Tube vs Solid State

"My suggestion is that you consider trying your existing amps in a passive vertical biamp configuration...."

Al, thank you for your feedback. I have already tried this, while I gain bit of better separation in mid’s and high’s, the bottom falls out a bit. The low bass frequencies are not a weighty as they are when I run the amp in bridge mode.

Secondly, the LS36.5 is configured with dual balanced outputs in parallel to accommodate bi-amping or a sub with balanced inputs.

@ct0517, I have tried all the options you suggested.

My room is fairly treated and power issues has been addressed with a pair of Audience aR6-TSSOX for digital and analog components.

It seems from rest of the feedback that KWA150SE may not be the ideal choice for 800’s. I am looking into a pair of Class D 1000W / 8 ohm amps to handle low bass frequencies. Add a electronic analog crossover to split bass and mid/high frequencies between class D and tube amps.

I hear Pass Labs SVR1 and Marchand tube or SS are among the best crossovers out there.

Thank you all for your feedback.

Bill, thanks, that's a good point. The only issue with padding down the gain on SS is a trip to manufacturer for gain adjustment. However, this option is quite appealing considering the added expense of external crossover and extra sets of cables not to mention another component in the chain. 

Greg, right on.  

Thanks Al, i will speak to Dan soon and chime back in soon. 

Spencer, great feedback.  I have heard 800's with McIntosh and Classe and to my ears, McIntosh matched very nicely with 800's. I would love to try Aesthetix Atlas mono's but they are bit out of my budget. 

I am not parting with 800's anytime soon :-)
So I will continue to explore Amp/Preamp options. 

@swampwalker , you didn't dissuade me at all. I am still determined to try bi-amping before I give it up in favor of a hybrid or class A heavyweights, like Krell or Pass Labs. 

George, good point. That's exactly what I experienced last weekend. 

Cheers!

"less weighty"

Al and George,  I might add, may not be listening my music at loud enough volume to 'feel' low bass frequencies in vertical bi-amping. 

I normally listen to my music at 60db's. I had someone come over last weekend and we conducted some A/B comparison. His preferred listening level was right around 85db's which was bit uncomfortable for me :-)

Don't know about you guys, my room is 15'D x 30'W and 60db's is plenty loud. 

Al, you are spot on amp gain in bridge mode, it's 32db. I mostly listen to jazz and classical music. I think it's worth a second shot to  try vertical bi-ampimg again tomorrow and increase the volume upto 80db to compensate for -6db gain. 

George, good point. A loudness switch is what I need :-)

Thank you both for great feedback! 

Al - 

After a day of 85db plus listening, my ears were ringing all night long with musical passages :-)

In all seriousness, yes 800's and KWA150SE performed much better in vertical bi-amping at 85db plus. And I did appreciate the separation between low bass frequencies from mid's and high's. 

As others 800's owners have suggested in this thread, a higher wattage (600W -1000W) amp would be better suited for my listening preferences.  

May be a pairing of McIntosh MC601/MC301 with a tube preamp or McIntosh MC601/MC2301 with a MEN220 in front of MC2301 would just do the trick! 

Cheers!

Not yet, but to move forward with new set of amps this would be the first step. 

Thanks again Al, I will check it out. 

@rspyder, thank for your recommendation. Man, the very notion of HP700 and MRE220 pairing sounds pretty heavenly.  

May I please know what speakers and preamp you're using with MRE220?

Cheers!

Larry,

Thank you for your offer. I end up auditioning the MAC's, more than likely I am going to end up keeping them.