Is Bi - amping worth the trouble?


Hello all...

I'm on the fence with the thought of bi amping. A big part of me wants to go ahead with it... the 'wallet' part says "Not so fast".

There should be lots of folks who've biamped speakers before... When it was all said and done, "Was it worth the time and expense?"

I'm inclinded to add a tube amp for the upper end of my VR4 JR's ... or any other speakers for that matter... though in any case and reardless the speakers, tube amp on top, and SS on the bottom.

...and then there's the thought of keeping two dissimilarly powered amps matched at the same volume level... and the added IC's, PC, and stand... it does seem to add up.

... and at this point, I'm thinking BAT to keep things all the same... and am not sure there, wether even that matters too much...

I sure do appreciate the input.
blindjim

Showing 1 response by warnerwh

I'm using a hybrid on top and a SS amp on the bottom of my Vmps Rm 40's. Many people will tell you that at least with planar/electrostats that some tube magic on top can be magic. They were right!

I think the main advantage is to take the best qualities of two amps and use them there as I have. Another benefit however is reducing the amount of crossover components you're using. In the end experiementation is key. With our VS's I don't know as I've not heard them. You could also try various tube preamps. Please remember different tube preamps will sound widely different. Some not very euphonic like Audio Research to somewhat more, Conrad Johnson, to syrupy.

Biamping in my experience in my system has been the best way to go. If you haven't owned any tube gear it's a must try. A hybrid amp like the Van Alstine Fetvalves are excellent. The Blue Circle I had also was an outstanding amp, although quite expensive for the money. On the bass using this Rotel 991 is excellent. The bass quality is outstanding and I'm picky in that department. For under 500 bucks there's a few amps that will work well for the bass.

Best of luck and have fun!