious.
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Not surprising that some designer disagrees, I suppose.
Bi-wiring has been a maybe yes, maybe no improvement since it became a topic in the early 80's.
Richard Vandersteen is, and has been for decades one of the State of the Art speaker designers ..
He has been advocating bi-wiring his speakers for literally decades ..
His descriptions of the how's and why's to bi-wire, are some of the most explicit instructions available. and obviously based on long experience.
The reasons for potential improvement are supported by our understanding of the laws of physics and signal transmission ..
Obviously not all designers agree ..
I say try it and listen .. it can make a cheap easy improvement ..
(and read Vandersteens description about keeping the wires a certain distance apart)
The Vandersteen link was a great read on what really goes on. I don't own Vandersteens, but I do bi-wire my SDA-SRS speakers. I did not notice a difference. I did it because I did not get the factory jumper plates from the previous owner, so I made a couple of bi-wire cables from some four conductor wires obtained from a generous AK member. According to the Vandersteen info, the wires need to be sheathed separately, which mine are not.Scroll down a bit on the page to read Richard Vandersteen's take:
https://www.vandersteen.com/support/faqs
And Nola's Carl Marchisotto observations:
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0502/aloncapri.htm
Some of the posts in this thread are hilarious.
Is this why I don't hear a difference? Could be.
Try it and see ... and please post a note about your results ..
I've been wondering for a while about the wisdom of using Star Quad type cables to Bi-wire ...
I have some Canare speaker cable and some others around .. I should try it and see ..
One day ..
I bi - wire a set of Vandies w Canare 4S11.
I think it is an improvement from what I had.
But the connectors are in play here, I tinned the ends, etc so what I hear may not exclusively be from the bi wire.
