[StereoNut]

Someone asked me today a question re: crossovers in my VSA VR-4 Gen.III's that I couldn't answer...

Does it matter whether the "main" run of speaker cables go to the bottom cabinets and then run jumpers to the top or should it be the other way around... and is it crossover design/placement that determines this?

Also, can wiring them the "wrong" way (if there is a wrong way?) make them sound funny or even worse damage anything!?

Please advise.

Thanks!
SN

[es347]

The obvious person to best answer this is either a) Albert, or b) Jack.  In their absence I'll respond but first a disclaimer.  I tend to poo poo a lot of the hype that's out there...I tend to be your pragmatic electrical engineer but what do I know...   This question has come up before and everyone seems to agree that it's best to connect the amp to the M/T jacks and jumper to the bass jacks.  Does it make a sonic difference?  Who knows?  Did I wired my VR5 Anniversaries accordingly?  Of course...do you take me for a fool? 

[ceedee]

The obvious person to best answer this is either a) Albert, or b) Jack.  In their absence I'll respond but first a disclaimer.  I tend to poo poo a lot of the hype that's out there...I tend to be your pragmatic electrical engineer but what do I know...   This question has come up before and everyone seems to agree that it's best to connect the amp to the M/T jacks and jumper to the bass jacks.  Does it make a sonic difference?  Who knows?  Did I wired my VR5 Anniversaries accordingly?  Of course...do you take me for a fool? 

Hello SN,

There is also a C): Cor option.

There are different ways to walk.


A:  Monowired from a full-range amp to the M-T unit and jumpered to the Bass.

B:  Monowired from a full-range amp to the Bass and jumpered to the M-T unit.

C: Bi-wired from a full range amp to the Bass and M-T units.

D: Bi-amped by using two identical mono wires separately to the Bass and M-T.

We advice the A option since the signal arrives the most critical M-T unit at first and have no loss due to the jumper.

Best and most musical way to walk is the ‘C option’.
Now the harmonic energy arrives at the same time  at the bindingposts.
The effect is more coherent and less loss of harmonics, so more music.

Bi-amping is only to advice when a external cross over is necessary to get a good sound in a critical acoustic room.

Enjoy the music.

Regards,

Cor

[StereoNut]

Thanks, CeeDee!

I appreciate you giving me a few extra options, but... my Naim amp doesn't take kindly to bi-wiring.  When I moved my system from one room to another years back I had Naim NACA5 speaker cables that were way too long for my new room, so I decided to cut them in half and re-terminate them as a bi-wire set-up.  I kept them in my system for a while, but ultimately wasn't happy with the way things sounded. This was probably 5-6 years ago, so don't ask what it was I didn't like (I don't remember!) but I reverted back to single runs and a set of jumpers.  I have heard from others than Naim amps have issues like this, but I have no idea technically why.

Anyway, it would be simple enough for me to take my main run of speaker cables (which are on my bass cabinets right now & always have been) and move them to the M/T cabinet up top, leaving my jumpers in place.  My concern was whether switching them around like that could damage anything.  I am not a "techie" by any means, but I didn't know if the VR-4 Gen.III's were designed with their crossovers to be wired in a particular way.

Albert, are you out there?

SN

[JackD201]

Albert suggests main to MT then jumped to the bass.

The difference isn't all that big but there is a wee difference in clarity nonetheless. Enjoy!

[StereoNut]

Thanks, Jack!  I'll give it a try

[ceedee]

You are welcome,

There is no technical problem when you connect the wires at any way as long as you don't make a shortcut.

The most bi-wire options are with single terminated posts at the ampside.
You can easily twist the wires together into a spade or banana and connect both to the same termination.

Good luck.

Cor

[StereoNut]

There is no technical problem when you connect the wires at any way as long as you don't make a shortcut.

I'm sure that shorting out my amp won't make things sound any better! 

SN

P.S. to Cor: The "duh!" is for me, not you! 

[Delacroix]

I have VR5Se and have wired them many ways, including with a Naim Nait 2 integrated upon occasions -- and yes, the Naim is not an amp that makes biwiring an easy option. First, I accept these are not the speakers you have but for what it's worth, the manual recommends wiring direct to M/T and then jumping to woofer. You can do it the other way around but it's argued this will likely reduce clarity in the mid and uppers. In short, try it and see but that's the designer's view on the 5SE and I suspect it's consistent with the VR4s too.

When using the Naim I've always done it that way too but I ended up biwiring with other amps. When I had a single amp with only one pair of speaker terminals on the out, I either used two pairs of speaker cables with spades, or one with spades and one with bananas on the amp end. Slight obsessive ( I said SLIGHT) that I am, I did play around with bananas on the bass or upper runs (yes, you know you were going to ask that), but I heard no difference. I have had improvements by using bare terminations on both ends, but that's another story.

[StereoNut]

Thanks, Delacroix!

I can't imagine my VR-4's being much different than your VR5Se's in regard to wiring.

Now that I have gotten some (excuse the expression)"feedback" on the subject, it looks like I can't hurt anything by reconnecting my cables the other way (with the main lines going to the M/T cabinet and jumping them down to the bass cabinet) and giving it a listen.

At least it won't cost me anything other than some of my time, unlike most of our audiophile adventures in the quest for the "absolute sound". 

SN

[es347]

Albert suggests main to MT then jumped to the bass.

The difference isn't all that big but there is a wee difference in clarity nonetheless. Enjoy!

Jack, delete your post immediately!  Look at it's number...woah.

[ceedee]

Up to 999

[es347]

...the number of the antiChrist...666 

[JackD201]

Just 48 more posts for you to go 

There...I'm past it by one 

[es347]

Whew!  Jack, don't miss my PM.