2. amps-preamps
  3. 1251484484

Bi-amp befuddlement

Newbie in midst of modest upgrades to old system and wondering if I am getting best benefit from bi-amping:

Having read about it, I acquired an Arcam 8 power amp to pair with my Arcam 8 Integrated.

Speakers are B&W 601 S2, about 20 years old, which sounded quite warm and nice bi-wired with Monster cables. For the bi-amping effort, I bought Anti-cables.

I followed the Arcam instructions and wired the power amp to low end, the integrated to high end. Frankly, not sure I noticed a difference - except maybe when I crank it up. The sounds seems clearer, with less distortion, or maybe that's wishful hearing.

I am questioning things in part because the other day, I shut down the power amp and the music nstantly went tinny, like some tranmission from space. Put on the power amp, and all richness floods back. Clearly, I expect a change but not such a massive one.

Is that normal? Is that all I am getting out of the intergrated? I have looked at Audiogon forums and read about vertical bi-amping - one amp per speaker. Is that a better use of two amps for somebody who is not going to mess with speaker cross-overs?
maverick18

Showing 3 responses by rodman99999

rodman99999
5,983 posts
 
If you were going to vertically bi-amp with separates(pre and two stereo amps), I wouldn't have mentioned any POTENTIAL imbalances. When/if you DO try that configuration; please post your impressions.
rodman99999
5,983 posts
 
If you are actually, "bi-amping" and you turn the amp off that's powering your bass drivers: guess what? All that you will hear is the integrated, powering the mids/highs(only the output above the crossover frequency). YES- It WILL sound VERY thin. What you've noticed at higher volume levels, is the main objective of bi-amping(clearer presentation, better dynamics and less distortion).
rodman99999
5,983 posts
 
You are correct in assuming that the Arcam amps(same power) will be matched, and you don't need further attenuation. You have to realize that the crossover point of that system(601 Series 2) is at 4kHz, and very little music actually exists above that freq(that's why the difference seemed so huge with most everything below that gone). Bi-amping with a much lower crossover point(say with Snell 3 ways); the disparity would not seem as great. I would stay with the horizontal configuration, as there will be a pair of interconnects on one channel and not the other, if you go vertical. That may cause somewhat of an imbalance in your presentation.
More to discover