Bi-Amping Monitor 70's, which terminal is which?

Hollyw00d
Hollyw00d Posts: 3
edited September 2012 in Basic Hookup/Wiring Questions
Quick question for you guys, the manual does not state which terminal is the tweeter and which terminal is the woofer input. I am going to be bi-amping these puppies with my Onkyo 607 and I want to be sure.

I'm pretty sure traditionally the bottom terminal is the woofer and the top is the tweeter, but there is some misinformation at the slickdealz forum that it is switched on these speakers.

Can anyone help me out here? I'd appreciate it.
Post edited by Hollyw00d on

Comments

  • wutadumsn23
    wutadumsn23 Posts: 3,702
    edited June 2009
    Hey Hollywood, and welcome to Club Polk. First off let me say that IMHO the Bi-Amping I think you are refering to is a waste of time and a waste of speaker wire. True Bi-Amping takes a bit more time and is a bit more involved than just hooking up a few speaker wires and calling it good. This process is also out of my area of expertise so I will leave it at that, lol. The Bi-Amping or Bi-Wiring I think you are talking about is fairly easy and Onkyo should have a page for it and speaking from experience the Monitor 70 manual has a blurb in there about it as well. Just to answer your post though typically the top posts will feed the higher frequency drivers(tweeters, mids), and the bottom post will feed the lower frequency drivers(woofers). First, make sure to remove the jumpers that go between the speakers inputs. The front left and right channels go to the top pair of inputs(tweeter) on the speakers, and connect the surround back left and right channel inputs to the bottom pair of inputs(woofer). Also make sure you go into your Onk's menu and make sure the "Bi-Amp" option is enabled. Hope this helps, and sorry for the long drawn out post.
    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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    It's not that I'm insensitive, I just don't care.. :D
  • danz1906
    danz1906 Posts: 5,144
    edited June 2009
    Hollyw00d wrote: »
    Quick question for you guys, the manual does not state which terminal is the tweeter and which terminal is the woofer input. I am going to be bi-amping these puppies with my Onkyo 607 and I want to be sure.

    I'm pretty sure traditionally the bottom terminal is the woofer and the top is the tweeter, but there is some misinformation at the slickdealz forum that it is switched on these speakers.

    Can anyone help me out here? I'd appreciate it.

    Welcome,correct on the speaker terminals.
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  • Hollyw00d
    Hollyw00d Posts: 3
    edited June 2009
    Ok good, it is under my impression from other sources that have tried it with the newer receivers that bi-amping does make a difference, where as bi-wiring obviously doesn't.

    So the top is in fact the tweeter, and the bottom is the woofer. Thanks. I removed the jumper already, just confused about the location of the terminals.
  • wutadumsn23
    wutadumsn23 Posts: 3,702
    edited June 2009
    Hollyw00d wrote: »
    So the top is in fact the tweeter, and the bottom is the woofer. Thanks. I removed the jumper already, just confused about the location of the terminals.

    You are correct Sir.
    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
    Blu-Ray- 80 GB PS3


    2 CH rig (in progress)
    Polk Audio Monitor 10A's :cool:

    It's not that I'm insensitive, I just don't care.. :D
  • royalty
    royalty Posts: 246
    edited June 2009
    Since he is using the same receiver to bi amp the speakers would this not technically be just another form of bi-wiring and thus would not really do anything to improve the sound?
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  • 3DollaBillz
    3DollaBillz Posts: 12
    edited June 2009
    Hey Hollywood,
    I am 99% positive that your assumption is correct, although I pulled my paperwork and it didnt go into a lot of detail. I did the whole bi-Amp thing with my 605 and didnt even consider that it might make a difference. I undid it though because I am finally going 7.1

    That brings me to a question about the whole 7.2 thing. Are you running 2 subs? If so I'm interested in your impressions.

    Thanks,
    Jeff
    DirecTV HD Reciever ,PS3
    Onkyo TX-SR605
    Mistubishi HT1000U
    106" Fixed Screen
    CS400i
    2 Monitor 70
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  • wutadumsn23
    wutadumsn23 Posts: 3,702
    edited June 2009
    royalty wrote: »
    Since he is using the same receiver to bi amp the speakers would this not technically be just another form of bi-wiring and thus would not really do anything to improve the sound?


    That's my impression, but I am no expert.
    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
    Blu-Ray- 80 GB PS3


    2 CH rig (in progress)
    Polk Audio Monitor 10A's :cool:

    It's not that I'm insensitive, I just don't care.. :D
  • 3DollaBillz
    3DollaBillz Posts: 12
    edited June 2009
    the 6 series Onkyo recievers will allow you to use the rear surround channels as a bi-amp for the front speakers in a 5.1 setup. They have been doing since my 605 at least. He is using 2 completely different channels for the front L&R. It is infact a bi-amp. Bi-wiring is running 2 sets of speakerwires off of the same 1 channel of output and running the speaker that way. I have tried this too and will admit no noticable difference to my ear, but can only think that it maybe did something with the ohms? IDK, but when I got my 605 and did the bi-amp on my fronts, it was stronger. I hope this helps to clear up anything or at least doesnt cause any more problems...
    DirecTV HD Reciever ,PS3
    Onkyo TX-SR605
    Mistubishi HT1000U
    106" Fixed Screen
    CS400i
    2 Monitor 70
    2 RT55i
    2 f/x300i
    PSW350
  • schnauzer
    schnauzer Posts: 3
    edited June 2009
    I am not bi-amping on my new Monitor 70 so I assume I can connect to either terminal set and just leave the connection bar in place.
  • slowpolky
    slowpolky Posts: 714
    edited June 2009
    i bi amped my rti6 using my onk607 .When i upconverted a cd i did notice a slight diff in the volume, it seemed a lil louder in the mid range
  • wutadumsn23
    wutadumsn23 Posts: 3,702
    edited June 2009
    schnauzer wrote: »
    I am not bi-amping on my new Monitor 70 so I assume I can connect to either terminal set and just leave the connection bar in place.

    That is correct, just leave the jumper there and connect to either terminal set.
    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
    Blu-Ray- 80 GB PS3


    2 CH rig (in progress)
    Polk Audio Monitor 10A's :cool:

    It's not that I'm insensitive, I just don't care.. :D
  • Hollyw00d
    Hollyw00d Posts: 3
    edited June 2009
    I am using two different channels, reducing my setup from 7.1 to 5.1, this is not bi-wiring, I am pushing double the power into them just like I was using an external amp, albeit with less power.

    And I am not using 2 subs, yet. That will come later if needed, but I think one 12" sub would be enough for my room.
  • wutadumsn23
    wutadumsn23 Posts: 3,702
    edited June 2009
    Hollyw00d wrote: »
    I am using two different channels, reducing my setup from 7.1 to 5.1, this is not bi-wiring, I am pushing double the power into them just like I was using an external amp, albeit with less power.

    And I am not using 2 subs, yet. That will come later if needed, but I think one 12" sub would be enough for my room.

    Yes part of that statement is true, that you are not bi-wiring. However, from my understanding you are not doubling the power as most people think just because you hooked up another set of wires to the surround back l/r terminals. The speakers get power form the same amp in the AVR and the power doesn't double, from my understanding there isn't much of an increase in power at all. That being said, if you are happy with the results then that is all that matters.
    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
    Blu-Ray- 80 GB PS3


    2 CH rig (in progress)
    Polk Audio Monitor 10A's :cool:

    It's not that I'm insensitive, I just don't care.. :D
  • comfortablycurt
    comfortablycurt Posts: 6,745
    edited June 2009
    Hollyw00d wrote: »
    I am using two different channels, reducing my setup from 7.1 to 5.1, this is not bi-wiring, I am pushing double the power into them just like I was using an external amp, albeit with less power.

    And I am not using 2 subs, yet. That will come later if needed, but I think one 12" sub would be enough for my room.

    It's not truly bi-amping. Unless your receiver is a design that uses separate mono-blocks for each channel, you aren't really pushing any extra power to your speakers. Most AVR's derive the power for all of the channels from one common power block. When you're bi-wiring, it's not as if the receiver is going to magically start pushing twice the amount of power to your speakers. Unless, as I stated, your AVR has mono-blocks on each channel, which most don't.

    Also, bi-wiring with an AVR isn't really anything at all like using an external amplifier. External amplifiers are going to do a lot more than just push more power to the speakers...it's not really about having more power, it's about having better, cleaner, higher quality power. My AVR in 2 channel has roughly the same power output as my Adcom GFA-545, but the Adcom completely stomps the AVR in every respect.

    That being said, if it sounds better to you, that's all that matters. I tried bi-wiring my RTi8's, and found it to actually degrade the SQ a little bit. If anything, it made the mid-range a bit drier and more withdrawn. It also definitely didn't increase the volume level at all in my scenario. I tested the levels with an SPL Meter at numerous different volume settings, and it came out to the same whether it was bi-wired, or wired regularly.
    The nirvana inducer-
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  • wutadumsn23
    wutadumsn23 Posts: 3,702
    edited June 2009
    Damn that Curt always has to one up me, lol. Just kidding man, thanks for clarifying what I was trying to say.
    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
    Blu-Ray- 80 GB PS3


    2 CH rig (in progress)
    Polk Audio Monitor 10A's :cool:

    It's not that I'm insensitive, I just don't care.. :D
  • comfortablycurt
    comfortablycurt Posts: 6,745
    edited June 2009
    Damn that Curt always has to one up me, lol. Just kidding man, thanks for clarifying what I was trying to say.

    Damn right! I'm a pro at one-upsmanship...lol
    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
  • mrviper100
    mrviper100 Posts: 8
    edited September 2012
    I posted this in another thread, but thought it is relevant here.
    Polk Audio Monitor 70 Crossover Schematic v1.0.jpg
    Thanks,
    Pat in Chicago Land

    Mains - Polk Audio Monitor 70's
    Center - Polk Audio CS2
    Side/Rear Surrounds - Polk Audio RM101's
    Sub - Polk Audio PSW111
    Back ups - Polk Audio Vintage Monitor 7c's
  • MONITOR 60: So I bought this set of speakers from a person, and noticed he had replaced the original tweeters with some aftermarket ones, I also noticed that he added a parallel big ceramic resistor ( I guess to match impedance), my questions to you experts if someone has the interior schematic of these speakers, just to make sure it has not been modified, I bought the original set of tweeters and intend to get it back to factory original, I believe they left the original mini-spade female original connectors. Maybe mrviper100 has it, I see you have the Monitor 70 one, or maybe it is the same.
  • gp4jesus
    gp4jesus Posts: 1,969
    I’d hold off changing anything.

    Find out what “aftermarket” tweeters you have and post. Quite a few here have swapped theirs w/other Polk tweets - no regrets. Also are you sure that “big ceramic resistor is “parallel” and NOT an upgrade?

    Trying to help. Tony
    Samsung 60" UN60ES6100 LED Outlaw Audio 976 Pre/Pro Samsung BDP, Amazon Firestick, Phillips CD Changer Canare 14 ga - LCR tweeters inside*; Ctr Ch outside BJC 10 ga - LCR mids, inside* & out 8 ga Powerline: LR woofers, inside* & out *soldered LR: Tri-amped RTi A7 w/Rotels. Woofers - 980BX; Tweets & “Plugged*” Mids - 981, connected w/MP Premiere ICs Ctr Ch: Rotel RB981 -> Bi-amped CSi A6 Surrounds: Premiere ICs ->Rotel 981 -> AR 12 ga -> RTi A3. 5 Subs: Sunfire True SW Signature -> LFE & Ctr Ch; 4 Audio Pro Evidence @ the “Corners”. Power Conditioning & Distribution: 4 dedicated 20A feeds; APC H15; 5 Furman Miniport 20s *Xschop's handy work
  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,902
    Plenty of threads here on bi-amping with receivers. Use the search button at the top and have at it.
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