Bye Bye Bi-Wire - Hello Bigger Gauge Wire

[Chitown2477]

I have been waiting to upgrade my speaker wires from 18 gauge to something more substantial like 12-14 gauge and did an experiment in the process. I have Klipsch Reference 52 towers for my front L/R and matching Klipsch speakers for my 5.1 system. I bi-wired the front left speaker to see what changes I might notice.

Well, I noticed nothing at all. I listened for a while and left the front R wired normally and compared the two. Again, my perception was not change at all. Then I continued with wire upgrade wiht 14/2 gauge from Home Depot.

The difference is significant! The highs seem a bit clearing though they were always a bit "bright". Much more noticeable is the mid-range making the overall sound much more full. My wife agrees there is an improvement and that says a lot!!!

I took very good care, like I always do, to make good connections during the hookup process so I am sure that was not the reason for the improvement.
Just thought I would let others know of this experiment and result. Upgrade speaker wire gauge (assuming it at least marginally needs to be upgraded) and the results can be significant and bi-wiring was a waste of time (for me at least). I will upgrade the wire on the center tomorrow and the surrounds sometime soon.

Oh, and by the way, it was Monster wire I had before. I went to Best Buy and they had 12 gauge Monster wire that was $50.00 for 30 feet or $1.66/foot. The Home Deport 14 gauge wire was $0.60/foot.

 

[Sheep]

Welll...


Uhhmmm......

I'm glad you switched away from monster?

Seriously, this is Mind tricks 101.

SheepStar

 

[snappy_snoopy]

thanks thats good to know. You save me the trouble of checking this out myself.

 

[Chitown2477]

That is exactly why I posted what happened. I spend hours searching bi-wiring before I simply tried for myself.

 

[snappy_snoopy]

Cant always trust what you read on the net unless its written by an AUDIOHOLIC forum member

 

[j_garcia]

Read this:

http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm#wiretable

 

[Brett A]

Seriously, this is Mind tricks 101.
SheepStar

thanks thats good to know. You save me the trouble of checking this out myself.

I used to have more emotions around cabling, but now I am coming to understand the subject better. But still, I have to wonder what is the difference between being told that you will not hear a difference, and then not hearing it, and being told you will hear a difference and then hearing one?

 

[Alex2507]

what is the difference between being told that you will not hear a difference, and then not hearing it, and being told you will hear a difference and then hearing one?

No difference but that's the wrong question. The right question is whether or not you can hear the difference without being told anything and without seeing anything. DBT'ing has evidently worked for the objectivists but seems to be a real stumbling block for those who hear with their eyes and wallets.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Do I need a double blind test to tell if you are getting on my nerves?

No difference but that's the wrong question. The right question is whether or not you can hear the difference without being told anything and without seeing anything. DBT'ing has evidently worked for the objectivists but seems to be a real stumbling block for those who hear with their eyes and wallets.

 

[Alex2507]

Do I need a double blind test to tell if you are getting on my nerves?

No you don't.

 

[cl35m]

With 10 ga solid core romex, I noticed little or no difference from bi-amping either. I guess one good 375 wpc amp is nearly as good as two for my listening levels.

 

[j_garcia]

What it comes down to is how much power you need for the SPL that you desire in the size of room you have. If you don't NEED all that power to achieve your listening levels, then having all that power is of little benefit. That is like having a jet engine on your car - if you don't need it just to drive 4 blocks to go to the store then it is not helping you.