Bi-Amp Power Rating


If this has been discussed before, please point me in the right direction.

I've been looking to upgrade my speakers to a set that can be bi-wired. My question is this... If the speakers are rated at, say, 200 watts/channel, and I'm powering them with an amp that has an output rating of that same amount, what happens when you bi-wire them? I mean, if I bi-wire the speakers, presumably bi-amping them, wouldn't I have to halve the power of the amp? Otherwise, wouldn't the speakers be receiving, theoritically, 400 watts/ch? Thoughts? Or, are the power ratings of bi-wireable speakers already taking into account the double dose?

Thanks
vectorman67

Showing 1 response by vectorman67

Hi all. Honestly, I guess my question stems purely out of curiosity. I understand that bi-amping and bi-wiring are not the same thing. But, to bi-amp speakers, would they not need to bi-wireable?

Anyhow, I had come across a set of dual bi-wire speaker cables and got me thinking about this, since, presumably, the amp end could be connected to two sets of binding posts. In short, I was basically looking for a better understanding.