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Bi-wire-top post, bottom post, why a difference?

I use mapleshade jumpers between the 2 peerless drivers that cross over at either 900 or 1000 to the 30" newform research ribbons..the acoustic zen satori[single wire] was always running to the bottom speaker lugs...I could only afford one good wire at the time. Sunday I connected the satori to the second set of lugs. Please note the ribbons are connected to the cabinet' top by their own jumpers[mapleshade]....I wasn't quite ready for the improvement I hear in the sound...in fact I still have to replay cds to make sure it is "better" and not merely different. Better clarity and blossoming of voices into the space between me and the speakers. Larger if you will, while depth seems enhanced. Is this an indication these speakers should be biwired? I'm toying with getting a short run of bolder cable[affordable] to see if this is the case. Any thoughts on the above? Oh, the rest of the system is a krell pam3. sim4070se, nopariel cd, roxan zerxes, ac matric ic and ixos ixotica ic. and absolute power cord. Monster and panamex conditioners. Thanks in advance. Bluenose
bluenose
plato
1,543 posts
 
To me it makes sense if single-wiring to run the speaker cables directly to the midrange/tweeter section and then strap to the bass section. I think that the perceived differences in the midrange and treble quality will be more noticeable than whatever degradation occurs in the bass. This is mainly relevant when the straps are not the same wire or material as the speaker cables.

On my B&W speakers I run an excellent shotgun cable to the midrange/tweeter posts and use the gold-plated straps supplied with the speaker to strap down to the bass section. I have found this configuration to work quite well, though possibly using higher quality wire straps would work even better. To me it seems like a waste of money and space to biwire with two runs of the same cable. I may write to my cable's manufacturer to see if he will supply me with two pairs of straps made from his wire for a lower fee than buying another pair of 12 ft. cables. Heck, for that purpose they wouldn't even need to be terminated, as bare wire should provide the best connection anyway.
bluenose OP
387 posts
 
Thanks everyone for your input. Plato, I seem to have found the same effect as you using the top speaker posts and maplesahde jumpers to the bottom posts. regards, Bluenose
bryan1
2 posts
 
Am I wrong, or is the primary benefit of bi-wiring to bypass the crossover network of the speaker? My speakers for example, according to the manufacturer, are meant to be bi-wired for the best results. Some companies, such as Theil, don't want you to bypass thier internal crossover(s) and don't even provide the option for bi-wiring(at least on some models). Hence, IMHO, this issue is really dependent on the particular speaker in question. I would contact the maker of your speakers and ask them what is best.
plato
1,543 posts
 
Bryan1,

Bi-wiring does not generally bypass the passive internal crossover, although on some models it could defeat an internal link between the high-pass and low-pass sections, i.e., you are still using the internal the crossover, even if you biwire.

Personally I prefer bi-amping with an active crossover with a speaker that has no passive crossover networks (or has them bypassed/defeated). That gets better results because the amps are not forced to work full range, plus they can be optimized for the individual drivers' requirements.
plato
1,543 posts
 
Now that I think of it, removing the straps for a bi-wired configuration may circumvent the potential for back-emf generated voltages to interact between the respective driver/crossover sections. Perhaps that is the real advantage that bi-wiring offers. I'll have to look into this further and perhaps do some experimenting with my B&Ws.
Perhaps someone with a more technical background could provide further information in that area.
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