To Bi-wire or not?

Well, if you can measure a drop off of 1 dB below 100 Hz, that's pretty definitive: there's something wrong with your bi-wire cable, go back to the old cables. Perhaps there's some issue with the connectors.

I still think the explanations for bi-wiring being supposedly superior sound like bafflegab to me. But I wouldn't expect it to be *inferior* to the point where frequencies below 100 Hz would drop compared to frequencies above.

how could there be an issue with the connectors when i am using 4 new pieces of all the same wire, there can't be an issue with the connectors only when bi wired and not when single wired, it doesn't make sense, also other guys are reporting the same thing too (lack of bass), all our connectors can't be having the same issues, it's just strange, i don't know whats going on here.
greg

From my experience, all the speakers I owned benefited from bi-wire. To me the effect was the sound opened up, bass and treble each got their own feed which allowed the signal to be separated by frequency IE- Highs and Lows are separated which freed up the signal to the drivers. This is just my observation

Speakers I bi-wired with vs jumper
Spendor SP1/2e
Eminent Tech LFT 8a
Magnepan MG3.6
B&W 801 III
Revel F52

regardless IF a change is better or worse, there usually is a change in the sound by using either an acutal bi wired speaker cable, or going with shotguns, twin runs of same cabling.

The idea of Blue Jeans saying what they did is about their perspectives on wire in general.

I'm thinking they are a bit off on that no need for breaking business they told you. I've yet to find a cable of any sort which did not need time with signals flowing through them to improve.

I have found too that wires do have an influence on different areas of the spectrum... some are more bottom end oriented, some aren't. new or otherwise... high priced or low. they're like clothes. They might look great, and have a nice price tag on them, but if they don't fit you, why buy them.

If someone says "wire is just wire" and/or "wires don't need run in time", and you feel differently, just move on. It's a waste of time and energy to tell them otherwise.

Okeeteekid -- I looked into the Kappa 9's a bit. As you realize, but others may not, and assuming that you are using the "extended/normal" switch in the back in the "extended" position, at bass frequencies they are perhaps the most difficult speaker load ever devised by mankind.

In that mode, which seems to be the one most commonly preferred, they go down below 0.8 ohms at some bass frequencies, causing them to be widely known as amp killers.

Your 12 foot round-trip run of 12 gauge wire has a resistance of only about 0.02 ohms, which is negligible even in comparison to the 0.8 ohms. But I calculate that approximately 0.2 ohms of resistance anywhere in the path would result in a 2db bass loss. You shouldn't have that much resistance if all of the joints between cables, terminations, jacks, etc. are well-made and are not oxidized, but when we are dealing with such low levels of resistance being significant, who knows?

In any event, considering how uniquely difficult that speaker is in the bass region, I would not make any generalizations from your observations about bi-wiring that are applicable to anything other than your own setup.

Regards,
-- Al