How does bi-wiring work?


To start, I do bi-wire my main speakers. However, I am somewhat confused about how bi-wiring works given that the speakers have internal crossovers and the signals received by them have the same full frequency range going to both sets of terminals.

I confess that I don't see any difference from single wiring in terms of the speaker's performance. What am I missing?

128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xjmeyers

Biwire looks cool. 😎 I don’t know if it helps. But my 805’s are set up for it, so why not. I’m a believer that quality construction and heavy gauge is what is needed in speaker cables. I’m not one who believes in noticeable sonic differences found in super expensive cables, but neither do I believe I’m being served well by coat hangers  :) 

So I spent $175 for a 3’ pair of WBC ultimate 7 AWG. Very well made, lots of good copper, very sturdy bananas. I’m very happy with them.

@soix  , thanks for the input--very much appreciated, and I'll try those affordable jumpers from Crutchfield (the link you provided).

I never understood bi-wiring myself, but since my B&W 805s were set up for it and I believe B&W was recommending it and I could afford it . . . I was like, "why not."  I actually felt I heard a difference, but then again, I am realistic and I have always known I do not have "a golden ear" and so I also knew that I may have been hearing confirmation bias.

However, after all of this discussion and reading (from a few sources at this point) that the stock strips that the manufacturer uses to connect the terminals (if not biwired) are junk . . . one thing that biwiring DEFINITELY did was to eliminate those strips.

I live in the camp that believes that speaker wire makes a difference, so if that is true, it only stands to reason that the connection between the biwireable terminals would make a difference (if not biwiring).

@immatthewj Great.  When was the last time you encountered a legit potential tweak for 30 bucks?  I (and maybe others here) would be interested in your impressions.  Again, my experience was tighter bass and more defined imaging within the soundstage so those might be two things to pay attention to among others.

@soix  , just a quick update:  looking at those Audioquest jumpers on Crutchfield they did not appear to me to be terminated with bananas, or actually terminated with anything at all.  So I went to AA's site to look at them, and they had some Q&A about them, and what I got from the Q&A was that they are to be wrapped around the terminal posts of the speakers.  Which is not what I want to do--I definitely want the jumpers to terminate with bananas.  So I started looking on AA to see what else they had in the way of jumpers, and they actually showed quite a few ranging from cheap all the way up to (imo) way  expensive.  They do sell the Kimber 4TCs at a more reasonable price than at MD and  I would have bought the Kimbers from AA but they are out of stock.  Along with about every other set of jumpers I looked at there at AA, including the Audioquest jumpers.

At that point I took a look at the jumpers @yogiboy previously mentioned, and that led me to look at what else was availabe at 'Zon, and I decided on "Worlds Best Cable" (yes . . . I know, I know . . . but I honestly did not pick them because of the brand name) 6" pairs of 8AWG for $50.  I'll update after I receive them and get a little time listening with them installed in addition to the shotgun biwiring with Kimber that I am currently using.

 

@megabyte , it just hit me that "WBC" = "Worlds Best Cables." A couple of hours or so ago  I just ordered a set of 6" 8AWG WBC jumpers to experiment with, in addition to the shotgun biwiring I am already doing.