Benefits and Drawbacks to Shotgun Speaker Cables

Buckingham, as i mentioned, every system can react differently. There are SO many variables with different cable geometries and gauges, etc... My comments were based on "generic" standards as to what "should" happen in "theory". I have learned enough to know that not everything follows theory though, so it is quite possible that you have stumbled across a killer combo.

I have some interconnects that are higher in capacitance than many other designs. While this typically results in high frequency softening and roll off, many that have used them have commented that treble sounds much more focused and detailed with greater depth to the soundstage. While i would agree with their comments in many situations, i know that the cables achieve these results by softening some of the upper midrange ( i.e. "grain and glare" ) that is present in many SS systems. By getting rid of what is normally distracting or fatiguing, it is easier to concentrate on what is left. Hence the "greater detail and focus" and smoother overall sound. The "greater depth" is also "psycho-acoustic" in the fact that when you remove upper harmonics of instruments and voices, they appear to be further away or "deeper" in the recorded presentation. Sean
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Jfaker, I don't think we have cleared up what shotgun is yet, Sean said it best, but I will try to sumerize. A "standard" speaker set up uses a single + connection and a - connection for each channel. This is the same for a single"standard" amp configuration. Lets use zip cord for our model. In the standard connection you conect one side of the zip cord to + and one side to - on both ends. A "bi-wire" speaker has two + connections and two - connections on each speaker. To bi-wire with our zip cord we hook up two runs of it, connecting both runs to one + terminal on the amp end and both runs to one - terminal of the amp. On the speaker end we connect the two + ends to the two + terminals on the speaker and the two - ends to the two - treminals. Here is the "Shotgun" set up. Forget bi-wire for a while since you can "shotgun" with a bi-wire or a "standard" speaker connection. Sean already said this but I will try again with the zip cord. Zip cord has two wires,one ment for the + signal and one ment for the - signal. To "shotgun" all you do is twist the + and - together to make one conductor, now take another run of Zip and do the same thing. Now you have two seperate zip cords, that used to have two conductors each. They now have one each.Use one as + and one as -. Connect one of the twisted together zip cords to the + and one of the twisted together zip cords to the - terminals on the speaker. Do the same on your amp. This will hook up one standard speaker. Do the same for the other side and you now have "shotgun". It is simply using a seperate 2 conductor zip cable for each connection, as Sean said it doubles the gauge of the wire. Again "zip" cord is only used in this context as a tool to explain what "shotgun" is, not as an endorsement of zip cord. I still think people are confusing standard "bi-wire" with "shotgun".

Hey Guys

I uploaded a sketch of what I've got right now that I refer to as Shotgun

www.teachandtravel.com/shotgun.jpg

There are 2 cables per terminal, so 4 per speaker.