Bi Amping my B&W Matrix 800s


I have been thinking about bi amping my B&W 800 Matrix . I am now using a Krell FPB 600 with a Mark Levinson 38s preamp and a Krell B&W 800 Series bass Alignment Filter. With the B&W Matrix 800 speakers being quad wired. I have been considering buying a Krell FPB 300 to bi amp with my Krell FPB 600 using the Krell FPB 600 for the 4 woofers (2 on ea. speaker) on my 2 B&W 800 Matrix and the Krell FPB for the tweeters and midrange on ea. B&W 800 Matrix . Can this be done with my Mark Levinson 38s preamp? Would bi amping really do justice for my B&W Matrix 800s? And how difficult would it be ? Thank you all .Mike 
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Showing 7 responses by edwyun

Mine looked great too.  But they did not measure well on the LCR meter.  I replaced them and I recovered  some better low freq response I didnt know I had lost.  These matrix series were built in the late 80s to early 90s so that is not unexpected.
I would only recommend it if you used active crossovers.  No issue with coherency whatoever.  Thats just a red herring.  Ive been triamping my Matrix 802s and subwoofer for many years and couldnt be happier.
And even if you keep things as is, the caps in the passive crossovers already need replacing.
The passives on the 802s were a bit easier to remove and replace.  I did it myself.  Used Mundof caps and Vishay resistors.  Did not use polys for the electrolytics.
On my 802s, there are 2 PCBs for each speaker that make up the passive crossover, one for the LF and one for the MF and HF.  I replaced the capacitors and resistors.  But then I went with active crossovers for the SW, LF, and the MF/HF combo.
I purchased my 802s new in 1992.  They were not overdriven.  Caps, even polys, dont hold their specs for 20+ years.  Best way to see is if you measure their ESR.  Also, if the 800 is anything like the 802, they used cheap Bennic lytic caps.
There may be 4 PCBs but the 800 is essentially a 3 way with multiple driver arrays.  The 802 is also a 3 way but with 2 LF drivers.