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Re: How does bi-wiring work?

209.215.72.194

Posted by Jon Risch on December 23, 2000 at 08:11:48

In Reply to: Re: How does bi-wiring work? posted by jsm on December 22, 2000 at 16:16:07:

[ There is no way you separate the highs and lows to make them flow in separate wires. ]

Of course there is, it's called a crossover circuit, and in a bi-wired system, the sections are typically separated completely.

[ The wires set up a short between the speaker terminals. ]

Sorry, this is ONLY true in a perfect situation where there is no resistance at all, and no inductance at all, no cables are perfect.

[ The voltages MUST be the same at all times at the two speaker posts. ]

While the voltages are very similar, there are differences (measured) at the -30 to -50 dB range, as predicted by the actual cable resistance/inductance. High performance audio (e.g., other than a simple boom box) is concerned with details in the music that are down that low, and lower. Dithering algorithms can be readily heard by consumers and pro's alike, they live at levels that are -90 dB down !

[ Thus the same waveforms must be delivered to both terminals. To be sure, there can be different rates of current flow in the two wires, .... ]

Stop and think about it. An electromagnetic signal is the sum of the current and voltage. The signal can not exist without both, and both are necessary to define the EM signal. If the current is different, then the signal is different.

The key here is the differing current flow.

If the wires have ANY resistance or inductance, then there will be some advantage to bi-wiring.
This would be due to the back EMF portion of the situation, and how bi-wiring attenuates it more than single wiring as it tries to influence the other driver.

Then there are other factors that are not even considered with an electrical analysis only. There is tha aspect of physical cable resonances causing modulation of the signal via motor/generator actions. SEE:
http://members.nbci.com/Jon_Risch/s1.htm
AND the appropriate section in this post:
http://www.AudioAsylum.com/audio/cables/messages/2341.html
for discussion of motor/generator actions, also mistakenly refered to as magnetostriction.

Bi-wiring will reduce the self-IM that M/G causes, and since the LF and HF current flows have been separated, there will be a reduction of the M/G self-IM near the crossover region.

Jon Risch

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