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Why does bi-amping speakers sound better?

Curious why it sounds better to bi amp speakers vs just running them off one amp?

i am trying to figure out which amp to buy, I am on the fence with bi amp or not.  Speakers are the old infinity kappa 8.1's.  Several years ago when I was married I bi amped my speakers so each speaker was seeing two channels from a parasound hca1500, I think that's the model.... 200w x 2 going to each speaker.  I also tried a single amp powering both speakers so each speaker was seeing 200w x 1.  

is it that I simply doubled the power that resulted in better sound, mostly noticed the low end of the speakers was tighter, more powerful etc.... and obviously I could also play louder.  

Or is is there something about letting one amp not work as hard due to only running high frequencies while the other amp gets to just work on the low end.  

I am 90% sure which brand of amp I want to get, just trying to figure out if I should bi amp or not.

as a example should I go with

two 2 channel amps at 400w x 2 so each speaker would get 400x2

or should I go with a single 800w stereo amp so each speaker sees the same 800w, just with one channel of a amp



128x128viggen900

Showing 2 responses by ctsooner

ctsooner
2,480 posts
 
Vig, just saw this thread.  One question for you.  Have you spoken to your dealer about your situation?  It sounds to me that for the money, you may want to consider newer speakers first rather than sink money into new electronics.  Eventually doing the electrical will help, but with the new technology, speakers have come a long long way. 

I have a pair of Vandersteen Quartro's being shipped this week.  I upgraded to them in order to get an active sub built in.  The main amp will now only be responsible for sound from 100hz on up, so it frees it up greatly and will improve it's sound dynamically etc... Yes, I also bi wire.  Some designers don't are about bi wire.  This is why I try ti personally purchase 'system's' and not just randomly get a well reviewed amp, a well reviewed speaker and and a well reviewed DAC or TT.  

What is your budget?  If you sold your speakers, what would your budget be then?  It's just a thought.  Heck, my Ayre AX5/Twenty like all Ayre products has filtering built right into the unit.  I plug directly into the wall and it sounds it's best.  From the amps you mention, it all seems to be about the largest number of watts you can get, however the majority of great speakers don't need that much to sound good.  JMHO
ctsooner
2,480 posts
 
intersting.  Thanks for sharing.  There are so many ways to set things up.  It all comes down to personal tastes (as it always does) and how speakers are designed.  This is why I always ask whatever designer made my speakers, what they recommend and go from there.  

Heck, I need an external crossover for my Vandy's and I had Ayre build it into my integrated amp so I could cut out some extra connections, plus they used premium parts as does Vandersteen, so I didn't lose anything.  
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