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

Hollyw00d · June 2009

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.

wutadumsn23 · 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.

danz1906 · 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.

Hollyw00d · 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 · 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.

royalty · 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?

3DollaBillz · 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

wutadumsn23 · 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.

3DollaBillz · 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...

schnauzer · 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 · 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 · 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.

Hollyw00d · 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 · 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.

comfortablycurt · 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.

wutadumsn23 · June 2009

Damn that Curt always has to one up me, lol. Just kidding man, thanks for clarifying what I was trying to say.

comfortablycurt · June 2009

wutadumsn23 wrote: »

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

mrviper100 · September 2012

I posted this in another thread, but thought it is relevant here.

Polk Audio Monitor 70 Crossover Schematic v1.0.jpg

centaurojz · November 2019

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 · November 2019

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

tonyb · November 2019

Plenty of threads here on bi-amping with receivers. Use the search button at the top and have at it.

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

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