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B&W 800D2 - Bi-amping vs Bi-wiring

Hello folks,

I am looking for feedback on bi-amping these amazing speakers. I currently own a CA-2200 amp and it seems 200w per channel may not be adequate to realize full potential of 800D2. So i was thinking of bi-amping two classe ca-2200 for L/R speakers, thus feeding 400w each to Left and Right speakers. Or am i better off buying a pair of CA-M600 for each speaker? I would like to stick with Classe amps only... love the way they sound.

Next question is about bi-wiring. There seems to be bit of confusion (atleast in my head) on the best way to bi-wire speakers. The true shotgun cable is terminated with two split(+ and -)on amp end and 4 splits (2 + and 2 -)on speaker end. I have seen illustrations where bi-wiring is done with 2 identical runs of cables between dual binding posts on amp and speaker ends feeding seperate signal to LF and HF speaker inputs. I have read about the advantages of two single runs but my cable manufacturer doesn't seems to agree with this configuration. He is still recommending shotgun configuration.

I hope to gain some insight before i make an investment in a amp or new cables. I currently own a bi-wire cable in shotgun configuration.
128x128lalitk
lewinskih01
907 posts
 
I don't have 802D, but 804S. I biwire. Does it make a difference? Probably not.

I drive the speakers with one MC275 and love the sound. I am finishing a couple of class D Hypex monoblocks to drive the woofers. I plan to get rid of the passive crossover between woofers and midrange and apply an active crossover there, keeping the tweeter-to-midrange passive crossover driven by the 275. My understanding is that active multi-amping (as in active crossovers) is the real deal. FWIW my subwoofers run below 80Hz while the MC275 takes it from there and up.
mark_nz
48 posts
 
My experience across various B&W 800 series speakers is that both bi-amping and bi-wiring are worthwhile and discernable.
The improvements from bi-amping are obvious in improved both sound-staging precision and detail, while bi-wiring improvement in detail is only marginal.
Bi-amping is more hassle because need another pair of interconnects and pre-amp with dual outputs unless the amplifier has function to switch from stereo to bi-amp e.g. Cambridge Azur 851W.
One advantage of bi-amping class A or AB amplifiers over stereo/mono-blocks is the treble/mid-range remain longer in Class A.
I currently bi-amp my speakers (800D2 recently upgraded from 803D2) with 2 x CA2300 with no obvious power limitation.
I don't have comparison experience between 2xCA2300 to 2xCAM600 - ideally you need to demo.
lalitk's avatar
lalitk OP
5,081 posts
 
"The improvements from bi-amping are obvious in improved both sound-staging precision and detail, while bi-wiring improvement in detail is only marginal"

As per Classe manual, the benefit is a subjectively improved level of clarity and details from the speaker, as a result of being able to feed the two separate sections of its crossover and driver complement with identical, yet separate signals.

What is the point of having two sets of binding posts if you don't use them for bi-wiring?
zd542
5,339 posts
 
"What is the point of having two sets of binding posts if you don't use them for bi-wiring?
Lalitk (Threads | Answers | This Thread)"

Most people will use the extra set of binding posts to biwire. You can also use them to get signal to a sub that has speaker cable inputs for signal.
almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
While adding a second CA-2200 in a passive vertical biamp configuration MIGHT prove to be sonically beneficial on some musical passages, as Kr4 and Tls49 indicated it will not provide much in the way of a useful increase in power capability.

That is particularly true given the impedance characteristics of the 800D2, assuming they are similar to those of the 800D as it existed in 2011, shown in Figure 1 here. At frequencies between approximately 50 and 100 Hz, where lots of power is often required (for example, by drum beats), the speaker's combination of low impedance magnitudes and highly capacitive (negative) impedance phase angles will be especially challenging for an amplifier. Biamping two CA-2200's will provide a near zero increase in power capability at those frequencies, compared to what you have now.

Regards,
-- Al
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