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Bi-Amp Power Rating

If this has been discussed before, please point me in the right direction.

I've been looking to upgrade my speakers to a set that can be bi-wired. My question is this... If the speakers are rated at, say, 200 watts/channel, and I'm powering them with an amp that has an output rating of that same amount, what happens when you bi-wire them? I mean, if I bi-wire the speakers, presumably bi-amping them, wouldn't I have to halve the power of the amp? Otherwise, wouldn't the speakers be receiving, theoritically, 400 watts/ch? Thoughts? Or, are the power ratings of bi-wireable speakers already taking into account the double dose?

Thanks
vectorman67
kr4's avatar
kr4
3,782 posts
 
Why are you doing this? Biamping will not offer any power advantages over single-amping if the single amp has adequate power to fully drive the speaker. As for what power the speaker can handle, it doesn't change.
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker
5,138 posts
 
Bi-amping and bi-wiring not the same thing. Bi-amping may have some advantages, not associated with more power but more current and also better separation. And too much power is typically less of a problem for the speakers than too little. Many more speakers fried from clipping than from too much power, unless you like the volume high enought to make your ears bleed. OTOH, I am sort of interested intellectually in the actual answer; i.e., for 2 amps rated at 100 wpc each, how much power are you delivering if you vertically bi-amp?
kr4's avatar
kr4
3,782 posts
 
"OTOH, I am sort of interested intellectually in the actual answer; i.e., for 2 amps rated at 100 wpc each, how much power are you delivering if you vertically bi-amp?"

The answer depends on the frequency distribution of the signal and the power handling of the upper and lower frequency drivers.
vectorman67 OP
42 posts
 
Hi all. Honestly, I guess my question stems purely out of curiosity. I understand that bi-amping and bi-wiring are not the same thing. But, to bi-amp speakers, would they not need to bi-wireable?

Anyhow, I had come across a set of dual bi-wire speaker cables and got me thinking about this, since, presumably, the amp end could be connected to two sets of binding posts. In short, I was basically looking for a better understanding.
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