bi-wire config question
 

I have a Musical Fidelity A5 cd player and A5 intergrated amp, I have it
bi-wired to a pair of Acoustic Energy AE120 speakers (tri-wireable), my
question is this:-
My speakers are three way, so at the moment I have the MF and HF bridged
together & the LF is seperate, is this correct? Or I should I have the MF
AND LF bridged together & the HF seperate? I'm using Chord Chorus
interconnects and Chord Oddessy bi-wire speaker cable.
I like a mellow Jazz/soul/funk & detail etc not a lot of gutsy rock/bass & I
was just wondering if I had the config correct.

Thanks.
AD

bi-wire config question
 

In article , aid
wrote:
I have a Musical Fidelity A5 cd player and A5 intergrated amp, I have it
bi-wired to a pair of Acoustic Energy AE120 speakers (tri-wireable), my
question is this:- My speakers are three way, so at the moment I have
the MF and HF bridged together & the LF is seperate, is this correct?

TBH I'm not sure what meaning "correct" would have in this context. :-)

Or I should I have the MF AND LF bridged together & the HF seperate?

Or simply link the MF + LF + HF together.

You can approach this in three ways:

1) Try different arrangements and if you think they sound different, choose
the one you prefer. If there are audible differences, it will be your
preference that determines what is "correct" for you, not the opinions of
others who may use different systems in a different room acoustic, etc.

2) Note that controlled listening tests have never (so far as I know) shown
any reliably audible differences due to bi-wiring, and engineering analysis
implies that any differences will be in the range from slight to imaginary.
[1] Thus simply use what you have and save bother.

3) Check with the speaker manufacturers to see if they have any engineering
reason for specifying a particular arrangement. If they do, consider that.

My vote would be for (2), but its your money and your ears... ;-

Slainte,

Jim

[1] If you use unusually inappropriate cable/equipment this might not be
the case. But in such cases the way to deal with the problem would be to
use more appropriate cables, etc. This isn't a matter of expensive or
fancy, just things like ensuring the cables don't have excessive
resistance, etc.

--
Electronics http://www.st-and.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scot...o/electron.htm
Audio Misc http://www.st-and.demon.co.uk/AudioMisc/index.html
Armstrong Audio http://www.st-and.demon.co.uk/Audio/armstrong.html
Barbirolli Soc. http://www.st-and.demon.co.uk/JBSoc/JBSoc.html

bi-wire config question
 

Jim Lesurf wrote:
In article , aid
wrote:
I have a Musical Fidelity A5 cd player and A5 intergrated amp, I have it
bi-wired to a pair of Acoustic Energy AE120 speakers (tri-wireable), my
question is this:- My speakers are three way, so at the moment I have
the MF and HF bridged together & the LF is seperate, is this correct?

TBH I'm not sure what meaning "correct" would have in this context. :-)

Or I should I have the MF AND LF bridged together & the HF seperate?

Or simply link the MF + LF + HF together.

You can approach this in three ways:

1) Try different arrangements and if you think they sound different, choose
the one you prefer. If there are audible differences, it will be your
preference that determines what is "correct" for you, not the opinions of
others who may use different systems in a different room acoustic, etc.

2) Note that controlled listening tests have never (so far as I know) shown
any reliably audible differences due to bi-wiring, and engineering analysis
implies that any differences will be in the range from slight to imaginary.
[1] Thus simply use what you have and save bother.


Totally agree. I think Jim is being kind, I would put the differences as
somewhere between imaginary and non-existent, once you do the sums.

S.

bi-wire config question
 

"Serge Auckland" wrote in message
...
Jim Lesurf wrote:
In article , aid
wrote:
I have a Musical Fidelity A5 cd player and A5 intergrated amp, I have it
bi-wired to a pair of Acoustic Energy AE120 speakers (tri-wireable), my
question is this:- My speakers are three way, so at the moment I have
the MF and HF bridged together & the LF is seperate, is this correct?

TBH I'm not sure what meaning "correct" would have in this context. :-)

Or I should I have the MF AND LF bridged together & the HF seperate?

Or simply link the MF + LF + HF together.

You can approach this in three ways:

1) Try different arrangements and if you think they sound different,
choose
the one you prefer. If there are audible differences, it will be your
preference that determines what is "correct" for you, not the opinions of
others who may use different systems in a different room acoustic, etc.

2) Note that controlled listening tests have never (so far as I know)
shown
any reliably audible differences due to bi-wiring, and engineering
analysis
implies that any differences will be in the range from slight to
imaginary.
[1] Thus simply use what you have and save bother.


Totally agree. I think Jim is being kind, I would put the differences as
somewhere between imaginary and non-existent, once you do the sums.



Agreed. But still the OP might like to do the experiment, and decide for
himself. The subject is covered in an objective way in the book:
AUDIO REALITY by Bruce Rozenblit. pp 42-43.

Iain

bi-wire config question
 

"Serge Auckland" wrote in message
...
Jim Lesurf wrote:
In article , aid
wrote:
I have a Musical Fidelity A5 cd player and A5 intergrated amp, I have it
bi-wired to a pair of Acoustic Energy AE120 speakers (tri-wireable), my
question is this:- My speakers are three way, so at the moment I have
the MF and HF bridged together & the LF is seperate, is this correct?

TBH I'm not sure what meaning "correct" would have in this context. :-)

Or I should I have the MF AND LF bridged together & the HF seperate?

Or simply link the MF + LF + HF together.

You can approach this in three ways:

1) Try different arrangements and if you think they sound different,
choose
the one you prefer. If there are audible differences, it will be your
preference that determines what is "correct" for you, not the opinions of
others who may use different systems in a different room acoustic, etc.

2) Note that controlled listening tests have never (so far as I know)
shown
any reliably audible differences due to bi-wiring, and engineering
analysis
implies that any differences will be in the range from slight to
imaginary.
[1] Thus simply use what you have and save bother.


Totally agree. I think Jim is being kind, I would put the differences as
somewhere between imaginary and non-existent, once you do the sums.

Number 1 is correct, as only you with your equipment, cables, room and
furniture can LISTEN to the results. Plenty of sums are done by speaker
manufacturers, to make sure their product is technically brilliant, yet get
them into a room and they will sound anything from horrible to superb.

Same with interconnects and cables - use whatever sounds right to you. Some
people prefer the sums, some prefer the sound - it's a personal thing.

Cessna172.

bi-wire config question
 

Cessna172 wrote:
"Serge Auckland" wrote in message
...
Jim Lesurf wrote:
In article , aid
wrote:
I have a Musical Fidelity A5 cd player and A5 intergrated amp, I have it
bi-wired to a pair of Acoustic Energy AE120 speakers (tri-wireable), my
question is this:- My speakers are three way, so at the moment I have
the MF and HF bridged together & the LF is seperate, is this correct?
TBH I'm not sure what meaning "correct" would have in this context. :-)

Or I should I have the MF AND LF bridged together & the HF seperate?
Or simply link the MF + LF + HF together.

You can approach this in three ways:

1) Try different arrangements and if you think they sound different,
choose
the one you prefer. If there are audible differences, it will be your
preference that determines what is "correct" for you, not the opinions of
others who may use different systems in a different room acoustic, etc.

2) Note that controlled listening tests have never (so far as I know)
shown
any reliably audible differences due to bi-wiring, and engineering
analysis
implies that any differences will be in the range from slight to
imaginary.
[1] Thus simply use what you have and save bother.

Totally agree. I think Jim is being kind, I would put the differences as
somewhere between imaginary and non-existent, once you do the sums.

Number 1 is correct, as only you with your equipment, cables, room and
furniture can LISTEN to the results. Plenty of sums are done by speaker
manufacturers, to make sure their product is technically brilliant, yet get
them into a room and they will sound anything from horrible to superb.

I've yet to see a product that didn't work properly when the sums were
done correctly, rigorously, and applying the rules. That's not to say
that an intuitive designer can't get a good sound without doing the
sums, what I'm saying is if you then analyse such a design, you will
find that the sums come out right as well.


S.

bi-wire config question
 

"aid" wrote in message
...
I have a Musical Fidelity A5 cd player and A5 intergrated amp, I have it
bi-wired to a pair of Acoustic Energy AE120 speakers (tri-wireable), my
question is this:-
My speakers are three way, so at the moment I have the MF and HF bridged
together & the LF is seperate, is this correct? Or I should I have the MF
AND LF bridged together & the HF seperate? I'm using Chord Chorus
interconnects and Chord Oddessy bi-wire speaker cable.
I like a mellow Jazz/soul/funk & detail etc not a lot of gutsy rock/bass &
I was just wondering if I had the config correct.

Thanks.
AD

Years ago I read that one should disconnect everything periodically, clean
all the contacts and re-assemble. Did it. Everything sounded better. Now,
many years later I'm convinced that its psychological. Do it now. Play a
couple of tracks. Unplug your speakers and CD player. Re-connect and I bet
you think it sounds better. Works every time.
Re-wire your speakers any way you like. It will sound better when you have
them wired the way YOU think is right.

--
John the West Ham fan

bi-wire config question
 

Serge Auckland wrote:
Cessna172 wrote:

speaker manufacturers, to make sure their product is technically
brilliant, yet get them into a room and they will sound anything from
horrible to superb.


I've yet to see a product that didn't work properly when the sums were
done correctly, rigorously, and applying the rules. That's not to say
that an intuitive designer can't get a good sound without doing the
sums, what I'm saying is if you then analyse such a design, you will
find that the sums come out right as well.

What about the perfect speaker - a point source with a flat frequency response?
It will sound perfect if your room has no walls or floor.
If you design the perfect speaker for your room, it may not work well in mine.

--
Eiron

No good deed ever goes unpunished.

bi-wire config question
 

housetrained wrote:
"aid" wrote in message
...

I have a Musical Fidelity A5 cd player and A5 intergrated amp, I have it
bi-wired to a pair of Acoustic Energy AE120 speakers (tri-wireable), my
question is this:-
My speakers are three way, so at the moment I have the MF and HF bridged
together & the LF is seperate, is this correct? Or I should I have the MF
AND LF bridged together & the HF seperate? I'm using Chord Chorus
interconnects and Chord Oddessy bi-wire speaker cable.
I like a mellow Jazz/soul/funk & detail etc not a lot of gutsy rock/bass &
I was just wondering if I had the config correct.

Thanks.
AD


Years ago I read that one should disconnect everything periodically, clean
all the contacts and re-assemble. Did it. Everything sounded better. Now,
many years later I'm convinced that its psychological. Do it now. Play a
couple of tracks. Unplug your speakers and CD player. Re-connect and I bet
you think it sounds better. Works every time.
Re-wire your speakers any way you like. It will sound better when you have
them wired the way YOU think is right.


So if you keep unplugging and plugging, does it keep getting better? If
it works every time, after 20m in doing this, it must sound wonderful.

Have you considered you may just be cleaning the electrical contact the
first time?

--
Nick

bi-wire config question
 

Eiron wrote:
Serge Auckland wrote:
Cessna172 wrote:

speaker manufacturers, to make sure their product is technically
brilliant, yet get them into a room and they will sound anything from
horrible to superb.


I've yet to see a product that didn't work properly when the sums were
done correctly, rigorously, and applying the rules. That's not to say
that an intuitive designer can't get a good sound without doing the
sums, what I'm saying is if you then analyse such a design, you will
find that the sums come out right as well.

What about the perfect speaker - a point source with a flat frequency
response?
It will sound perfect if your room has no walls or floor.
If you design the perfect speaker for your room, it may not work well in
mine.

Two points from the above:-

Firstly, there is no practical way of producing a point source with a
flat frequency response and sufficient audio output for music
reproduction. Quad has come the closest, I suppose, with a sound-field
synthesis for a point source, but this is a long way from a real point
source. Consequently, there are no "sums" to be done with this example,
as it is not realisable.

Secondly, if you were to design the "perfect" 'speaker for my room, that
is exactly what it would be, the "perfect" 'speaker for *my* room, not
yours or anyone else's. You would have to design a different "perfect"
'speaker for every different room. This is clearly not a practical
commercial proposition, but theoretically of course, it could be done.
Incidentally, you would need to define carefully what "perfect" meant,
but let's accept, for the sake of this argument that we both understand
what we mean by "perfect".

In pursuit of the above "perfect" for every room, several manufacturers
are now including DSP control with measuring microphones so that their
'speakers can be better matched to the room. Whilst an improvement, you
cannot DSP away the floor and walls which cause echoes, nasty
resonances, frequency response anomalies caused by frequency-variable
absorptions in furniture, (although this last is probably the easiest
for DSP to make a difference) and a whole host of other stuff that we
all live with.

Many years ago, I did some 'speaker measurements in an anechoic chamber,
and as a working environment it wasn't very pleasant. I suspect this was
because the acoustic space ( effectively no walls, floor or ceiling)
didn't match one's visual space, which was that of a small room.
However, listening with eyes closed and the room darkened, did actually
sound very good. More recently, I visited a Scandinavian Broadcaster
who had a number of IEC standard listening rooms of different sizes in
their centre. They were using B&W 807s, and the sound was quite
extraordinarily good. If you ever get a chance to visit any UK
commercial radio station that still has studios made during the old IBA
Code of Practice days, you will again hear what a really good room can
sounds like.

S.