RB-1080 Bi-wire 2 and 4 or 4 and 4?

[Parsonsk]

I also posted part of this under the cables section but I wanted to hear directly from other Rotel 1080 owners
"I've brought home a pair of Audioquest type-6 for demo purposes only. They have 2 banana plugs on the amp end and 4 on the speaker end. They consider these bi-wire but I thought that bi-wire was 4 connectors at the amp end and 4 at the speaker end, is this normal?"

Since I have a Rotel 1080 that could accommodate this 4 and 4 and wanted to utilize this configuration. Is this something that others with Rotel do? Can Cat cable do this or would they come as the same configuration 2 and 4?
Thanks

If you have the 1080 do you connect 4 bananas at the amp end and 4 at the speaker end and if yes, did you notice a difference?

[PewterTA]

I did it, just to try it and noticed no difference that I could tell... Infact I did one speaker one way the other the other way... and noticed no difference. Though I didn't use true bi-wire wires. Just one running one speaker with one set of wires from the top binding posts on the 1080, the other speaker with two sets of wires from both binding posts on the 1080 to both posts on the speaker... no noticeable difference that I could tell.

Granted I didn't to critical listening for a long period of time. Just a quick 15 - 20 minute thing.

[mjb]

Bi-wiring is a marketing ploy to make you buy more speaker cable! There is no electrical advantage at all. If by any chance you do actually hear a difference, then your speaker cable was too small to start with.

[atinaebud]

i agree

I had an oportunity to bi-wire from my 1080 and couldn't tell the difference. Make it unanimous and save the money.

[thyname]

"I've brought home a pair of Audioquest type-6 for demo purposes only. They have 2 banana plugs on the amp end and 4 on the speaker end.

That is exactely the cable I have for my speakers with my 1080. It is a cable for bi-wire and not bi-amp. Bi-wiring is a subject of a lot of controversies in audio. I was able to notice a fair improvement in my setup. I am not sure if the improvement came from bi-wiring, or from getting a more expensive, 10 G cable to replace a Monster Original 14 G cable.

Maybe Lex can chime in with his expert opinion.

[RebelMan]

Parsonsk, I have a special (CAT) bi-wire cable with two leads for the amplifier end and four leads for the speaker end. The RB-1080 can accept a cable such as this or two individual cables each with two leads on both ends. The additional posts on the RB-1080 were included for this purpose. There are no additional benefits to using all four posts (for each channel) on the RB-1080 as opposed to using just two.

As far as the merits of bi-wiring go in general, I recommend that people follow the guidelines established by the speaker manufacturer. In my case, B&W is very clear about this and they encourage the use of bi-wiring.

"Most B&W speakers are provided with two pairs of speaker terminals; this allows you to either bi-wire or bi-amplify them. The aim of both these techniques is not to simply get the customer to spend more on cables and electronics (although no manufacturer objects to this spin off) but to improve the resolution of the speakers."

[Parsonsk]

so why would Rotel spend the extra money to put the extra 2 binding posts on the back? If i recall the 1080 a few years back only had the 2 per speaker not 4 per speaker?
If i had to answer my own question i would say that it was based on marketing.

[thyname]

I have read that those are for convenience reasons: some people don't buy ready-made bi-wire cables, they just use 2 (two) "single cables" to bi-wire using two terminals on speakers. This way they don't need to solder/put together both cables going to the amp, just connect each of them to each of the binding posts on the back of the amp. Correct me if I am wrong please.

[bigburner]

I connect 4 bananas at the amp end and 4 bare wires at the speaker end.

I did not notice any difference after bi-wiring.

I understand that Rotel provides 4 binding posts for convenience only.

[Parsonsk]

I guess from what you are saying is that the 4 posts on the back of the rotel don't make much of a difference and that if i have a set of bi-wire cables with 2 banana plugs for the amp and 4 for the speakers, that should be good enough? (vs 4 and 4)

Well i'll have to make a judgement call and see if i can tell the difference between the "bi-wire" cable and my regular 12 gauge wire....i already know theres a $300 difference.

Hmmmm, if you had $300 to spend what would you buy? (besides more music or dvd's)

[thyname]

I guess from what you are saying is that the 4 posts on the back of the rotel don't make much of a difference and that if i have a set of bi-wire cables with 2 banana plugs for the amp and 4 for the speakers, that should be good enough? (vs 4 and 4)

That set of a bi-wire cable is actually put together (two in one jacket) for you, so that you don't need to use two sets of cables to do it yourself. It is good enough.

Can you ask your dealer to give both of them to you for audiotion home? Since you are buying at least one of them... why not...

[audiofan]

I had two sets of straightwire. So i just connect 4-to-4 way. I notice that the top end is a little smoother, but not big difference. The reason i use it because i just happen to have two pairs of speakerwire and speaker manufacture (Totem) recommends to bi-wire if i can afford it.

If you don't already have extra wire, then i shouldn't need to bi-wire.

[lvhung]

Bi-wire set-up is now very useful with my JMlab speakers