Bi-amping help/recommendations

VoltaPTW
VoltaPTW Posts: 7
I just recently set-up a 5.1 system with a Onkyo sr606 and rti10's as my two fronts. I was looking for a bit more power out of them and was wondering if bi-amping them with a seperate amp would help improve this. Also, how to go about it, the crossover filtering and whole setup of a bi-amped system was confusing to me. Should the reciever run the higher frequency and then the seperate amp run the lower frequency. Any help would be appreciated.
Post edited by VoltaPTW on

Comments

  • Barefoot
    Barefoot Posts: 149
    edited March 2009
    Get the separate amp. Forget about bi-wiring/amping with a receiver. In order to do it right you'd have to disable the speaker's internal crossover anyway.
  • VoltaPTW
    VoltaPTW Posts: 7
    edited March 2009
    Ok, so am I able to use a seperate amp lets say a emo upa-7 and the 606 reciever together and stack the power from both?
  • PSOVLSK
    PSOVLSK Posts: 5,220
    edited March 2009
    I bi-amp my Lsi 15's with an Adcom 545(lows) and an H/K 7300(highs). Would it sound better with just the Adcom? Maybe, never tried it that way. Does it sound good the way I have it? Absolutely

    If someone chimes in and tells me that I'm ruining my speakers, amp, and/or AVR, I'll run just the amp, but for now this setup works well for me.

    I will also add that with the amp and AVR your talking about, you might be better off with just the amp. I feel my setup is different because my amp is fairly entry level and my AVR was once the H/K flagship.
    Things work out best for those who make the best of the way things work out.-John Wooden
  • Barefoot
    Barefoot Posts: 149
    edited March 2009
    I'm just saying imo to forget about bi-amping unless you use an outboard crossover and more than one amp, preferably monoblocks. Use the Emo to drive the 10's. Use the Onkyo as your pre.
  • VoltaPTW
    VoltaPTW Posts: 7
    edited March 2009
    Alright, thanks for the help guys... i found out that the 606 doesn't have the pre-amp outs to do it anyway so i'd have to use just a seperate amp anyway. appreciate the information though. thanks
  • PSOVLSK
    PSOVLSK Posts: 5,220
    edited March 2009
    If it doesn't have pre-outs you'll need a different AVR to run a seperate amp.
    Things work out best for those who make the best of the way things work out.-John Wooden
  • comfortablycurt
    comfortablycurt Posts: 6,745
    edited March 2009
    VoltaPTW wrote: »
    Alright, thanks for the help guys... i found out that the 606 doesn't have the pre-amp outs to do it anyway so i'd have to use just a seperate amp anyway. appreciate the information though. thanks

    You can't run an external amp off of the Onkyo 606. It would have to be hooked up to pre-amp outs, which you don't have unfortunately.
    The nirvana inducer-
    APC H10 Power Conditioner
    Marantz UD5005 universal player
    Parasound Halo P5 preamp
    Parasound HCA-1200II power amp
    PolkAudio LSi9's/PolkAudio SDA 2A's/PolkAudio Monitor 7A's
    Audioquest Speaker Cables and IC's
  • wutadumsn23
    wutadumsn23 Posts: 3,702
    edited March 2009
    Time to beat a dead horse.... Curt and PSOV are right. No pre-outs on the 606 means no ability to run an external amp. If you want one that badly you will have to upgrade the 606 to atleast the 706 or higher in the Onkyo line of AVR's. The 606 is a great AVR for the price, but if it has one major drawback, the lack of pre-outs would def. be it.
    HT Rig
    Receiver- Onkyo TX-SR806
    Mains- Polk Audio Monitor 70
    Center- Polk Audio CS2
    Surrounds- Polk Audio TSi 500's :D
    Sub- Polk Audio PSW125
    Retired- Polk Audio Monitor 40's
    T.V.- 60" Sony SXRD KDS-60A2000 LCoS
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    2 CH rig (in progress)
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    It's not that I'm insensitive, I just don't care.. :D
  • renowilliams
    renowilliams Posts: 920
    edited March 2009
    It seems the main question has been answered in this thread, so I guess I will ask one if thats ok.

    I have a Yamaha RXV-861, that is currently just running RTIA5's for fronts and I do have pre-outs. I don't understand how exactly I would bi-amp this unit and what amp I could get that would fit the bill.
    "They're always talking about my drinking, but never mention my thirst" Oscar Wilde


    Pre-Amp: Anthem AVM 20
    Amp: Carver TFM-35
    Amp: Rotel RB-870BX
    Fronts : SDA 1B w/ RDO-194s
    T.V.:Plasma TC-P54G25
    Bluray: Oppo BDP-93
    Speaker Cables: MIT Terminater
    Interconnect Cables:DH Labs Silver Sonic BL-1isonic
  • PSOVLSK
    PSOVLSK Posts: 5,220
    edited March 2009
    It seems the main question has been answered in this thread, so I guess I will ask one if thats ok.

    I have a Yamaha RXV-861, that is currently just running RTIA5's for fronts and I do have pre-outs. I don't understand how exactly I would bi-amp this unit and what amp I could get that would fit the bill.

    Run audio RCA cables from the R/L pre-out to the R/L input of the amp. Run the speaker wire from the R/L of the AVR to the top set of inputs on the speakers. Run speaker wire from the R/L of the amp to the bottom set of inputs on the speakers. Also, make sure to remove the metal jumper on the speakers. (Hope this makes sense)

    Any two channel amp would fit the bill. I like my Adcom 545, especially for the price. If you were to get a better amp, you'd probably be better off just using the amp and forget bi-amping.

    I think I stated this earlier, but I'm not saying I get any benefit from bi-amping in regards to sound quality. My reasoning behind doing it was this: I've got an AVR with a good amp section and a decent little two-channel amp. I didn't want to get rid of either of them, so why not put them both to use?
    Things work out best for those who make the best of the way things work out.-John Wooden
  • comfortablycurt
    comfortablycurt Posts: 6,745
    edited March 2009
    PSOVLSK wrote: »
    Run audio RCA cables from the R/L pre-out to the R/L input of the amp. Run the speaker wire from the R/L of the AVR to the top set of inputs on the speakers. Run speaker wire from the R/L of the amp to the bottom set of inputs on the speakers. Also, make sure to remove the metal jumper on the speakers. (Hope this makes sense)

    Personally I'd switch those two around so that the tweeter/mids are at least getting the better power.

    I'd go with just the amp though really. There's a big difference between the power from an AVR and the power from an external amp. It's not about having more power, but about having cleaner more efficient power. Most AVR's on the market don't have a power section that puts out the good clean power that external amps give you.
    The nirvana inducer-
    APC H10 Power Conditioner
    Marantz UD5005 universal player
    Parasound Halo P5 preamp
    Parasound HCA-1200II power amp
    PolkAudio LSi9's/PolkAudio SDA 2A's/PolkAudio Monitor 7A's
    Audioquest Speaker Cables and IC's
  • PSOVLSK
    PSOVLSK Posts: 5,220
    edited March 2009
    Personally I'd switch those two around so that the tweeter/mids are at least getting the better power.

    I'd go with just the amp though really. There's a big difference between the power from an AVR and the power from an external amp. It's not about having more power, but about having cleaner more efficient power. Most AVR's on the market don't have a power section that puts out the good clean power that external amps give you.


    I may try switching them and see if I notice any improvement.

    I basically agree with just sticking with an amp and definetely agree with the bold part of your statement. I wouldn't be bi-amping if A) my amp was better or B) my AVR was worse. I could be wrong, but I feel the amp section on my AVR is pretty close to the Adcom.
    Things work out best for those who make the best of the way things work out.-John Wooden