Worth it to bi-amp entire system?

BjornB17

Hey guys:

I'm moving into my house in a few months and here's what my setup will be:

2x RTi10
1x CSi5
4x RTi4
1x Velodyne CHT-12

I have an HK AVR-340 receiver and will likely buy an Emotiva UPA-7 amp. Would it be worth it to bi-amp all 7 speakers? The 340 will power the upper frequencies with the UPA-7 powering the lower frequencies.

I guess my main question is whether it would be an useful improvement for the RTi4s which will be used as surroudns. I'll probably bi-amp it all anyway just for the fun of it but would like to get some feedback on what to expect.

Thanks!

Cochise

It would probably be better to just use the emotiva to power the speakers.

ben62670

Try just the fronts for now;)

BjornB17

thanks for the replies. i will probably always wonder about the what-if if i dont do the whole system

will the extra 35 w/channel be really useful over the standard 125w/channel for 7 channels if i only power the fronts?

the receiver will put out 55W channel (to the highs) and the UPA will put 125 or 160 W/channel depending on how many speakers i have connected.

so basically thats between 170 and 215 W/channel

my main concern is not volume, but i've read on here that just the avaiability of extra power for the RTi10 really help out.

curved

Personally, I would use 4 channels on the UPA-7 to power the RTi10's. I think it would sound sick!!

Your rears (IMO) don't need all that power.

TNRabbit

So you have 7 spare stereo amps lying around??

BjornB17

TNRabbit wrote: »

So you have 7 spare stereo amps lying around??

No i sure don't, although that would be cool! The receiver is 7.1 (55 w/channel) and the UPA-7 has 7 channels (125 to 160 w/channel). each speaker would be connected to both the AVR-340 and UPA.

curved

TNRabbit wrote: »

So you have 7 spare stereo amps lying around??

What????

You know you're going to experiment with it anyways

So you let us know what sounds the best

jwhitakr

With the UPA7, it is going to deliver power to the channels that need it the most. Check out the Emotiva forums for confirmation of this. So, although I haven't personally tested the UPA7, I don't think you are going to get much benefit by bi-amping.

If you are really curious, you can give it a shot and see what your ears tell you. It just depends on your budget and your level of curiousity.

Mazeroth

Single channel to each speaker. Almost no reason to ever bi-amp, unless you're throwing an excruciating load to a weak amplifier where bi-amping will help clear up the mids and highs a tad. With a strong amp it's a complete waste of good channels.

nm4710

Don't bother bi-amping. You will not get much benefit. First of all the UPA-7 will deliver more than enough power to make your speakers sing. I run RTi10's/6's and a CSi5 as well as a pair of FXi3's off of an LPA-1 (predecessor to the UPA-7) and it sounds fantastic. Adding your receiver will result in 2 different amps for each speaker - the gain structure of your receiver is likely not the same as the emotiva; thus the treble/mid/bass balance that polk carefully designed will be thrown out the window. Long story short you will only give up sound quality with what you are suggesting. Additionally I doubt the RTi4's even need 50 watts per channel. I am running a pair of RTi6's off of the 50 watt channels on my LPA-1 without difficulty.

BjornB17

so the answer is to buy TWO UPA-7s?? LOL just kidding although it sounds cool.

How does the gain work? Is it adjustable on the Emotiva?

nm4710

The gain on the Emos is not adjustable (it's fixed). Two UPA-7's will probably improve things. There is a cult on emotivalounge.com that swears by dual LPA-1's. Honestly i'm very satisfied with just one. My 10's put out bass you wouldn't believe. I still like having a sub for things like explosions in movies...but for music the 10's sound phenomenal with the emo's 125 wpc. I've tried a few 200wpc amps and liked most of them less than the LPA-1. Go figure.

BjornB17

so with that being said, is the gain of the UPA-7 or LPA-1 different than whats in the HK AVR-340?

ohskigod

The only time I have stuck with biamping in any capacity is if i am using the same amp (2 outlaw mono's on my center channel in the theater and 2 hafler DH500's on the AR9's in the 2 channel)

biamping with 2 different types of amps never worked for me, I have heard it work in other systems though.

given my experience I would say just have the emotiva do the job it was meant to, especially the RTi's being a relativly easy 8 ohm load to drive.

no problem trying it though, its not like I;ve never done experimantation, but i would just stick to the front stage, eff the surrounds. juice definitly not worth the squeeze in my eyes

BjornB17

If i use 6 channels of the emotiva UPA-7 or LPA-1 to biamp the front 3 channels, will there be different tonal charasterics for the surrounds if they are hooked up for the HK receiver?

Or I guess all 7 speakes should go straight to the emotiva? Sorry i don't mean to beat the dead horse here!

I'm getting my house prewired for surround sound so I'm trying to figure out exactly how to get it all wired. I may have dual pairs of binding posts going to every speaker just to be ready if i ever get 2 amps

curved

I don't think I would bi-amp using your HK....I'm not sure it will sound quite right (you can always try). I would either:

a. Run the Emotiva to each speaker - probably best for HT.
b. Buy the XPA-5 and Use 4 channels for left and right and 5th one for center

BjornB17

curved wrote: »

I don't think I would bi-amp using your HK....I'm not sure it will sound quite right (you can always try). I would either:

a. Run the Emotiva to each speaker - probably best for HT.
b. Buy the XPA-5 and Use 4 channels for left and right and 5th one for center

I'm starting to lean away from trying the HK receiver to bi-amp the speakers. I looked at the XPA-5 and saw that it costs about $800. With that in mind, I'm now leaning towards obtaining a pair of LPA-1s ($400-$450 each), or maybe just a UPA-7 to use for the front 3 channels.

Is there any benefit to the XPA-5 over the UPA-7 or LPA-1 besides the extra wattage?

curved

The only differences I've seen is power. They had a comparison of all their amps on Emotiva's web site....couldn't find just now.

Although 2 LPA-1's would be SWEET powering your RTi10's.

BjornB17

Well today i'm sending back my HK AVR-340. It's a great receiver but after 2 days the right channel died on me. Fortunately HK has fantastic customer support so they made it easy. Last night I ordered an Emotiva LMC-1 to use as a preamp for the future LPA-1 i'll get. So with the HK being gone, i've eliminted the option of using it to power the speakers. No loss for HK either as I use a lot of their other products.

Chances are I'll use 1 LPA-1 for starters and maybe get a second down the road if i ever feel any deficiencies. The folks over at the Emotiva forum sware by using dual LPA-1's. I hope they are right!

curved

Sorry to hear about the HK, but that actually sounds like great news for you I love the way that pre looks!!

BjornB17

Yes you are right! It's a strange coincidence how much upgrade plans are working out. I ordered 2 RTi8s and one didnt arrive and the other arrives broken. Instead i was able to get a pair of 10s instead. The AVR-340 didnt work out so I'm getting the LMC-1 for less money. I guess I can't complain!