when using biwire terminals with single wire speaker cables do you connect your singles to the upper or lower set of terminals and why?
thanks
I've always connected the speaker cable to the lower set (bass/midrange), and then used the jumpers to the upper set (highs). Reason being, that I feel the midrange is more important than the highs, so I'd rather have a slight compromise in the highs, that could occur when the signal has to travel to the lower binding post, via the speaker cable, then back though the lower binding post to get to the jumpers, and then though the upper binding posts. You also want to use the best jumpers you can afford, as they do make a difference. Definitely don't use the cheap brass jumpers that come with the speakers. As noted in a previous post I made on AA, removing even a very good pair of jumpers, made a HUGE difference. This experiment was conducted to compare biwiring vs. non-biwiring.
I recently had a conversation with a dealer regarding speaker wire. I wanted to make an upgrade and asked him what he had in my price range. My speakers are bi-wired now, and I wanted to keep them that way. He suggested that I get one pair of speaker cables of a higher quality vs. two lesser quality pairs. He also said that a lot of times a speaker will actually sound better with one pair vs. a bi-wire hook-up, as there is less interaction between the two pairs. Will I thought I'd try for myself with the cables I had, to see which sounded best. First I did some listening to familiar tracks with my current bi-wire set up, then removed one pair of cables and added jumpers. Well it wasn't a huge difference, but the single run sounded a little more coherent, and focused. I then took it one step further, and connected the hook-up wire coming off the crossover to one set of binding posts, now I didn't need jumpers. The improvement was such, that I had a hard time believing it. Things were not only sounding a lot more coherent and focused, but much smoother with greater detail and presents. Has anyone else found that a single run sounded better than a bi-wire arrangement. If I remember correctly, aren't there a few speaker manufactures such as Thiel, that do not believe in bi-wiring? The biggest advantage I believe will come when I upgrade my speaker cables, spending the same amount on one pair of higher quality cables instead of two pairs of lesser quality.
