Biwire/Biamp Questions

Lazarus Short

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I plan to take the traveling WOPL to Mike in a few days. After that, I plan to compare the Luxman, the Arcam, and the Cyrus, all more-or-less at the same power level, to see which sounds best with the Vandersteens. I looked at the Vandersteen website today, and read what R.V. had to say about biwiring. I note that the Luxman and the Arcam have "A" and "B" speaker outputs. Can I use them to connect the two sets of speaker wires - say, the "A" outputs for the mid/tweets, and the "B" outputs for the woofers? Or...would I be better off taking both sets of wires from the "A" outputs?

Opinions?

Experience??

Contact Vandersteen???
 
jbeckva

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I dunno Lee - If it's an amp where "A+B" equals placing the sets of speaker outputs in series with each other, that may defeat any benefits of biwiring. Even where "A+B" equals driving the two sets in parallel, the amp's still doing essentially the same thing as a single wire setup, I would think?

This is on my todo list as well - The Polk Monitor 70's I have are biamp capable, so yeah.. might just put a wopl on each and see what the big hoopla's about heheh.
 
laatsch55

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In Biwiring the amp connection doesn't matter. the fact you are running a separate set to the woofs and mid/tweet is what matters.....or so I'm told...
 
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laatsch55 said:
In Biwiring the amp connection doesn't matter. the fact you are running a separate set to the woofs and mid/tweet is what matters.....or so I'm told...
Click to expand...
I can see it not having the desired effect if the amp is designed to put the A in series with the B.. that's "trouble" with a capital "T" almost. I haven't done either so I don't really have MUCH of an opinion on bi-wiring, but given the choice I would have to say bi-amping would be more noticeable.

I gotta try it tho. Yeah, actually I'd like to biamp the CV's... just gotta get in there and make the necessary mods at the xovers..
 
Lazarus Short

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jbeckva said:
I can see it not having the desired effect if the amp is designed to put the A in series with the B.. that's "trouble" with a capital "T" almost.
Click to expand...
I once made the mistake of running two sets of speakers off a Nakamichi receiver with the "Threshold" circuit - you know, inherently stable and all that - it sounded good, but I lost a tweeter. Therefore, I'm a bit leery of that approach. I'm really thinking of the Cyrus 2 + PSX for the woofers, given the 70 high-current watts and their good bass control, and the Arcam or Luxman for the mids/tweets.
 
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Lazarus Short said:
I once made the mistake of running two sets of speakers off a Nakamichi receiver with the "Threshold" circuit - you know, inherently stable and all that - it sounded good, but I lost a tweeter. Therefore, I'm a bit leery of that approach. I'm really thinking of the Cyrus 2 + PSX for the woofers, given the 70 high-current watts and their good bass control, and the Arcam or Luxman for the mids/tweets.
Click to expand...
Laz, `this sounds like you are bi-amping the speakers. You need a modified passive crossover or and electronic crossover
to run all that gear. You can't hook two amps up to a bi-wire speaker without mods to the crossover.
Big difference between bi-wiring and bi-amping,
 
laatsch55

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As the Man in Black told Inigo Montoya in the "Princess Bride"......."get used to disappointment....":)
 
El Magnifico

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Bi-amp or Bi-wire?

laatsch55 said:
That's bi-amp....totally different world than BIWIRe....
Click to expand...
Folks, I do this all the time. Having 8 amplifiers gives you enough flexibility to play...

First: your speaker must be able to accept bi-wiring or bi-amping, that as you say, it's a totally different thing: in bi-wiring you just have 1 amp with 2 sets of wires running out of each output, let's say" CH A1, CH A2 and CH B1, CH B2. One for the woofers and one for the tweeters on each side. No need for external crossovers,etc. This theory is like saying "each driver is going to receive the proper current according to the resistance" or some shit like that. Right now I have a pair of Platinum Audio Monitors bi-wired with a LAT cable just designed for that (simpler), powered by my BGW 750B AMP.

Now, bi-amp means "2 or more amps per speaker". 1 for the lows and 1 for the highs. Some speakers even have options for the mids. Problem here is that usually you drive your tweeters with a smaller amp, while driving your woofers with a beefier power. For example: I have bi-amped my Tannoys with a Crown DC 300A for the lows and a Crown D150 for the highs. Problem with this is to match the level properly. With the Crowns is easy because each one has its own separate input pots where you can adjust the level, but with other amps where you couldn'd adj. it I'm afraid you'll need an external crossover. Another thing is to be careful with the amp you'll use on your tweeters as you can easily blow them off! I have use 4 AMPS with my Tannoy's : 4 CARY AUDIO in mono, each pair driving one Tannoy as well as 4 CROWNS, 2 150 and 2 DC 300 on mono driving each speaker.

Which one I prefer? To be honest, and since my Tannoy are over 100dB of efficiency, they behave better with just one single and powerful amp than with all that crap involved. A problem to consider is your AC current: havomg all 4 amps connected to a pair of outlets at home means massive use of electricity and also "hum" problems are common unless you are using a common ground,etc... Amplificador Cary 2.jpg Crown 3.jpg

El Magnifico
 
Lazarus Short

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I had thought biamping would be a simple matter of connecting the tape outs of one amp to an input of a second amp, and adjusting levels to match with the gain controls. Biwire looks safer, cheaper, and less complicated...
 
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The other use for bi-amping is you can use amps that are well suited for different frequency ranges. If you have an amp that won't do bass, and another thats not so amazing for highs, you can put a crossover ahead of them and use each where it works well. Its a nice way to use a lower power tube amp for highs, and a more powerful SS amp with better damping for lows. Thats actually kind of my working plan for the PL 700, though I have to get speakers that are suited for it first.
 
JustMike

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El Magnifico said:
Folks, I do this all the time. Having 8 amplifiers gives you enough flexibility to play...

First: your speaker must be able to accept bi-wiring or bi-amping, that as you say, it's a totally different thing: in bi-wiring you just have 1 amp with 2 sets of wires running out of each output, let's say" CH A1, CH A2 and CH B1, CH B2. One for the woofers and one for the tweeters on each side. No need for external crossovers,etc. This theory is like saying "each driver is going to receive the proper current according to the resistance" or some shit like that. Right now I have a pair of Platinum Audio Monitors bi-wired with a LAT cable just designed for that (simpler), powered by my BGW 750B AMP.

Now, bi-amp means "2 or more amps per speaker". 1 for the lows and 1 for the highs. Some speakers even have options for the mids. Problem here is that usually you drive your tweeters with a smaller amp, while driving your woofers with a beefier power. For example: I have bi-amped my Tannoys with a Crown DC 300A for the lows and a Crown D150 for the highs. Problem with this is to match the level properly. With the Crowns is easy because each one has its own separate input pots where you can adjust the level, but with other amps where you couldn'd adj. it I'm afraid you'll need an external crossover. Another thing is to be careful with the amp you'll use on your tweeters as you can easily blow them off! I have use 4 AMPS with my Tannoy's : 4 CARY AUDIO in mono, each pair driving one Tannoy as well as 4 CROWNS, 2 150 and 2 DC 300 on mono driving each speaker.

Which one I prefer? To be honest, and since my Tannoy are over 100dB of efficiency, they behave better with just one single and powerful amp than with all that crap involved. A problem to consider is your AC current: havomg all 4 amps connected to a pair of outlets at home means massive use of electricity and also "hum" problems are common unless you are using a common ground,etc... View attachment 16160 View attachment 16161

El Magnifico
Click to expand...

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