Am I wasting money on the theory of Bi-amping?

It’s not a theory

Forget techniques of setup for the moment

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IF you have a ’not so powerful’ amp that you love

IF you have speakers with large woofers, or even subs that are not self-powered

Then, to get more power for the demanding bass frequencies, you bi-amp, size your bass amp for both strong fundamentals/overtones, and enough control to work with the woofer's magnet to stop the woofer

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IF you have enough power, I do think bi-amp based on ’this cable is better for bass’ frequencies, this ’other cable is best for mids/highs’ is ......................................

If you can afford it, like many other ______, why not, unless you lose something messing about.

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This made a slight difference, a big difference, a huge difference.

Ten ’upgrades’ all made a slight, big, huge difference: oh my god, gotta be the BEST system you ever heard! Gotta be.

Probably been mentioned, I didn’t read, too many replies.

Bi-amping with matching amps is of no audible value.

You could Bi-Wire (if that is what the speakers are designed for), that is a different concept: use 1 cable construction for mids and highs; use different cable construction for lows.

Bi-amp is to use what you think is a better sounding amp for mids and highs, needing less power than bass. And use a different amp, perhaps less delicate, but more powerful for the power hungry bass.

You could even mix tubes for the mids and highs and a SS brute for the woofers. Think of self-powered sub-woofers, they typically use SS brutes, perhaps class D to avoid heat while delivering substantial power, while the primary speakers are driven by a ’better’ amp, often tubes.

unsound

my words were dumb, I had 3 dr appts, wife was waiting, usually I have too much time, read all responses to learn stuff. This time, I wanted to send a quickie idea.

I don't understand the crossover stuff, however, MANY add self-powered sub-woofers to their existing systems. Existing system might be tubes, self-powered sub probably class D, that was what I was thinking about.

OP (explain to a 3rd grader) some of these responses are for physics majors)

I was ASSUMING your speakers had a removable jumper, AND their internal crossover was designed for OPTIONAL Bi-Amping (or bi-wiring).

EITHER

leave jumper installed: internal crossover performs as standard: full division of the signal input: resulting, after internal crossover: separate signals for each driver in the system (2 way/3 way)

OR, remove the Jumper, which then uses the internal wiring of the crossover differently: part of the crossover drives only the woofer; the other part drives only the mids and highs.

My AR-2ax crossover is designed for either bi-wire or biamp.

common ground: remove jumper, now crossover portion for the woofer becomes separate from the crossover parts for the mids and highs

NOTE: the circuit includes subsequent in-line connections for level controls to balance the volume of the mid and tweet relative to each driver. This allows you to adjust for a dead space or a live space, or your personal tastes. Many vintage speakers provided level controls, which is separate from removable jumpers.

Jumper removed, bi-wire is possible: choose a cable construction you believe is best for mid/high signals from the amp; and use a separate cable, it’s construction you believe is best for bass notes.

Jumper removed: bi-amp is also possible: one amp in/out of internal crossover feeds the woofer only. other amp in/out of the crossover feeds mid/high drivers only.

Using an external crossover is relative to the removable jumper/internal crossover design.

Bi-Amp ASSUMES, because the bass needs much more power than the mids/highs: use one amp (less power needed) for the mid/high side of the speakers to the external terminals that feed the mid/high side of the internal crossover

and

use a separate amp, more powerful for the bass hungry notes.

Thus, using 2 identical amps is providing the same max power to the crossover, which is why I said no real advantage.

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thus my example: one amp (tube amp perhaps), less powerful for the mids/highs which need less power; and a separate more powerful amp for the power hungry bass, perhaps SS to get more power/less heat/smaller body than a big hot tube amp.

Affordability is also involved, large powerful tube amp for woofer is much more expensive than an equal powered SS amp.

lonemountain

"Passive Bi-Amping

Passive bi-amping is what you typically see when bi-amping is discussed. It’s the most common. With Passive bi-amping, you are still using the crossover parts of your speaker to send the correct frequencies to each speaker driver."

this is for speakers whose crossover is designed to alternately accept bi-amp via a removable jumper, as the AR-2ax crossover is. 

"Bi-Amping with an Active System

You can also bi-amp with an active system. This is not very common and only available with a limited number of brands. With an active system, you actually have a separate electronic crossover in front of your two or three amps. It gives each amp the correct set of frequencies and you remove the crossover from the speakers."