BI-AMP/WIRE basics? INFINITY KAPPA 9


Help-
I am getting a pair of INFINITY KAPPA 9's and I guess they are notorious power hogs so I am considering bi-amping them. I understand they are set up for that, with jumpered binder posts. But I have no knowledge of what the benifits of bi-amping might be. Even if you bi-amp aren't the amps still working the entire frequence range? Is the benifit that the ohm load will be greater and therefore less likely to overdrive the amp? The speakers are rated at 340 watts RMS at 4-6 ohms, but I have read that it can drop to 1 ohm on certain frequencies. The amp I have is a Yamaha MX-1000 and I will be buying another identical one if I bi-amp. The specs on the MX are as follows----RMS 260 @ 8 ohms 0.003 THD / 295 @ 6 ohms 0.007 THD /330W @ 4 ohms 0.02% THD. Dynamic Power 450 @ 8 ohms / 560 @ 6 ohms / 740 @ 4 ohms / 960 @ 2 ohms / 1000 @ 1 ohm. What kind of performance increase might I see by bi-amping. And this may seem like a silly question, but what exactly is bi-wiring? Obviously if you bi-amp you need to run 2 sets of wires, but does bi-wire mean running 2 sets of wires to the
same amp? If you do, do you run them to the A terminals or 1 to A and one to B? It sounds like it could create problems possibly. My pre-amp is a YAMAHA CX-1000 that has 2 sets of outputs. I have 1 going to the MX-1000 now and one going to the line leads for a powered sub. I still plan on running the sub, but now I will need 3 outputs what do I do? ANY help would be greatly appreciated. I realize my equipment may not compare to what most of you guys run, but it is the best I can afford right now. Help me make the most of it. Thanks you guys (I appreciate the feedback on my "shipping heavy speakers" post. I have chosen to use DELTA AIR FREIGHT based on your recommendations. I think it will be safe,cheap, and fast)
a71spud

Showing 3 responses by dannylw

I have a pair of Infinity Kappa 8's that are biiwired. First of all, don't bridge any amp into this load. Bridging effectively halves the ohmage. There is also a switch on the back of these speakers to change the ohm rating to four ohms; start with that. I hear a definite improvement when bi-wiring vs single wiring even with only one amp. Don't use cheap Monster bi-Wires on these speakers they sound terrible. Use MIT or a higher end Monster. Next tubes are very good with these speakers for the highs. The lows really do like Transistors. The second amp if used will relieve the mid-tweeter amp from running out of power so you may hear a difference (I've never tried it). I still have the Kappa eights running with a modified adcom gfa555. I run another bi-amp set up with a separate electronic crossover. The electronic crossover and multiple amps give the sound an almost effortless sound.
I'm sure the low pass is 80HZ with biwiring. (I removed the wire and listened.) A few years ago I used to use an electronic crossover to handle the below 50HZ signal and that cleaned up the midrange. For single amp use you need a high current amp with these speakers. It doesn't need really high power.
I agree with gts87. These speakers are merciless if the upstream components are bright. In many ways they are similiar to Thiels in the quality they demand. By the way I agree with his choice of amps too. Throw Conrad Johnson in there as a good choice.