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


As a long time audiophile I'm finally able to bi-amp my setup. I'm using two identical amps in a vertical bi-amp configuration. 
 

Now me not fully understanding all of the ins/outs of internal speaker crossovers and what not. I've read quite a few people tell me that bi-amping like I'm doing whether it's vertical or horizontal bi-amping is a waste since there's really not a improvement because of how speaker manufacturers design the internal crossovers. 
 

Can anyone explain to a third grader how it's beneficial or if the naysayers are correct in the statement?

ibisghost

Showing 1 response by jji666

I have actively bi-amplified my Magnepan 3-series using an external active crossover (Marchand). You have to have a decent crossover or it’s a waste.

My take was that the active bi-amping was a complete sea change in sound. As it should be since you are using an entirely different crossover network and the crossover is before and not after the amplifier, so the amplifier is freed to fully power the drivers it’s connected to. Worked very well.

But that’s because Maggies have that biamp capability without surgery. You have to take out the internal crossover network in speakers to do this right. With most speakers I’d say it probably isn’t worth the risk or effort. The speaker designer had the crossover network in mind. Magnepan clearly had active biamping in mind.

So, in limited circumstances it can be a huge improvement. But, limited circumstances. Biamping without taking out the passive crossovers is just a bit more oomph in power but at the cost of a lack of consistency. I wouldn’t do that.