I'd like to bi-wire my speakers (which are able to do this) using my Outlaw 1050. is this possible? also, can anyone reommend good pre-wired bi-wire cables?

Yes, it is possible. I've had good luck bi-wiring with spades at the 1050 (two speaker runs from the same binding post, so two spade lugs on the same post at the 1050).

I haven't used any pre-made bi-wire cables, so don't know what to recommend there, but I've used several different kinds of wire. I've done this with Home Depot wire (bare wire in that case -- do not try to get Monster Cable spades, as the ones I got were too thick to be manageable for bi-wiring), BetterCables premium wire (spades to bananas, which is what's on my center channel right now), and TMC Gold Label.

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

how about if i just twist the wires together and shove them in the hole on the post at the 1050? Does this work as well?

It worked for me (I stuck the wires in opposite sides of the hole, but that's basically the same thing).

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

I was curious about the power rating when biwiring. How do you figure that? Would it still just be 65W to each speaker or 65W to each line to the speaker (or 130W). What would happen if you went to a bi-amp solution? If that's the case here, I could definetely see getting one of those wonderful 7.1 channel amps and sending double power to the mains.

Before you bi-wire, consider this: The last length of wire in your speakers is probably a much smaller gauge than zip cord.

I had a problem with an Audax tweeter in my center channel, a DIY speaker, where the post pulled out when I disconnected it to finish the veneering. When I investigated the problem, by pulling apart the voice coil, I found the coil wire that connected to the post was thinner than a hair. I have RS 14ga running to the speaker, and some other 14ga inside, but the final wire size is so small that I didn't believe it could actually run current through it. (I was actually able to fix the thing though, to solder that wire to the lead I needed a magnifying glass. If you ever have a spare speaker, you should take it apart, pry open the drivers, just to see how it is really put together.)

And that hair fine wire will be (usually) many feet long. Gives pause for thought.

Well, even if it's say, three feet of small guage wire in there, it's not nearly so bad as running 20-30' of it from your amp.

It's resistance is also probably accounted for by the speaker's designers.

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Matthew J. Hill
matt@idsi.net

[This message has been edited by Matthew Hill (edited September 06, 2002).]

Yeah - if it only were so short.

A typical woofer voice coil can have 30+ feet of small gauge magnet wire!

Tweeters are tiny gauge, but can still be over 10 feet.

And you are correct - it certainly is compensated for, but so also is the internal wiring of the speaker, yet there are some who feel a burning distrust of the designers of their 'wunder-speker' and will actually use premium wire to redo the insides. IMO if the designers are that incompetent one should take a pass on the entire design - know what I mean?

Charlie

[This message has been edited by charlie (edited September 06, 2002).]

My philosophy is, deliver as unmodified a signal as possible to the rear of the speaker, and from there let the designer take over. By modifying the resistance characteristics of the internals of the speaker, I'm deviating from the original designer's intent, and could very well be making things worse instead of better.

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Matthew J. Hill
matt@idsi.net