People complain about lack of bass, not enough mid range. Solution?

@botrytis

When I have talked to SEVERAL speaker designers, most stated that bi-amping does nothing.

I’ve seen others state they’ve read the same thing, so they end up not trying, which is a shame, because IME it’s not true. Since everyone’s setup is different, IMHO it’s better to give it a try if feasible.

With that said, not everyone has two amps available, and not everyone’s speakers are worth the effort/cost, which brings us back to the fact that everyone’s situation is different, so the consideration should always be based on where they stand vs what someone else said in a generalized statement,

There seems to be a fair amount of confusion and conflicting info about bi-amping, so I suspect that some folks are hesitant to even try. Every situation is different, and one size fits all does not apply. Bi-amping can applied in many different ways, and it can be effective in many situations. You can even get creative about it.

- Bi-amping can be done with passive or active crossovers, or a hybrid of both

- Bi-amping can be done with identical amps (vertical bi-amping) or non-indentical amps (horizontal bi-amping), regardless of the crossover options used.

- Bi-amping can be done with solid state or tube amps, or a hybrid combo of both

- Adding an active subwoofer is a form of horizontal bi-amping

- Every option has pros and cons, and every option may or may not be optimal for your situation.

I was using twin monoblock tube amps for years, which is really a type of vertical bi-amping. They had great clarity, but somewhat sluggish bass bloom. More recently I added an active low pass crossover and a solid state integrated amp to the woofers below 80hz, and still run the tube monoblocks on the mids/tweeters. For my situation it’s the best of both worlds. I get that incredible tube clarity through mids and highs, and the SS amp slams the woofers with good authority in the bass region. The mids and treble got even clearer because the tube amps no longer have to drive the woofers. I can also adjust the woofer level independently of the mids and tweeters, so it doesn’t muddy the vocal range if I turn up the woofers relative to the mids/highs. Love this setup, and was remarkably inexpensive and easy to do.

@dennis041992

So I’m thinking of bi-amping my B&W 602s2 bookshelf from a Rotel RB-850 5 channel amplifier. As I understand I use my bi-wire Audioquest cables by plugging it into the left main and left surround and the same with the right. What I’m reading here it’s a waste of time. Am I chasing a ghost?

None of us are really in a situation to know for sure what your results will be. Given a less ideal setup of 2-way passive speakers and a single multi-channel amp, you’ll likely have less dramatic results than some other bi-amp situations, but you have little to lose by trying because you already have the capability. If you don’t try, there will be zero change. If you do try, there might be some improvement. Give it a go, and find out for yourself.

Per Denon:

@emergingsoul

That might be a bad example, as there may be other selection requirements not shown... I’m sure there are others.

It doesn’t provide the advantages of a true 2nd amplifier, but running a separate output channel for each driver, does offer the tweeter an output that doesn’t have the responsibility of driving the woofer.