I have a question about bi-wiring a pair of 802D speakers. I was always told that you could use two different types of cables. One for the woofers, that sound better on the low end. Another for the midrange/tweeter that sounds to my liking on the upper end.
Over the last couple of years, every article that I read state that bi-wiring doesn’t give any benefit, and that I would get better sound investing in one single pair of more expensive cables, rather then two pairs of lesser priced cables.
Or I’ve read that you should never mix cables. That this will alter the way the crossover behaves yielding unpredictable results.
Does anyone remember mixing cables, or am I losing it
When I had my Kef 105/3s, I bi wired them before bi amping them. You could hear a difference with bi wiring. I can’t comment on different wires because I used matched sets to do the bi wiring.
I am doing exactly that. BHK300’s >> 2 differing sets of cables (one on each set of binding posts) >> both sets of posts on speakers.
I never did any real critical listening between 2 sets and just one set but I liked the result so I stuck with it. Its probably the one part of my system that I think the least about.
Is there a benefit, I’m not really experienced enough to really know. Why do speakers come with 2 sets of posts then… perhaps bi amping, but I would guess there are far more people bi wiring than bi amping. These very smart engineers are putting them there for a reason.
What is bi-wiring, and should I biwire my speakers?
One useful and comparatively inexpensive upgrade path to consider is called bi-wiring. In some speakers the connectors for the low-frequency (bass) driver and the high-frequency (treble) tweeter are separated out, being linked only by short metal plates that can be easily removed. By using twin runs of speaker cable from amplifier to speaker, it’s possible to address each set of drive units independently of the other. Typically the cables are joined together at the amplifier end, to simplify wiring, although some hi-fi amps now provide for independent output connectors, one pair for treble, the other for bass, to simplify wiring. This will mean you have a total of four sets of speaker cables running from your amp to your speakers.
What benefits can you expect? Bi-wiring doesn’t influence volume, bass depth or even midrange punch typically, it improves stereo imaging and focus, detail retrieval and timing, although the effects aren’t always uniform. Some speakers are designed specifically to do without bi-wire speaker terminals, our XT4 floorstanders for example, and are none the worse for it.
One last element to consider it’s worth getting any speaker cables you buy properly terminated rather than trying to fit bare wire into speaker connectors. Quality 4mm plugs (sometimes called banana plugs) will ensure your cable retains its performance over time by protecting the bare copper from moisture which could lead to corrosion.
My previous speakers were bi wired and I was happy with utilizing the feature. I use 2 sets of identical cables. I noticed that Audioquest has bi wire cables that have one of the wires just dedicated for bass connections and they also sell individual cables dedicated for bass.
