SDA SRS bi-amp question (receiver and external amp)

audio_alan

SDA gurus,

Ok, so I've searched the forums and I've seen threads about bi-amping SDAs with two external amps, but I can't find a discussion about exactly what I'm thinking of, so here goes:

Since an Adcom 555 II is common ground, and a Pioneer Elite is common ground, can I bi-amp a set of SDA SRS's by doing the following?

1) Pre-out of the Pioneer Elite into the Adcom, powering the lows
2) Use the regular speaker terminal posts of the Pioneer Elite to power the highs

(And of course remove the binding post jumpers on the speakers)

Will that violate the "common ground" required for SDA's? I've read people's concerns over different gain structures, etc, but thought as long as it won't cause any damage to my amps or speakers, what the heck!? It might sound great or it might sound like crap, but I won't know until I try it, right?

Thanks again for everyone's input...

Alan

ben62670

You won't hurt anything, but over and over people have tried BiAmping with piss poor results.

audio_alan

ben62670 wrote: »

You won't hurt anything, but over and over people have tried BiAmping with piss poor results.

Hmmm, I've seen some threads where people claimed bi-amping was beneficial, however that was with two separate amps...

Or was your "piss poor" comment only in reference to attempting to bi-amp with a receiver and a separate amp?

ben62670

Your better off getting one set of good cables and using one amp. There are many threads on this topic.
Take care
Ben

heiney9

Are you sure the Pio receiver will still power the speaker outputs when you use the pre-outs? Many receiver are either/or but not both.

IMO, it's a waste to use a receiver to bi-amp. What is missing in the current set-up that you hope to improve by bi-amping? You need to study the problem before you can come up with a suitable solution, IMO.

You may indeed have gains issues as well.

H9

Toolfan66

Pass on bi-amping. As stated above get better cables. I will also add in get better jumpers as well..

awe-d-o-file

I first biwired finding out how bad my jumpers were. I now bi-amp and it made a nice improvement as well. I luckily use two CJ amps that have the same gain/input impedance and sensitivity that allows an easy passive biamp. The second amp added another dimension and improvement to the image.

I know the amps like seeing one driver/crossover load as opposed to two. Theres always a funky impedance curve near the Fs. Now each amp see's one not two.

Your amps are different so who knows until you try. Good luck.


ET

Schurkey

audio_alan wrote: »

Since an Adcom 555 II is common ground, and a Pioneer Elite is common ground, can I bi-amp a set of SDA SRS's by doing the following?

1) Pre-out of the Pioneer Elite into the Adcom, powering the lows
2) Use the regular speaker terminal posts of the Pioneer Elite to power the highs

(And of course remove the binding post jumpers on the speakers)

What is the gain difference between the Pioneer and the Adcom?

Sounds like a recipe for unequal power delivered to highs vs. lows.

First Guess: The bass/midrange will overwhelm the treble unless you figure out a way to equalize the amplifier output.

TrashyTrucker

audio_alan wrote: »

...some threads where people claimed bi-amping was beneficial, however that was with two separate amps...QUOTE]

Hey alan,
I have my SRS 3.1TL's biamped with 2 Hafler 9500 trans nova amps. I used to have them "Y"ed at the preouts for the fronts. But just recently I just upgraded AVR. Now I use up two sets of preouts on the AVR and did away with the "y"s. I am running 250wpc for the h's and 250wpc for the L's. IMO the soundstage is better defined, and more open sound. I believe I benefit from Biamping, although perhaps I may be going against the grain here. But to my ears it sounds better. More headroom perhaps? Think about it for a min. 1 separate PowerSupply for the highs (even though they may not require as much) and then 1 separate PS just for the lows.

Although this hobby is expensive at times... It brings great joy when one can get lost into that certain track knowing that is what the artist intended for one to hear.


Matt :biggrin:

audio_alan

heiney9 - Yeah, using the pre-outs might turn off the speaker terminals, but the manual is a bit vague. It seems to suggest that they will stay on.

Schurkey - I'm not sure about the gain structures, but thought I'd let my ears judge.

Regarding the "Why do it?", I guess my response would be "Why not try it?". As long as I'm not going to blow up anything, it could be a fun experiment. Just like any other modifications that people try on their speakers, I'm just trying to see if I can get even better sound from the SRS's. Who knows, maybe I'll be the next guy on here saying bi-amping results in piss poor performance. If nothing else, it will be more experience...

From the responses that I've already received, this is obviously another issue where people strongly disagree (just like speaker wire, tubes, interconnects, custom power cords, etc). At the risk of starting an audio holy war.... For those that say it's not worth it, would you say bi-amping is just a marketing ploy? Or is it so expensive to do correctly that it just isn't worth it? Or were you really just referring to my "two different amps" bi-amping suggestion?

rombot

I can tell you bi-amping is definitely not a marketing ploy.

In-depth info on the pluses and minuses of bi-amping here:

http://sound.westhost.com/bi-amp.htm

I've been bi-amping for years - with a 24/db electronic crossover between my subs and mains. It's an awesome setup. When I get time I'm going to mod and bi-amp my SDA-1Cs. At that point it will tri-amped I can't speak to bi-amping your SRSs.

I totally agree with the "Why not try it?" mentality. I have almost as much fun trying different configurations as I do listening.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.