yes

That answer would first depend on whether the speakers would actually benefit from a bi-wiring connection or whether the bi-wire capability of the speakers is purely cosmetic and placed there by the marketing department. Not all bi-wires are created equally.

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That answer would first depend on whether the speakers would actually benefit from a bi-wiring connection or whether the bi-wire capability of the speakers is purely cosmetic and placed there by the marketing department. Not all bi-wires are created equally.

IMHO Anyone asking the question would be better of spending the money on improvements elsewhere. This is not to say bi-wiring can't improve the sound. When bi-wiring can make a significant difference in the sound you've probably got everything else "maxed" out anyway. The key words being "significant difference".

What's "significant" to one person might not be to another, significant cost vs. significant improvement is a matter of budget and priorities. If you have one but not the other, it would be advisable to wait until you have acquired both before you just start throwing one after the other.

Depending on the cost to add the second set of cables vs. the cost of new components, cables are probably still much less expensive if you have a reasonable perspective on your system. Of course, the case could be made for an investment elsewhere in the system - say, a new power cable or some simple room treatments - but I think most of us are after bang-for-the-buck upgrades. In many circumstances bi-wiring can achieve that end result if the speakers have been designed to accomodate such an upgrade.

Come on and get real. When a neophyte asks questions about bi-wiring and the use of the jumpers on input panels they want an answer. Pontificating is all well and good but essentially useless. If you ask a question like that you're better off investing your money elsewhere in your system. This is so even if it's only $50. A least that will buy a couple of CD's

Consider this; or give it a try. Ever think of using cables known to have better, more defined bass response to wire the low drivers and cables known for midrange clarity and treble definition to wire the other end?

If it's a particular speaker model you're concerned about, sometimes, if you ask the manufacturer they will actually tell you if bi-wiring can improve things or not. As was said here on an earlier post, there are times with those bi-wire terminals are no more than a marketing gimmick but that's the exception. Why? Because if a crossover is properly designed and manufactured ( usually not cheap to do) then bi-wiring won't improve things. Sometimes manufacturers actually skimp on the jumpers themselves and you can improve things by replacing them with a short length of decent wire. Whatever you do, don't leave any bare copper wire at the termination points as it will oxidize and gradually degrade the sound. There are more complicated issues here such as the behavior of an amplifiers' output stage and how it reacts to a specific speakers' load but all that's over my head. Someone else may wander in here and expand on the theory way better than I can.

One manufacturer's answer:

http://www.vandersteen.com/pages/Answr7.htm

Bi-wiring for your speakers is a no-brainer.Don't believe anyone that tells you differently. Even separating the wires and getting them off the floor makes a difference. Just make sure that you use identical wires and runs.

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If you ask a question like that you're better off investing your money elsewhere in your system.

I have no more proof of my assumption than you do of your own but I would still assume someone asking such a question would be curious for other more experienced listener's opinions. Those opinions might agree with that he has been told, they might run contrary to what he has read or been told and the opinions expressed might even run contrary to each other, but they are, to those providing opinions, very "real" and wortwhile giving a moment's consideration.

At this point other than a suggestion to buy a few CD's you have only said spend your money elsewhere. That's your opinion and the op is certainly free to take whatever is of value in that opinion. But why suggest anyone with a different opinion needs to "get real"? What makes my own or someone else's opinion less "real" than your opinion that disagrees?

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When bi-wiring can make a significant difference in the sound you've probably got everything else "maxed" out anyway. The key words being "significant difference".

IMO that response has two flaws; 1) it ignores the op's actual question, and 2) it ignores the fact that many passive crossovers can benefit from bi-wiring the independent sections of the crossover thus the splitting the drivers from any common signal path(s). This splitting of the drivers and crossover sections can minimize the interaction between drivers and crossover parts in a system with a less than ideal passive crossover. In most cases what this boils down to is the back EMF coming from the larger voice coil of the low frequency driver(s) is not intruding on the signal fed to the upper range drivers by way of a common ground path within the passive crossover.

Unfortunately, good passive crossovers are difficult to design and implement when certain design critieria must be met. The increase in expense invested in an excellent crossover is not always worth the time and effort involved (or the subesquent increase in retail sales price in a very competitive market where actual out the door sales numbers are often driven by "I got a good deal on ... ") when the speaker is very likely to be used in a mid-fi system. However, bi-wiring (and the now commonly advertised bi-amping capacity) have become hot marketing terms and many manufacturers are including bi-wiring connections on speakers that really will not benefit from the greater expense incurred by the listener. Bi-wiring a poorly executed design will generally be a waste of money though replacing crappy jumpers will seldom not result in an improved sound quality even when the crappy design extends to the use of lousy jumpers.

Fortunately, designs that can fully implement the benefits of bi-wiring do exist and the designers of such systems often feel bi-wiring is a fairly inexpensive route to improved performance levels. Whether the op's speakers and amplifier will actually benefit from such a connection is not an answer he has asked for, he only wants to know "why would somebody spend the money on cables to bi-wire rather than spend a few bucks to buy links?" To which the short answer would be to minimize the internal interactions of the drivers and passive parts when the crossover employs a common ground plane. Any more than that and the op should either ask more questions or make use of a search engine to satisfy any lingering curiousity.

But I don't believe the op ever asked when should someone invest in bi-wiring a pair of speakers, just why would someone bi-wire speakers. And IMO the short answer to that question begins with an understanding of whether the speakers in question would actually benefit from bi-wiring.

Cmon, Ned.... you are a smart guy(MD, right?). You should know that generalizations are a no-no, more especially in regard to all things audio... Whether or not Bi-Wiring will make a difference depends on a few factors..

in some cases, .all you are effectively doing is increasing the diameter of the speaker cable, running all those wires from the same amp.. with a single pair of binding posts per speaker, what sense does it make?

the correct answer is ... IT DEPENDS ON A NUMBER OF FACTORS. LISTEN AND SEE. THERE ARE NO HARD ANSWERS HERE.

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Bi-wiring for your speakers is a no-brainer.Don't believe anyone that tells you differently. Even separating the wires and getting them off the floor makes a difference. Just make sure that you use identical wires and runs.

The OP asked if the jumpers made bi-wiring unnecessary. The first responder in the thread answered the question. The answer was yes!
That was a newbie question and I answered it that way.

I'm not the MD of that listening trio that you're probably referring to from another thread- I'm the PE. Anyway, read my post again and you'll see that I referred to "your speakers" which he said are equipped with a dual set of terminals, presumably designed to take advantage of bi-wirimg. As such, there are no "factors " to consider.I doubt that any knowledgeable audiophile wanting the best sound from his speakers and could afford the extra cost would single wire them and bridge the dual terminals

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The OP asked if the jumpers made bi-wiring unnecessary. The first responder in the thread answered the question. The answer was yes!
That was a newbie question and I answered it that way.

I think you should go back to page one and look at the sequence of posts and who you quoted in your first reply. This would seem to provide a different line of thought than you now suggest.