Luckiestmanalive Posted November 10, 2010 Posted November 10, 2010 Phred;138651 wrote: Bi Amp What he said... generally, all other things being equal, IMHO, etc...
Boris1553552671 Posted November 10, 2010 Posted November 10, 2010 I also vote bi-amp, although some argue that the benefit is marginal at best without an active crossover. Worth trying if you have spare amplification available. If not, funds may be better invested in one better amp rather than two lesser ones (and same argument for speaker wires). And you have to bi-wire anyway if you're going to bi-amp Are you thinking of one amp per speaker or one for HF and one for LF? i.e. vertical vs horizontal bi-amping - can't remember which is which, should be obvious I guess but it's getting late Edit: just noticed your equipment list. I guess you're looking at doing something with the Pioneer receiver? B
wapfu Posted November 10, 2010 Posted November 10, 2010 Bi amp by far. Get a power amp to handle the woofer and an amp for the HF range. More controlled bass etc. By 4 cents worth Bill
Jon1553552729 Posted November 10, 2010 Posted November 10, 2010 Bi-amp first... Then if you can bi-wire! So in my system I am vertically bi-amping (one amp, 1 speaker) and bi-wiring. But really, I should consider an active X-over!
Owen Y Posted November 10, 2010 Posted November 10, 2010 Not many right/wrong answers in this game... Assuming non-active spkr system, ie with in-built xovers... You weigh up the pros/cons of 2 amplifiers (biamping), often of different topologies, adding to difficulty of achieving seamless integration between LF/HF spkr drivers - assuming 'horiz biamping', 1 amp for LF/1 amp for HFs. 'Vertical biamping' (1 amp/ch) solves the above problem, whilst providing additional LF watts. The pros/cons might depend a lot on the spkr in question, design/complexity of xover, etc. I've found that some spkrs, when biamped (horiz biamping) lose some coherence/balance, whilst gaining a little in other areas. Another thought: Real gains can be had in many spkrs by relocating the xover further away from the drivers - ie. outside the box or bott of floorstanders. Active systems, with added complication of an active xover at line level, are another kettle of fish. YMMV etc
Electra Posted November 10, 2010 Posted November 10, 2010 One good amp beats two average amps hands down. If you have two amps already, then go for it ( although I am not so sure its ideal in a passive crossover system ) If your looking to improve the system by buying a second power amp, consider selling the main power amp and buying a better, single ( 2ch ) power amp. Bluedog's thread about his new VAF speakers touches on this - is his 6160 Perreaux ( 6*160w monster ) amp in a tri amp configuration going to be seriously bettered by a Perreaux 350P ( 2*350w ) amplifier. And my answer would be "I would most certainly think so ) even though the amps are a similar value new. Why? Well, the most power he can put to any one "set" of drivers is 160w at 8ohm. With a 350P he could dump a full 350w ( at a nominal 8 ohm load ) into the same set of drivers, and as its the bass drivers which demand the most current/power, this should result in tighter, more powerful, yet more tuneful bass. It wont play much louder overall, if at all. double your power and you only get 3dB of extra volume. Its not much.
T110 Posted November 11, 2010 Posted November 11, 2010 I had good results Bi Amping with my old (now sold) amps but now my newer( better) int amp sounds superior so I guess it's down to the gear.
Boris1553552671 Posted November 11, 2010 Posted November 11, 2010 Owen Y;138718 wrote: 'Vertical biamping' (1 amp/ch) solves the above problem, whilst providing additional LF watts. Owen, does vertical bi-amping really provide much in the way of additional LF watts? Could much of the benefit come from spreading the LF load over two power supplies? B
Crozzy Posted November 12, 2010 Author Posted November 12, 2010 Well have done it..... Bi-Amped and Tri-Wired.... thanks to Cloth Ears for his help and advice.... My untrained ears notice an improvement straight away... now to spend the afternoon with wine and some preferred albums.... as the wine depletes I suspect the sound again will get better and better.... My other test is MSO when arrives home..... Wonder if MSO could get a second job to assist in the purchase of new toys?
Luckiestmanalive Posted November 12, 2010 Posted November 12, 2010 Nice one, Crozzy - so you've used the amplification for the rear channels on your receiver to biamp the Opus 2s, which have three sets of banana plus, hence the option to tri-wire? I had Opus 1s for a while and never got an opportunity to do that... nor have I had the opportunity to spend a friday arvo listening and drinking... you lucky bugger!
Crozzy Posted November 12, 2010 Author Posted November 12, 2010 luckiestmanalive;138914 wrote: Nice one, Crozzy - so you've used the amplification for the rear channels on your receiver to biamp the Opus 2s, which have three sets of banana plus, hence the option to tri-wire? I had Opus 1s for a while and never got an opportunity to do that... nor have I had the opportunity to spend a friday arvo listening and drinking... you lucky bugger! Down side is though... I gotta work this weekend..... so always a down side...:cool:
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