Bi-amping?

superbrett
superbrett Posts: 106
Hi again guys...
Let's see if I can explain this...
I just got into this Home Theater craze...I got all the good stuff...I think. Not Hi-Fi by any means, but good.
I'm running a Harman Kardon AVR 430, Polk RTi8's as Stereo/Front L/R, CSi3 as center, FXi3's as surrounds....and two PSW202's...
Now I have room in my Entertainment center for a few more components....and man would I love to get rid of the wifes candles and crap too. My question is this, I hear all about this bi-amping thing...I have no idae what the hell it is!
Can I benifit from this, do I need a seperate amp, if so, what to look for. Is this going to blow my windows out...cause that would be cool!
I guess I'm looking for suggestions or comments...anything that would be fun!
Thanks guys
"Looks good from far, but far from good!"
Post edited by superbrett on

Comments

  • AsSiMiLaTeD
    AsSiMiLaTeD Posts: 11,728
    edited April 2004
    Bi-amping is basically just using different amplifiers to drive different parts of your speakers, therefore giving your speakers more power overall.

    To do this, you'd need a second amp, I'd reccomend the HK PA2000 for your application.

    basically, you'd connect your receiver to the top set of speaker posts and the second amp to the bottom set...and of course you'd need to connect the amp to the preamp outputs on your receiver as well...so you'd have two sets of speaker wire running to each speaker.

    As for the improvement, think about the improvement you'd get if you increased power to your speakers, becuase that's basically what you're doing. If you receiver has 100 watts per channel and then you add a second amp with another 100 WPC, ten you're doubling the power to your speakers, so you'd likely see an improvement.

    I don't know about blowing your windows out though...
  • amulford
    amulford Posts: 5,020
    edited April 2004
    If you do a thread search, this has been covered a few times.

    Check this out

    I don't know about the windows...;)
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,647
    edited April 2004
    You'll blow out your eardrums before you blow out the windows. Now, that would be rather foolish, eh!
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk

  • Early B.
    Early B. Posts: 7,900
    edited April 2004
    If you're looking for a vast improvement in sound, I'd suggest you start with upgrading your subwoofers. Sell them and get an SVS or a Hsu. Then perhaps look into some decent cables, if you don't have them already. Consider bi-amping as a major bonus to yourself once you've got your main setup established. I agree with Polkmaniac on the HK PA 2000. It's a steal for less than $200 and should mate well with your receiver.
    HT/2-channel Rig: Sony 50” LCD TV; Toshiba HD-A2 DVD player; Emotiva LMC-1 pre/pro; Rogue Audio M-120 monoblocks (modded); Placette RVC; Emotiva LPA-1 amp; Bada HD-22 tube CDP (modded); VMPS Tower II SE (fronts); DIY Clearwave Dynamic 4CC (center); Wharfedale Opus Tri-Surrounds (rear); and VMPS 215 sub

    "God grooves with tubes."