Monoblocks vs. Bi-amping

Early B.
Early B. Posts: 7,900
edited May 2007 in Electronics
Here's the scenario --

You can either sell your amp and buy a pair of monoblocks or buy another amp exactly like the one you curently have and bi-amp them suckers.

Generally, what would be the sonic differences between these two options?
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."
Post edited by Early B. on
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  • Shizelbs
    Shizelbs Posts: 7,433
    edited May 2007
    How do the power ratings of the monoblocks compare to the two amplifiers in the bi-amp configuration. I think we're going to need a little bit more to go on.
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  • Early B.
    Early B. Posts: 7,900
    edited May 2007
    Shizelbs wrote: »
    How do the power ratings of the monoblocks compare to the two amplifiers in the bi-amp configuration. I think we're going to need a little bit more to go on.

    I dunno. Let's assume they have the same power ratings.

    An example -- you have an Odyssey Stratos Extreme amp and you're considering the purchase of the Stratos monoblocks or another Stratos Extreme to bi-amp. What's the difference between these options? Why would the monoblocks be a better approach?
    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."
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  • Ricardo
    Ricardo Posts: 10,636
    edited May 2007
    Early B. wrote: »
    Why would the monoblocks be a better approach?


    Because it's cooler to have two amps....and if they are tube amps the cool factor goes way higher ;)
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  • Early B.
    Early B. Posts: 7,900
    edited May 2007
    HTrookie wrote: »
    Because it's cooler to have two amps....

    Huh? You'll still have two of the same amps with the bi-amp option.
    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."
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  • Ricardo
    Ricardo Posts: 10,636
    edited May 2007
    Right. Duh.
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    Thank God for different opinions. Imagine the world if we all wanted the same woman
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  • Deadof_knight
    Deadof_knight Posts: 980
    edited May 2007
    Its always cooler to have 2 !!!! Hey ht who did you sell the 3.1's too ? I cant remember
    :cool: " He who dies with the most equipment wins Right ? "

    Denon 3300 Adcom 535 BBe w/sub out 1 pr 4.6s 2 pr of 4 jrs Recent additions Samsung Lns-4095D LCD, Samsung hd-960 DVD, Monster HT-5000 Power center    ,HPSA-1000 18" sealed DiY home sub.:D
    Black Laquer 1.2tl's w/ upgraded x-overs and Tweets BI-Amped with 2 Carver tfm-35's Knukonceptz 10ga cables
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  • Systems
    Systems Posts: 14,873
    edited May 2007
    I would prefer the bi amp approach because each amp channel will only be seeing one driver and half of the crossover network thus making the load easier for it.Also if the amp driving the bass section is working hard and happens to reach clipping levels the potenially damaging hi order distortion will not reach the tweeter.
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  • McLoki
    McLoki Posts: 5,231
    edited May 2007
    For the same cost and power ratings - I would bi-amp. If your costs go up by 50% to get a 2 channel amp over a monoblock - I would get a better monoblock (or a killer 2 channel amp) with the added expense (better engineered and built, more power, etc.) and just hook them up normally.

    I.E. get the best amp you can with the budget you have as opposed to getting the best bi-amp option with the money you have. If it is a zero cost upgrade - do the bi-amp, but it rarely works out that way.

    Michael
    Mains.............Polk LSi15 (Cherry)
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    Subwoofers.....SVS 25-31 CS+ and PC+ (both 20hz tune)
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 33,020
    edited May 2007
    I would prefer mono's.Bi-amping is wasted on efficient speaks imho.
    Speakers that are power hungry will benefit most from bi-amping.
    Either way,do what sounds best to you.
    HT SYSTEM-
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  • MacLeod
    MacLeod Posts: 14,358
    edited May 2007
    I am a huge fan of bi-amping in car audio because it allows for far superior flexibility in tuning. However, since home audio doesnt do much tuning with EQ's crossover points, time alignment and all that - Id rather have the superior channel seperation of a mono block amp on each speaker.

    If I could afford it and if it were practical, Id have a mono amp on each one of my drivers.
    polkaudio sound quality competitor since 2005
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  • Mazeroth
    Mazeroth Posts: 1,585
    edited May 2007
    Monoblock; no reason to bi-amp. The load a tweeter puts on an amplifier is insignificant. I've designed tons of speakers over the last few years and use some pretty expensive test equipment and can tell you that using a separate amp for the tweeter is near worthless.

    Enjoy! :D
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  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,904
    edited May 2007
    besides when you bi-amp you double the cables and/or power cards.
    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
    Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
    Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
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  • Early B.
    Early B. Posts: 7,900
    edited May 2007
    Mazeroth wrote: »
    Monoblock; no reason to bi-amp. The load a tweeter puts on an amplifier is insignificant. I've designed tons of speakers over the last few years and use some pretty expensive test equipment and can tell you that using a separate amp for the tweeter is near worthless.

    What about for 3-way systems? Is the midrange associated with the highs or lows?
    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."
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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited May 2007
    I wouldn't sell my 2CH amp, couldn't buy another and I could care less about bi-amping anything....ever.

    Keep it simple, you'll live longer.
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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  • hearingimpared
    hearingimpared Posts: 21,136
    edited May 2007
    I bi-amped my 1.2 TLs with two mono-blocks, one on each speaker for the lows and a stereo amp with a little over one-third the power of the mono-blocks on the highs. . . best thing I did other than upgrading my turntable.
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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited May 2007
    hearingimpared wrote: »
    I bi-amped my 1.2 TLs with two mono-blocks, one on each speaker for the lows and a stereo amp with a little over one-third the power of the mono-blocks on the highs. . . best thing I did other than upgrading my turntable.


    That's probably something called "gain" and not so much an upgrade.....enjoy!
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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  • hearingimpared
    hearingimpared Posts: 21,136
    edited May 2007
    dorokusai wrote: »
    That's probably something called "gain" and not so much an upgrade.....enjoy!

    Yep with my new turntable I gained deeper, tighter, slamming, growling, bass, higher signal-to-noise ratio, wider dynamic range, more dynamic slam, more stable image, deeper sound stage, wider sound stage, more palpable inner detail, more vibration damping, and musical mids, just to name a few. I am at the tweaking stage of the table now so as well as critical listening I am enjoying the music much, much, more.
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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited May 2007
    Good for you.
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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  • ohskigod
    ohskigod Posts: 6,502
    edited May 2007
    I have no experience with mono's, but biamping my AR9's in my 2 channel system did wonders. difference was night and day. The AR9's can definitly gobble the power, so what Tonyb said probably has some merit.

    also have to mention that the AR9's seem to biamp differently than other speakers. While most seperate the tweeters from the rest of the drivers (mids and bass), the AR9's seperate the tweeter, midrange and midbass from the 2 12" bass drivers. Which probably explains why when I tried to biamp with less power on top (like hearingimpared), it was a greek tragedy for me. Biamping same amp on top and bottom so far seems like the way to fly on what I got, but it will depend on what you got.

    I'm sure what I say here will have no help for you whatsoever :p
    Living Room 2 Channel -
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  • I-SIG
    I-SIG Posts: 2,243
    edited May 2007
    hearingimpared wrote:
    I bi-amped my 1.2 TLs with two mono-blocks, one on each speaker for the lows and a stereo amp with a little over one-third the power of the mono-blocks on the highs. . . best thing I did other than upgrading my turntable.

    I'm with Joe on this one, less the turntable upgrades. There seems to be more of everything positive with big bro/lil bro Parasounds. Obviously the SRS's are some speaks that appreciate all the clean power you can throw at them.

    As I said in Joe's thread about bi-amping the SRS's I gained all the clarity and detail of that MF integrated I had for a few weeks with all the punch and dynamics that the big, dual-mono Parasound gave me. Best of both worlds, last time I checked.

    Wes
    Link: http://polkarmy.com/forums

    Sony 75" Bravia 4K | Polk Audio SDA-SRS's (w/RDO's & Vampire Posts) + SVS PC+ 25-31 | AudioQuest Granite (mids) + BWA Silver (highs) | Cary Audio CAD-200 | Signal Cable Silver Resolution XLR's | Rotel Michi P5 | Signal Cable Silver Resolution XLR's | Cambridge Audio azur 840C--Wadia 170i + iPod jammed w/ lossless audio--Oppo 970 | Pure|AV PF31d
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  • madmax
    madmax Posts: 12,434
    edited May 2007
    Always good to try both ways. :)
    madmax
    Vinyl, the final frontier...

    Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... :D
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  • Early B.
    Early B. Posts: 7,900
    edited May 2007
    There's a similar discussion of mono vs. stereo going on here:

    http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/index.php?topic=40897.0
    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."
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