I know you're more concerned about DBS, but equal lengths might be desired too. I’ve been told by a rep that AQ will shorten cables if you mail them in. Might be worth inquiring with AQ!
Maybe cables matter, but y'all understand that bi-wiring does absolutely nothing, right? You're still sending a full-range signal down both pairs, the crossovers still do their low-pass/high-pass roles. And at 10-12 ft the series resistance is still a small fraction of the series resistance of the low-pass inductor.
Maybe cables matter, but y’all understand that bi-wiring does absolutely nothing, right? You’re still sending a full-range signal down both pairs, the crossovers still do their low-pass/high-pass roles. And at 10-12 ft the series resistance is still a small fraction of the series resistance of the low-pass inductor.
If the speaker wires are separated at each of the crossover input leads, the amplifier will indeed still send full-range signal to it’s own output jacks, but shouldn’t the same capacitance that prevents current flow for low frequencies from going to the tweeter also prevent those frequencies from traveling down the respective wire at wherever they junction at the amplifier outputs? As in, essentially becoming an extension of the capacitor circuit leads? (and then the inverse to the woofer due to the inductance on the woofer speaker wire?)
To the OP, I wouldn’t think a 2 foot length would make an audible difference.
Short answer: "No. There won't be an audibile difference" Premium cables have gotten quite expensive and you have a chance to buy a pair of 10' factory-terminated Rocket 88's at the right price, you should go for it.
fyi- I upgraded the internal cabling of my speakers with Rocket 88 year ago. It was well worth the time, and money. Also, I have decades of experience with Audiopquest (semi-retired, but still a dealer on the books) and have been a fan of DBS since it's introduction. I'm sure there are situations where the DBS difference isn't perceptable. I just haven't come across one, yet.
There is much debate on this subject. Justifiably so.
I think it can be argued that "all things being equal" there may be little benefit to "bi-wiring." But, given the fact that the 802’s (as are many premium speakers) are factory configured for bi-wire. So, the options are: bi-wire or not bi-wire?
If you run full range cables to a speaker set for bi-wire, you have 2 cables running to a speaker with 4 input terminals. This requires a jumper, of some kind to "feed" all 4 terminals. This can be accomplished via a factory-supplied "jumper bar" to get the job done. Not the best material, or geometry for best SQ. Or, you get high quality jumpers (from AQ, or others) to do the job. Better, but there’s still an extra set of connection points and cabling, in the signal path.
SBW (single bi-wire) is a neat, simple solution for bi-wiring. One cable, one jacket, split out into 4 leads at the speaker end. However, this does take part of the cable’s total AWG and divide it between "lows" and "highs" with debatable (by some) SQ benefits. This is your current configuration, it appears. DBW (double bi-wire) uses dedicated cables for "lows" and "highs" meaning, of course, that 100% of the cable is used for each, with no compromises in the AWG to feed signal to each. So, essentially, you’re doubling the gauge of your speakers, which is a good thing.
Given the fact that the 802’s are factory configured for bi-wire, running an additional set of Rocket 88’s is a no-brainer, in my view. Especially, if the price of admission is at a reasonable price.
I change one thing a time over a few days so I digest and see if I can hear a difference. There's no doubt, not placebo, that cables do matter! Power matters
I once used some speakers, one a couple feet from the amp and the other was 8 feet away. From bulk cable, I cut a 5 foot length to wire the closest one, and a longer one for the other [to keep excess wire from the floor]. Didn't seem to bother the sound to me, but when my pal [who thinks a lot] said it would bother him to have things set up that way, it started in on my head, too. A few days later, I changed out the shorter one for an equal length one. Didn't seem to make a difference, but mentally I felt much better.
Most (if not all) professional audiophile equipment reviewers do not believe bi-wiring amounts to anything. If you hunt around the web, you'll find a few fair & objective A/B shoot-outs or comparisons out there where some folks have tested single vs. bi-wire to evaluate the difference(s). The results are largely inconclusive and, essentially, in the ears of the beholders. It's like the age-old debates of whether $5,000 speaker cables are better than $500 cables; super expensive connecters are better than less expensive ones; digital sound is better than vinyl; etc., etc. etc. The standing joke is that "bi-wiring" is just another ploy for "buy wiring".
I had a pair of Paradigm Monitor 9 (original versions) single-wired with 14-gauge Monster speaker cable and then bi-wired them with some 12-gauge AudioQuest Type 4, similar in construction to Rocket 88. Sound was noticeably improved with the AudioQuest. However, I believe this was a function of thicker gauge wire; not bi-wiring.
If I were you, I'd hunt around for a shop that would loan me a pair of 12' Rocket 88 with the dbs (or some other suitable length) and try bi-wiring for yourself before spending that kind of cash. Personally, I'm inclined to agree with those who believe this dbs thing is a marketing ploy. All of the reading and research I've done on this from impartial sources points in that direction.
With respect to the lengths of wire involved, I would keep the lengths identical. I'm not sure you'd hear a dramatic difference, comparatively speaking, in phase response by using different lengths. However, this is a theoretical possibility. Try it. See/hear what you think.
I’ve bi-wired with Audioquest in a number of ways. Of course, they will tell you to bi--wire as symmetrically as possible. However, I’ve had good success with breaking the rules, somewhat. I use a combination of 6ft Mont Blanc (12 AWG, PSC+ copper, counter-spiral geometry) for LF and 7.5 ft KE-4 (15 AWG, PSS silver, star-quad geometry) for HF. Close to 2ft difference, different metals, different geometries. I like this combination a lot. I’ve compared it directly to 8ft Redwood single-biwire ($8500 MSRP) and it was a wash, with some points going to the Redwood and some to my weird biwire.
I ended up preferring full double biwires of Kilimanjaro (PSS silver version of Mont Blanc) or Wildwood (Redwood with more PSS silver), at much greater expense, but the quirky mismatched biwire is still one of my favorite speakers cables, and I still use it in a smaller office system. The combination of PSC+ copper and PSS silver yields a really natural timbre. I didn’t like the Thunderbird Zero (alone, no biwire) at all, so I’d say it’s better than that.
As far as coherence, I’m a guy who dislikes the Tannoy supertweeters because it messes with coherence, but I don’t have any problem with this mis-matched biwire. You’ll be fine!
I also have a single-biwire Rocket 88 in my gear collection, and it’s a really nice cable for the money. Good for helping to smooth out a solid state amp!
In direct answer to your question the 2 ft will not make any audible difference. IMHO, it is better to buy those made directly from AQ, because materials used at end points and workmanship may have an impact on sound. I use the same cable for my B&W 801 Matrix S3 in my living room. Great choice.
Maybe cables matter, but y’all understand that bi-wiring does absolutely nothing, right? You’re still sending a full-range signal down both pairs, the crossovers still do their low-pass/high-pass roles. And at 10-12 ft the series resistance is still a small fraction of the series resistance of the low-pass inductor.
I try not to say anything too technical on the forums because every accountant and MBA claiming to be engineering PhDs from Purdue, MIT, etc (the all knowing seers!)) could get their enormous egos hurt these days. Some speaker peddlers who buy drivers from someone else, put em in a box and sell it to y’all for beacoup bucks don’t know diddly either and are also a part of the misinformation transmission group.
The following information is just to get you a bit more informed about this. So, don’t get offended. In layman terms, when you apply a voltage to a drive unit, the current flow is nonlinear. i.e. If you put a linear voltage into a linear resistance, the current flow will be linear. If you put a linear voltage into a nonlinear resistance (such as a driver implementation in a speaker), the current flow is nonlinear.
For any driver, the impedance is a combination of the current going in the forwards and backwards direction (i.e. when a coil’s moving), i.e., it is a non-linear current flow. When you have a tweeter and woofer coupled through a crossover to a common ground point, that point is not the speaker’s negative terminal. True ground is back at the amp (not at the speaker) due to the wire going to the amp...so far so good?
As you may know, any speaker cable has a resistance associated with it, ---> non-linear current flow through the tweeter is generating a nonlinear voltage across that wire ---> the reference point for the voltage applied across the woofer has a nonlinear voltage applied to it by a small amount and vice versa ---> nonlinear contamination between the 2 drivers. (it is a small amount)...
The essence of biwiring is separating those wires and grounding them only at the amplifier such that the amplifier is a true ground point, and the nonlinear artifact/contamination (mentioned above) is removed.
Whether you hear it or not depends on the fidelity of your room, quality of your ear, any attention to detail that was paid to your speaker drivers, crossovers, amps, etc.
Just because you can’t hear it doesn’t mean no one else can hear it...
Just a note. Put the shorter pair on the woofers. If there is a timing issue at all at least the woofers will start first. Typically the speed goes to the high end. Personally I would just run the cables you have to the tweeters and jump down with about 8” of rocket 88. You can even experiment with other jumpers from other companies. Try not to use the factory gold plated metal jumpers. If you do use them connect your speaker cables to the high side. Maybe borrow a pair or buy a returnable pair of Rocket 88s so you can see if you hear a difference and you like that difference. I feel there is better way to spend your money like IsoAcoustics for your speakers or your gear. Especially your digital side. You should prioritize your money to where it makes the most audible impact. I will bet you will make a bigger difference with a better power cord than a second speaker cable. It all starts at the wall. Try before you buy so you’re not going down the dreaded rabbit hole. This hobby gets expensive.
Well stated, gentlemen. I learned something. Just might prove I’m still “trainable” at my age?
I would just like to add that a manufacturer (I believe it’s AQ) recommends that if you’re going to use those factory jumpers and run full range that you “stagger” the inputs, connecting the positive lead to the highs and the negative to the lows. The science here is well above my pay grade, but thought it was worth sharing.
Waytoomuchstuff is correct about putting the positive and negative on opposite sets of binding posts. A couple more things. You should only do this if the Jumpers match the speaker cable otherwise you get an unusual path and can mess with things a little in the resistance. The other thing is if this is a two way that is ok. If it is a three way or more it is not recommended. I don’t even know if you could hear the difference. The nice thing is if you use the same speaker cables as the jumper you can try several different options. I have had some people tell me to jump up to the high side so the woofers start first and you might calm down the tweeter if need be.
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