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Do I really need to Bi-Wire?

Hi folks. I have been upgrading my system recently (and have been badgering you all asking for advice on other components - thanks!). Anyway, I am now considering biwiring my speaker cable. The reason I haven't done it yet is that the stereo pair I have are quite good and I have been given to believe that biwiring would only produce subtle improvements. My system is Bryston 3bst amp, Bryston bp20 preamp, Arcam Alpha 7 CD player, B&W Nautilus 805 speakers. The speaker cable is Interlink House Stealth PC Premier - 260 individual strands of copper per cable - two cables feed each speaker (4 runs of cable just for stereo pair), silver lugs on the end ($250 for demo pair - normally supposed to be much more expensive - maybe $500 per pair). The build quality is great, and I'm very happy with the sound. Will biwiring be just a very subtle improvement or is it really worth it? Also, should if it's worth doing, should I get a second pair of the same cables or use a different pair for the bass or treble. I'm looking to spend under $300 on the new pair. Thanks for your advice!
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justlisten's avatar
justlisten
489 posts
 
As you stated biwiring will offer, or I have found to offer me very subtle improvements. If you choose to take the jump, like cables are highly recommemnded. But, I have found "happiness" is an elusive thing in the high end world, youve found it with the stuff you have, why mess it up?
sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
For what its worth, MIT bi-wire cables have a specific pair for high and low frequency connections. Check out the MIT Terminator 2 Bi-Wire. 1999 models cheap at AudioAdvisor.com
gthirteen
355 posts
 
Here's an interesting phenomenon: WHich input do you have the cables going to? If the cable goes to the woofer posts, and the jumpers go to the tweeters, your highs will suffer. IF you go directly to the tweeters, you will get smoother highs, at the expense of bass response. I have heard that more damage is caused by going directly to the woofer, but I cant remember the science behind it, or exactly which thread (it was on audiogon) that I heard this in. I heard a difference in my system, however. I was using Audioquest SA-40 (silver, 15AWG) on my 805s. Wanting to get around the stock jumpers, I got some Audioquest CV-4 (copper, same geometry and gauge as the SA-40, however) and tried it both ways. I LOVE the Silver on top... the highs are great, with acceptible bass response. I felt that in my system, the silver cable was an all around better performer (identical cables, except for the metal) than copper. Mixing cables was definately cheaper, but if I could, I'd get another identical set of silver cables. Interestingly, I went back to the stock jumpers, and could definately immediately appreciate the (now missing) benefits of biwiring. I found the differences to be very noticeable.
khrys
446 posts
 
I have found the improvements from biwiring to be substantial, even over an internally biwired configuration(ie + & - from amp going to 2 sets + & - to speaker). I am told that even with an amp with a good damping factor there is enough electrical energy traveling back from the woofer down the cable to the amp to interfere with the treble/midrange signal heading to the speaker from the amp. Whatever the case true biwiring made a very noticeable difference in my system. I would also keep the cables as similar as possible, identical if possible. I have heard several systems using the same cable except "silver on top" like Gthirteen and they sounded great. Don't mix brands or geometry however.
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