Forums - To bi-wire or not to bi-wire

Bluzrover Verified Member Posts: 23	To bi-wire or not to bi-wire 05/10/25 at 23:16:52 What’s the opinion of the group regarding bi-wiring their speakers? In my current SS rig I’ve got my Forte’s bi-wired. I intend to keep them that way with my soon-to-be-delivered UFO25 but I’d like the thoughts of others here who have 100% more experience with the SET amps.
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CAJames

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"I've run every
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Re: To bi-wire or not to bi-wire
Reply #1 - 05/11/25 at 15:55:31

For me, pre Decware, I biwired my speakers. With Decware I have single driver speakers so it isn't an option. With low power amps and high sensitivity speakers I feel like the advantages of biwiring are reduced, but not eliminated. What isn't reduced is the impact of the speaker cables on sound. So if you have speaker cables you like, and they are biwire, then by all means stick with it. But if you are looking to up your wire game then I would rather spend the money on a better single run then on biwiring. JMO/YMMV and all that.

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[FOOBAR2000 | Jay's CDT2 MRK3] -> Denafrips Terminator 2 + Gaia
Sumiko Pearwood -> Mapleknoll Athena -> Luxman SUT -> Mapletree Phono 3E
STR-1002 -> Woo WA22 -> 2x UFO25s, balanced monos
Omega SAM , Hifiman Arya, Audeze LCD-XC

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Bluzrover

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Posts: 23

Re: To bi-wire or not to bi-wire
Reply #2 - 05/11/25 at 22:33:54

Thanks for your response. I went straight to bi-wire when I bought my Fortes and it’s impossible for me to know if there would have been any difference when I first hooked them up to my old SS amp. The difference between the Fortes and my old Cerwin Vegas was quite astonishing so I’m looking forward to my first listen of the UFO25. I think I’m sticking with the audio quest wires that came with the speakers for now. I think I want to make adjustments after I’ve had a chance to get to know this new amp.

Cheers

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1stwattlife

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Posts: 153

Re: To bi-wire or not to bi-wire
Reply #3 - 05/14/25 at 20:23:15

The theory behind bi-amping is sound and has practical application if you are set up for it. In fact, many of us are already doing this if we are running a separate powered sub. One of my coworkers swears by it and has been running a rig like that for decades. There can be a lot of issues that come along with it as well though, additional troubleshooting if problems arise and issues of imbalance , how it sounds with the pieces you have to work with, etc. It is quite the rabbit hole. I am tinkering with the idea of improving the input panel on my Klipsch KG4's, bypassing the crossover to bi-amp but have yet to pull the trigger.

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CAJames Seasoned Member "I've run every red light on memory lane." Posts: 2521	Re: To bi-wire or not to bi-wire Reply #4 - 05/14/25 at 22:22:17 Yes bi-amping, presumably with an external crossover, has always stuck me as a good idea in theory but a PITA in practice. bi-wiring OTOH is easy, simple and the only downside is cost. I think the tradeoff between bi-wire and a better single cable of comparable cost is both system and wire dependent.
Back to top	[FOOBAR2000 \| Jay's CDT2 MRK3] -> Denafrips Terminator 2 + Gaia Sumiko Pearwood -> Mapleknoll Athena -> Luxman SUT -> Mapletree Phono 3E STR-1002 -> Woo WA22 -> 2x UFO25s, balanced monos Omega SAM , Hifiman Arya, Audeze LCD-XC IP Logged

Bluzrover

Verified Member

Posts: 23

Re: To bi-wire or not to bi-wire
Reply #5 - 05/14/25 at 22:45:49

As I get ready to hook up my Fortes to the pre-enjoyed UFO25 that is soon to arrive, I’m reminded that Steve highly recommends his ZSTYX speaker wires which I’m thinking would be difficult to bi-wire.

I’ll go with the current wires until I get a better idea how they sound and whether or not my next move is to something else to the chain. I don’t have a preamp as of now but I’m definitely looking into that, but that’s for another thread…

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CAJames

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"I've run every
red light on memory
lane."

Posts: 2521

Re: To bi-wire or not to bi-wire
Reply #6 - 05/14/25 at 22:57:38

Quote:

Posted by: Bluzrover Posted on: Today at 14:45:49

...I’m reminded that Steve highly recommends his ZSTYX speaker...

I highly recommend it. Since Steve is kind enough to provide the part number, and I only need a few feet I was able to find a remainder roll of the stuff. I cut it to length, slapped on some bananas and got great sounding cable for not that much more than a roll of zip cord.

I think, in theory, you could achieve bi-wire with two runs. One with bananas at the amp end the other with spades or bare wire. JMO/YMMV and all that.

Quote:

...I don’t have a preamp as of now but I’m definitely looking into that, but that’s for another thread…

Good on you. In the opinion of myself and others the UFO25 really benefits from a quality preamp.

Regardless, please keep us informed on the progress of your journey.

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[FOOBAR2000 | Jay's CDT2 MRK3] -> Denafrips Terminator 2 + Gaia
Sumiko Pearwood -> Mapleknoll Athena -> Luxman SUT -> Mapletree Phono 3E
STR-1002 -> Woo WA22 -> 2x UFO25s, balanced monos
Omega SAM , Hifiman Arya, Audeze LCD-XC

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MikeinMontana Seasoned Member Posts: 296	Re: To bi-wire or not to bi-wire Reply #7 - 05/16/25 at 17:49:03 When and if you bi-wire, please let us know what difference you hear through your Forte's. Our son loves those speakers through his Zen amp. Like we do with our old ChorusII speakers. Have fun! Mike
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Bluzrover

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Posts: 23

Re: To bi-wire or not to bi-wire
Reply #8 - 05/22/25 at 14:41:31

@Mike, your posts about yours and your son’s experience with Klipsch speakers influenced my decision to search for a UFO25. Now that it’s finally here and hooked up, I couldn’t be happier.

I probably should have singled wired the speakers first, but I was so anxious to hear the amp that I just connected everything as was. But now that I read this again, I think I’ll listen a bit more, perhaps through the weekend, and then re-do the cables and give it a listen.

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MikeinMontana

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Posts: 296

Re: To bi-wire or not to bi-wire
Reply #9 - 05/23/25 at 21:24:02

First off I missed your question a while back and I am sorry. I am not on the computer all that much. So glad you like the setup!! WE could not be happier and have been using the Zen often. Just amazing!! It really is among the best purchases I have ever made for our music. Period. We have a TON of physical media and the Decware has us grabbing up music that we haven't listened to in some time. Didn't realize so much of the music sounded so unreal til the Zens arrival. We were not huge fans of music during the loudness wars era, and could not stand to listen to the few ruined titles we own. That still remains. The worst one I have for that loudness war problem is a DVD Audio of Staind-14 shades of grey. Totally UN-listenable . Criminal what some of the mixers did to many recording during that time. Have fun!!!!! Mike and we have not bi -wired and most likely won't. HAPPY just like things are...

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