Any sonic benefits of bi-wiring speakers ?

The link I'm providing is to the Vandersteen site. Although you own a different speaker, I would venture to guess that results would be similar.

http://www.vandersteen.com/pages/Answr7.htm

Hi,Albertporter .Thanks for the link which provided info that I need .
BTW, some said biwiring the spkr would reproduce not as FAT on bass -just wonder if by that means significantly leaner-bass;yet others said the bass become more panchy and better extended . Since basically I am a bass-lover ; just be afraid of improving the mids and highs yet loosing the bass . I would appreciate your (and any reader)opinion and suggestions Thanks
Simon

There is no set rule on wether biwiring will be sonically beneficial. If Biwiring sounds better to the listners ear, its beneficial. If another listener likes the way it sounds better single wired its not benefical.

You won't really know the overall effect and effects on bass, midrange and highs until you try it and see how it sounds to your ear.

The Audio Critic stated:

"If you move one pair of speaker wires to the same terminals where the other pair is connected, absolutely nothing changes electrically. The law of physics that says so is called superposition principle.
In terms of electronics, the superpositions states that any number of voltages applied simultaneously to a linear network will result in a current which is the exact sum of the currents that would result if the voltages were applied individually. At the same time it is only fair to point out that biwiring does no harm, it just doesn't do anything. Like magnets in your shoes."

Not sure I understand most of what they said other than the part about the magnets and from first-hand experience I can say they don't do a darn thing.

IMHO, the best thing to do is obtain some relatively cheap decent sounding speaker wire such as the 12 awg kind from Home Depot, etc., and experiment this way before laying down any more money for a second run of the Analysis-Plus cables.

It is really speaker/xover dependant. I just went through this myself with my Montanas. I tried a jumper with a set of Luminous Synchestra Sigs thinking I could cheap out and not buy another pair. Wrong! It is very obvious that these speakers need to be biwired to sound their best. This was confirmed in another system with another pair of Montanas. Same result. Biwired connections with lesser cable was equal or better than the more expensive cable with jumpers.

The same goes for VS speakers. Biwiring is a must with them. But as always, YMMV with a different speaker.

Oz

I think Dalton has a great idea. Get some cheap wiring and try it both ways and see if you like the effect.

You also still may be able to find some of that cheap Radio Shack solid copper wire that comes in 50ft rolls. Thats what I used to experiment before investing the bucks in some good cables.

I will have to aggree with Ozzy on this one. I was actually on the phone discussing the purchase of another independent single run to effectively biwire my current speakers.

I was advised it is *really* speaker dependent. For example B&W and Martin Logan to name a few benefit greatly from biwiring. I have personally experienced great changes with both. I have biwired and single wired others and not noticed much difference at all.

I have no experience with your speakers though. Perhaps a call to The Cable Company would yield some help. They keep a database as to which speakers benefit and such from biwiring. Their advice has always been spot on for me.

Simon, First of all, I have been very happy with a biwired set up. I was running my speakers with a biwired set of Analysis Plus Oval 12 cables. I liked them alot better than the previous cable I was using. After a while, I experimented with a silver speaker cable for the mids and highs. The silver cables for the highs really woke up the tweeters without being too harsh. I combined the biwired Oval 12s and kept them for the bass. I really like this combination of silver for the mids and highs and copper cable for the bass. Your experience may vary with your different equipment. I think it is the best of both worlds. Good luck, Jim

Hi, I like to thank you(all)for the info and suggestions.
Please allow me to sum up what what I'v "learned" from the web sites, see how much is(are) true in the following statements?
(1) Bi-wiring without Bi-amping is senseless
(2) using LOW gauge (10 or less)of spkr cable,there is little to be gain by "doubling-up "(no benefits from biwiring)
(3) Bi-wiring would tighten up the bass,the bass become lean-sounding but more punchy and better extension
I would apprecaite very much of your opinion and suggestions
Thanks
Simon

Hi Simon.

Here is a response I recently posted to an inquiry. I hope you find it helpful.

....Couple things of note for you. First, Our bi-wire cables are composed of two discrete cables that get connected together at the amp. This provides several advantages. First and foremost, this is how bi-wire cables should be done if one is going to get the (full) benefit of bi-wire cables. Many manufacturers simply take an existing model and re-terminate the internals so that part of the cable is used for the mid/woofer section and the rest of the cable for the tweeter section. While convenient and less costly, it wastes virtually all the benefits that bi-wiring can provide. This bi-wire topology is a major reason why there's so much controversy over whether there's advantages to bi-wiring. Avoid any bi-wire cables that are sheathed in one jacket! Whether you settle on our cables or another offering, if you're going to go bi-wire, make sure they are discrete cables. This is also termed as Shotgun though I've noticed some manufacturers mis-use the term to describe otherwise and it's led to some confusion among enthusiasts as to what bi-wire S/Cs are. One of the primary advantages of bi-wire cabling is that when the mid/woofer section is separated out from the tweeter section, the stronger electrical fields the mid/woofer section creates cannot influence the more delicate nature of the tweeter section. When a bi-wire cable is sheathed in one jacket, the mid/woofer and tweeter sections are too intimate allowing interaction between the two sections. This is not good. one is actually better off using a single S/C arrangement with jumpers in this case. The shotgun approach allows separation of the sections with 1.5" to 2.5" spacing accomplishing the job.

Also, from THIS THREAD, I posted the following:

Mike's description is good and correct. I would like to add that compared to the shotgun approach, a bi-wire speaker cable that's one cable split as Mike describes is has virtually no benefit. You would probably be better off using a speaker cable of the single/split variety as one. When the conductors are this intimate in a single jacket, there's too much field interaction. The shotgun approach eliminates this and is in good part why it works. The former, I believe, is a good part of why bi-wire cables get a bad rap on occasion. There are other factors to consider also but, as for the cables themselves, shotgun is the way to go.

Further, the performance hierarchy is as follows:

1.) Bi-amp/bi-wire shotgun (as a side not, all Shotgun is bi-wire but not all bi-wire is shotgun. just another way to look at it.) It's possible to use two stereo amps or four mono blocks to comprise this arrangement. This is the best.

2.) Mono blocks or stereo amp/bi-wire shotgun. Next best and can be substantially less expensive but with the cost of some speaker cables, who knows? Performance can be very close to number one.

3.) Mono Blocks or stereo amp/bi-wire non shotgun. Forget about it. Save your money and buy more music.

Kind Regards,
Robert