A different way to bi-wire

[cloth_ears]

If you bi-wire your speakers with 2 runs of identical cable per speaker, then this is an idea you may want to try.

Traditionally you would use one cable for HF and the other for LF.

Why not instead use one cable for the + (red) HF and LF, and the other for the - (black) HF and LF.

My reasoning is that; the construction of any cable involves an insulation material between the + and - wires, which has a significant impact on the sound quality of the cables.

Bi-wiring in the alternative manner I suggested seperates the + and - signals to a larger degree, and should reduce the impact of the insulation on the sound quality of the cables.

This idea came to me after I heard of the Anti-Cables, which are just 2 seperate wires with no overall sheath to hold them together.

I think the most benefit will be to those who use cheaper cable, as the better cables should have used much higher quality inslation materials.

So give it a try.

[michael w]

Saw this once upon a time...

A three-way, tri-amped system with six individual runs of speaker cable to each speaker.

It was not a pretty sight.

:D

[Bevan J]

I suspect that like in most things hi-fi the end result is very much system dependent. I have tried what you propose and I found that in my system the best results were obtained by separating the high and low frequency signals. i.e. in separate cable runs. In the 'Cable Theory' section on their website, Audioquest provide an interesting and relatively easy to understand explanation for why in their opinion it is advantagious to keep the high frequency and low frequency signals separate when bi-wiring.

[waatz]

I dont know to much about this particular subject by I would tend to think that the magnetic feild from one of the (+) cables might be induced into the other (+) and same with the (-) cables.

Let us know how it goes. :confused:

[Owen Y]

cloth ears,

That IS an interesting suggestion.

All music signal cables carry AC signal voltges which generate their EM fields & IMO a good signal cable is configured so that these fields compliment each other. IME this works well with same polarity not in close proximity with same polarity. Same polarities together is worth a try but...physical separation from other conductors may be best of all, I'm not sure.

The Anticables (from what little I know) are separated conductors (good), however they are not held firmly in some way (not so good IMO as AC signal carrying conductors seem to sound better when reasonably firmly held)... the trick is to hold the conductor firmly without wrapping with materials which interfere with the EM field.

Try it & inform us all :)
Owen

[cloth_ears]

I had a week of trialling this alternative bi-wire method, but unfortuneatly the results were unsatisfactory, although it took me a while to pinpoint what was wrong;

Loss of sparkle and detail on some recordings.
Vocalists seemed to be behind the instruments instead of out front.
Harshness (almost like distortion) on female vocals (Rickie Lee Jones debut album).
Bass was accentuated, but lacked control.
Ironically I was quite happy with the sound on DVD Movies like King Kong.
I read through the Cable Theory on the Audioquest website (thanks Bevan J), which is quite relevant to me as I'm using their cables.

I had previously bi-wired using a single run of the FLX14/4 cable (4 core), but AQ recommend using separate cables for hf and lf, amongst other things.

I've gone back to a standard bi-wire configuration using 2 runs of FLX14/4 per speaker.

Thanks for your interest. What's next?


Now that I've finished the plinths for the 414's I'm playing around with their positioning, which I've only payed token attention to so far.
Then I'm going to install screws into the floor where the spikes on the speakers and stand pierce the carpet, and have the spikes sitting on the screw heads.

[gfkBill]

I could be totally off-base here, but isn't the point of spikes to isolate the speakers? Wouldn't doing what you propose create a stronger connection between the speakers and the floor rather than the desired isolation?

[cloth_ears]

The speakers won't be bolted to the floor.

What I hope to achieve is the spikes being in contact with the wooden floor, rather that the carpet underlay.

In effect it'll be no different to spiked speakers on a non-carpeted floor.

[Mike A]

Screws in the floor for my speakers made a huge difference on my wobbly and uneven floor, more accuracy and sharper imaging etc.

I did think about bolting them to the floor but as that would have involved tearing half the floor up it was frowned upon by Mrs A.

[Owen Y]

I had a week of trialling this alternative bi-wire method, but unfortuneatly the results were unsatisfactory, although it took me a while to pinpoint what was wrong;

Interesting, thks.

Generally, cables undoubtedly have been designed for use in the conventional way...& maybe this becomes significant if we use them in unusual configs.

Looking at the arrangement more closely, the (alternating) signal in one conductor generates EM fields which affect the signal in the other conductor. Having the heavier current LF signal in close proximity with the HF conductor is perhaps not so good for the HF signal.

This raises a question whether there would be the same result, if physically separate conductors/cables were used for each conductor run.

Owen

[michael w]

I could be totally off-base here, but isn't the point of spikes to isolate the speakers? Wouldn't doing what you propose create a stronger connection between the speakers and the floor rather than the desired isolation?

Nope.

Spikes and similar are intended to concerntrate a components mass into a smaller contact point providing what Goldmund calls "mechanical grounding"; providing a pathway to evacuate unwanted energy.

Squishy stuff like Sorbothane and other rubbery pucks are for isolation.

[Bazza2u]

Bi-wire? Put one (tube) amp next to each speaker, and forget it!

[Owen Y]

Bi-wire? Put one (tube) amp next to each speaker, and forget it!

But then you'd need a low imped (likely SS) preamp capable of driving long ICs and....

ICs of very low capacitance/inductance to avoid your long ICs functioning as low pass filters.

;) Cheers, Owen