I just bought my B&W CM 1 with a Rotel RA-1070 :-) And a question I want to ask here:
The speaker supports bi-wire connection, I am only using single wire now. The store worker suggested I should setup this way, -> 0 0 0 0 <- but the mannual said it should be, -> 0 0 <- 0 0 the upper two connectors are HI and the lower two connectors are LO.
In addition to what Marc said, replace the brass jumper bars that go between the low and high of each side with a short bit of the speaker wire you're using.
Would you give me some of your experiences before I try? How do you usually do?
Pitt, What the seapker wire benefits when using it instead of the brass bar? My speaker wire was pre-made by the store and its not easy to get a short segment of it.
Steve I usually do what your store worker does. Also I strongly recommend you change the standard brass jumpers for decent wire snippets, as Stu recommended above. This makes more difference than which way you plug in!
According to some folks, when you connect the speaker wires to the HI terminals, you get a slight high frequency emphasis. When you connect to the LOW terminals, you get a slight low frequency emphasis. When you connect one to HI, and one to LOW, you get better balance.
Every speaker is different. My speakers are on the warmer side. I connect both wires to the HI terminal. The slight high freq emphasis balances the sound in my room with my gear. Your room, gear, and/or tastes may be the opposite, and you may prefer plugging into the LOW terminal. Or you may prefer the setup as your dealer mentioned. Or may may hear no difference at all. Everyone's gear and ears are different.
More importantly, you should revisit where you connect your wires after the speakers are fully broken in and you know them very well. During break-in, a speaker can go from sounding bright and harsh, to overly warm and smooth, then fall somewhere in the middle in the end.
A dealer showed me a trick a few weeks ago. And yes, this was the same joker who didn't want to show me the speakers I came in and asked for, but instead tried to push a few different speakers on me. At least I learned something new. It was pretty interesting -
Keep the wires plugged in as they are on the back of the amp. At the speaker end, swap + and -. Make sure you do both speakers, or they'll be out of phase and cancel out some of each other's frequencies.
He showed me this trick when I was listening to a pair of Revel Concerta towers. At first, the sound was too bass heavy and laid back. After the switch, it was more neutral and forward. It honestly sounded like a different speaker. I preferred the second way.
My understanding of it is when you do this, you're reversing the phase. Much in the same way as when a pre-amp has a phase reverse switch.
I tried it on my PSBs, and they didn't sound as good, so I switched them back. Your results may vary.
I'm pretty sure they test them extensively, but they're not the most honest company when it comes time to report their findings.
They've claimed 4 ohm minimum impedence on several speakers that dipped to 2 ohms regularly for several different speakers.
That doesn't mean that the speakers were bad, it just means that like everyone else, they have a market to serve and don't want to scare off potetnial customers.
That is probably so. I was specifically commenting on their suggestion for wiring the speakers.
I assume they dont have anything to gain or lose there, either way.
The "ohm example" certainly shows their desire to make a particular speaker appear to be easier to drive.
But I would figure they would know how best to wire their speakers.... Then again maybe not. What do I know. I guess I shouldn't have chimed in, now that i reflect on that fact.
I digress..... In the final analysis, the ONLY way to tell for sure is to do the old A/B test with your ears.
Please let us know the results.
I hope I didn't create more confusion. Stu, and Frank certainly know a lot more than I do.
"Then again maybe not. What do I know. I guess I shouldn't have chimed in, now that i reflect on that fact."
There's really no wrong answers, Patrick. What you say makes total sense, and I'm the one who probably confused the issue more than you did.
My only point was that the companies sometimes bow down to pressure. For example, Rega used to say their was no advantage to bi-wiring, and it would actually sound worse. Now they say to try it and see for yourself.
A few other manufacturers have gone this route too. McIntosh used to say there's no difference is speaker wires, so long as they're size appropriate. Then they started wiring their speakers internally with some name brand wire, and stated it didn't sound better, but that's what people want.