Do you Bi-Wire, if you can?

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?

Thanks for the information Bombaywalla. So, basically, a standard is not feasible because while having a single set of binding posts works for both parallel and series crossover topologies, dual or tri binding posts only work with parallel, but not series, crossover topologies. However, a single set of binding posts does not work for the speaker builder who wants to offer their customers the option of bi-amping for best sound.

I think the reason bi-wiring from a single amplifier causes so much discussion is that it is sort of a poor man's bi-amping and in many cases does not result in significant sonic differences/improvements over single wiring with jumpers.

I think the reason bi-wiring from a single amplifier causes so much discussion is that it is sort of a poor man's bi-amping and in many cases does not result in significant sonic differences/improvements over single wiring with jumpers.
Mitch2

That's exactly how I see it.

welcome Mitch2. glad that i could be of assistance in this matter.

I think the reason bi-wiring from a single amplifier causes so much discussion is that it is sort of a poor man's bi-amping .......
Mitch2

oh boy! I really hope that you are wrong in thinking this when you wrote it! IMO it would be a bad hallucination to think that bi-wiring would give you any of the benefits of bi-amping.
I see bi-wiring as a method of impedance control between the speaker & the amp: the woofer driver & x-over see the low impedance of the power amp (assuming the negligible impact of the speaker cable) immediately which helps to control the woofer back EMF. This is in comparison to 1 pair of binding posts where the woofer sees the low output impedance of the amp thru the metal jumpers or short jumper cables + the speaker cable which is worse.
In contrast bi-amping not only has 2 or more amps to drive the speaker but also the freedom to play around with the x-over frequencies & the x-over slopes.
ANyway, hopefully people are a lot wiser now to not mistake the benefits of one for the other. Thanks.