Bi Wire vs Double Runs

[Account Closed]

3 hours ago, DancingSea said:

Aloha,

 

Any experience on the merits of bi wire vs double runs?  My speakers are bi wire, and my power amp has 4 sets of terminals (see photo).

 

I'm considering new speaker wire trying to decide if double runs is worth the extra money.

 

Thanks.

 

A true bi-wire is a double run. There are lots of myths about bi-wiring but the real reason that it works is a simple interpretation of Ohm's Law. Each run is really a resister of sorts so when you have two in parallel ( a bi-wire implementation as at the amp end there is a common source regardless of whether there are two outputs or one) the total resistance is cut in half thus allowing for greater current flow from the amp at a given voltage. This will usually lead to a beneficial change in the sound if the amp is up to the task.

 

I use it on my system and it did make a difference over my prior single run set-up.

 

Try it with modestly priced speaker wire first and upgrade later if you like it.

[Account Closed]

1 minute ago, mansr said:

A single thicker wire would do the same thing with less tangle.

 

True, but I had a very heavy gauge single wire speaker cable before going to bi-wire and the bi-wire still sounds better to me plus a heavy gauge wire is going to be more difficult to handle. This stuff can get pretty bizarre very quickly so I just trust my ears.