Chris, my current speaker cables are Cardas Clear Cygnus, bi-wired at the speaker end. My future speaker cables, potentially Front Row Reserve, retail for $8400 for a 3 meter pair. The retail price jumps to $15,960 for a 3m bi-wired pair.
Since bi-wiring with that cable is cost-prohibitive, there is a possibility of purchasing a single pair instead and using the jumpers included with the FR20. I understand the theory of running the cables from amp to the bass drivers, then jumping from the bass to the mid/tweeter. I have also heard the theory of running the cables that matter most from amp to mid/tweeter, then jumping to the woofers.
My question is if the main speaker cable runs from amp to mid/tweeter, what potential compromises are there with the woofers? Would this connection potentially limit power going to the woofers?
@Chris_Brunhaver Thanks for the quick response, but Iām not sure I fully understand what you are saying because youāre talking well beyond my knowledge of speaker design. Are you saying that what Vandersteen does in engineering crossovers with separate high-pass and low-pass sections results in changing the Q of the woofer in a way that wouldnāt interact well with the mid/tweeter response if used in the FR10?
In my own system, I am using only a standard set of speaker cables for the Woofer Inputs and then feeding the Mid/High inputs using jumpers similar to the main cables. I havenāt invested in a second pair of identical speaker cables to compare to my jumper-based hook-ups. I also havenāt bought any internally bi-wired cables to test out. So at this point, Iām not in any position to judge which hook-up sounds best. Thatās why I was hoping to hear whether any of the typical bi-wire options (i.e., internal bi-wire, two identical cables, or two different cables for bass and mid/highs) would be an ideal match for the drivers and crossovers in the FR10s.
If itās simply a case of needing to demo the various options myself, thatās fine. Iāll just need to decide whether something more expensive than my jumpers are worth a try.
Thanks for your patience with all these questions!
IMO Itās best to bi-amp. If you donāt the first few inches of wire out of the output circuitry to the speaker terminal on the back panel will still be shared. I also use different wire gauges/constructions and am active (one tweeter, one mid, two bass drivers so four channels of amplification per side).
Iām using Crystal Reference Diamond speaker cable and splitters (pure silver-gold metallurgy, Kapton insulated) with Audio Research Ref 160S to drive TAD E1TX-K speakers with sublime result!
Many folks really like Crystal Cable products. Iāve had their HDMI cable and although the sound was nice I didnāt like their connectors. Iām afraid in this case their splitter connectors leave me less than impressed - but to be fair Iāve not auditioned them. Just a matter of visual taste I guess.
Needed to share this with folks who will understand that moment when a speaker cable change just clicks and produces musicality never before heard from the system. I had been using some high end DIY jumper cables as mentioned in an earlier post and configured the main cables to feed the low end of my FR10s - which improved the SQ noticeably. I got to thinking, I have my old pair of nice speaker cables before upgrading to my current cablesā¦ what if I biwire using the former pair of cables to drive the high end and keep the low end fed by my current cables?
WOW! Better soundstage, sustain and decay were tangible but delicate, more musical details emerged, and every instrument seemed separated clearly in space while effortlessly mingling.
It was a good night for listening and one of those rewarding moments when a relatively small change brought enormous benefit. Itās addictive!
