Do you Bi-Wire, if you can?

09-23-15: Mitch2
It sure would be easier if there were "standards" in the audio world, like providing only a single pair of binding posts on speakers.

Mitch2, there cannot be a standard in audio for providing 1 or 2 pairs of binding posts on a speaker because cross-over design is not a cut-and-dry process where every manuf will have the same circuit. Cross-over design is complicated & full of trade-offs (such as rapid response decay & good transient response). Each speaker designer is going to choose a slightly different set of compromises that will result in a different cross-over circuit & a different sonic signature. The way the cross-over circuit is designed will have a large bearing on whether the speaker designer want the cross-over to "see" the low impedance of the amplifier (parallel cross-over topology) or to "see" the impedance created by the other cross-over elements (series cross-over topology). In the series cross-over topology the designer might not want you messing with 2 pairs of speaker binding posts that changes the impedances of the cross-over connected to the various drivers - he will want full control of this by ensuring that the signal comes in at one point & then fans out into his cross-over with controlled impedances (by his selecting the value of L or R or C per his calculations) at each node.
Cross-over design is art + science & many compromises to the final result. There can be no standard when such is the nature of the problem.

There can be no standard when such is the nature of the problem.

Perhaps not, and of course there isn't a standard, but the amplifier output originates from a single positive pole and a single negative pole. Therefore, assuming only a small L/C/R effect from the speaker cables, is not the relative current draw at each crossover board determined by the drivers and crossover components and not whether it arrives at the speaker by means of a single pair of positive/negative wires or two pairs of wires in a bi-wire configuration?

Perhaps not, and of course there isn't a standard, but the amplifier output originates from a single positive pole and a single negative pole. Therefore, assuming only a small L/C/R effect from the speaker cables, is not the relative current draw at each crossover board determined by the drivers and crossover components and not whether it arrives at the speaker by means of a single pair of positive/negative wires or two pairs of wires in a bi-wire configuration?
Mitch2

Sounds great. But just to nit pick, you leave out the option of bi-amping with a single set of binding posts as a standard.

Good point...many report positive results of bi-amping, but it would be hard to bi-amp with a single set of binding posts.

Speaking of bi-amping, with the improvement of Class D amplifiers, I suspect the industry future may hold more internally powered speakers, with amplification dedicated to each section of drivers, similar to the idea behind the Linkwitz Orion, but more evolved like the new Kii Audio Three speaker, that even includes an internal DAC...I would like to hear a pair...Kii Audio Three

Perhaps not, and of course there isn't a standard, but the amplifier output originates from a single positive pole and a single negative pole. Therefore, assuming only a small L/C/R effect from the speaker cables, is not the relative current draw at each crossover board determined by the drivers and crossover components and not whether it arrives at the speaker by means of a single pair of positive/negative wires or two pairs of wires in a bi-wire configuration?
Mitch2

Mitch2, it's not as simple as you make it out to be. Yes, current is single-ended when it comes out of the amplifier (altho' several Ayre amplifier designs are fully differential outputs) but it's not just running current into the speaker x-over. It's also a lot to do with the impedances the x-over circuit creates & whether or not the speaker designer wants to introduce a highly variable parameter from the speaker wires (it's R, L, C) & the amplifier output impedance (remember tube output impedance is much higher than s.s. output impedance. thus tube amps have a different effect on the x-over than s.s. amps).

A picture is worth a 1000 words. take a look at these pics that I've uploaded for you viewing. These pix are courtesy of Arthur C Ludwig Sr - from his article on this subject.

https://picasaweb.google.com/106074825717940223133/SpeakerCrossOverCircuits?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCLa8tuTSmPLALg&feat=directlink

if you are using a parallel x-over topology it's easy to see how we can have 2 pairs of speaker binding posts.
What happens when we use the series toplogy? How do you break that circuit & provide 2 pair of binding posts? And, the speaker designer can definitely decide to use the series topology as that might be better for his speaker design. In the series topology the x-over components provide a very controlled impedance at each node that can be upset if an external entity (like a speaker cable or a power amplifier - tube or ss) is suddenly introduced into the network. In such a case it would ruin the speaker response.
am i making any sense? Or am i talking thru my hat here?