I have come across what appears to be 2 divergent schools of thought concerning BI-WIRING speakers
(NOT in relation to bi-wiring for Bi-amplification)
Qualification: In dealing with "decent" speakers.
1) remove jumpers/bridges on speaker + - terminals & run cable to each pair of terminals separately.
2) run only one + - cable & leave jumpers/bridges in place.
In 2) the internal crossovers control the sound.
In 1) the crossovers are defeated & the amp controls the sound, & in some instances with some? speakers improvement is noticed.
IMHO I think the manufacturer of the speaker puts the crossover frequencies where the speaker needs it?
Any comments?
Dougofthenorth

In #2 you are using the speakers crossover, probably passive. If your amp has crossover built in you will definitely want to remove the jumpers, you don't want a double crossover.

Thon is right. Only few specialist amps have built-in crossovers (e.g. Linn) and suitable speakers where crossover can be bypassed. Double crossovers are not good, but are actually part of many home cinema setups (subwoofer with crossover fed by an amp with crossover for the sub-channel).

/Allan

Sub x-overs aside, bi-wiring does NOT change whether the speaker's crossover components control distribution of frequencies. Read this:


[Link: remotecentral.com]

For more info, read these search results:

[Link: remotecentral.com]

Larry
www.fineelectricco.com

Larry, once again, is correct. Bi-wiring only means running more wire from the same amp to your speaker terminals. Resulting in a lower gauge wire to your speaker.

Bi-amping would require more amps and an external crossover if you were to do it correctly...

Doug,

I followed several bi-wiring debates on other sites for a while. The consensus I took away was similar to the many interconnect debates: Unless you have an insane amount of money to spend on indulging your hobby, the improvement is not worth the expense. Perhaps for those who are wiring up their $10,000 (each) speakers to their $30,000 (each) monoblock amps... :) For most of us, a single pair of wires will suffice.

I have never owned speakers capable of bi-wiring, so I'm not speaking from personal experience. But that's the majority opinion of all the forums I followed.

Regards, -Bruce