Biwiring an Arcam FMJ A22 - Is it worth it?

[rosswf]

Hi, would appreciate any thoughts or experience of this.

My B&W CM4s are currently wired to my FMJ A22 using just single runs of cable (Homegrown Audio Silver Lace braid from www.homegrownaudio.com ). I'm very happy with the sound, but notice that it is possible to biwire as the A22 has two sets of speaker outputs.

Does anyone have any experience of of this with the FMJ A22? I understand from reading other posts it seems to be on a case-by-case basis whether or not it makes much difference, so would be interested to hear from anyone who has experience of this particular amp.

If it is worth it, can I use a thinner cable for the HF signal, something like the
SC-3 or SC-4 braid from Homegrown? It would certainly save me a bit of cash.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[nirmal]

Hi rosswf,
The benefits of biwiring are very subtle, if at all they exist. I wouldn't spend a lot of money finding this out for myself if I were you, especially with the silver stuff you are using. If you still have the urge to try it out, I would recommend using a bit of thick copper wiring you have lying around somewhere. Try it for a week, remove it and listen for another week without biwiring, and you will be able to decide if it is for you. Don't do a direct A/B swap to find out. The mind plays tricks on the ears! I wouldn't spend hard earned money on fancy cables, if there wasn't a massive improvement.

Cheers,
Nirmal

 

[rosswf]

Nirmal,

Thanks for the advice. I've got some cheap R/S Gale stuff lying around so I'll give that a try.

Cheers

Ross

 

[CJROSS]

Ross - single wired to bass terminals on your speaker, then "cable jump" from bass terminal to treble terminal on your speaker. Dont waste money full length biwiring, decent CSA of copper on a single run then cable jump.

Some interesting reading :

http://forum.hifichoice.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=19741

 

[rosswf]

CJROSS,

Very interesting article and the idea of bridging with cable rather than the goldplated metal bridges supplied makes sense. I must admit I find the lack of a final, objective answer on issues like these a bit frustrating but then I guess 'good sound' is by its nature somewhat subjective.

Thanks for the advice

Ross