Should I bi-amp my Pioneer Elite and my Paradigm Studio 60's

TheFactor

TheFactor

Audioholic Field Marshall
I've been thinking about it for a while and it appears to be a pretty easy task. I'm just wondering if it will be worth going to 5 and 1 from 7 and 1. Will I have to worry about blowing up my speakers if I get a little agressive which I normaly dont but there are times were I like to crank it up. I think my 94 can handle it no problem as it seems I have more than enough power because I never even get near 0 or center on the volume and my paradigms show no sign of even coming close to sounding over powered as of yet.Was wondering if you guys can give me the pro's and con's of bi-amping and or if its better to run just a seperate amp .I guess the bottom line is do you guys think i'll prosper bi-amping with my current setup ?
 
mike c

mike c

Audioholic Warlord
just get a separate amp. you might actually get an upgrade in SQ (not saying you will, but there's more of a chance)
 
TheFactor

TheFactor

Audioholic Field Marshall
just get a separate amp. you might actually get an upgrade in SQ (not saying you will, but there's more of a chance)
Any suggestions On amps and do you think its worth a try to see if theres a different with just utilizing my current receiver. I'd hate to spend 1500 bucks or so and not notice a difference as compared to just switching back to 7 and 1.
 
mike c

mike c

Audioholic Warlord
if you want to try out a cheap alternative:
the Behringer A500 is less than 200 bucks over there
it's stable to 4 ohms, 130w x 2 at 8 ohms and 180w at 4 ohms
it can be bridged to 360wpc for an 8 ohm load

if you want unlimited power:
Behringer EP2500
1000's of watts, for less than 400 bucks
downside is, you need to do a fan mod
 
TheFactor

TheFactor

Audioholic Field Marshall
Thanks those are some good options. Would I be over powering my speakers though if im not careful with the volume.
 
mike c

mike c

Audioholic Warlord
if you calibrate using an SPL meter, and crank it with you in the room ... i think it's pretty safe ... I highly doubt you can withstand enough SPL to damage your speakers.

always follow this nice rule of thumb:
"if it sounds bad, turn it down"
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
I've been thinking about it for a while and it appears to be a pretty easy task. I'm just wondering if it will be worth going to 5 and 1 from 7 and 1. Will I have to worry about blowing up my speakers if I get a little agressive which I normaly dont but there are times were I like to crank it up. I think my 94 can handle it no problem as it seems I have more than enough power because I never even get near 0 or center on the volume and my paradigms show no sign of even coming close to sounding over powered as of yet.Was wondering if you guys can give me the pro's and con's of bi-amping and or if its better to run just a seperate amp .I guess the bottom line is do you guys think i'll prosper bi-amping with my current setup ?
As I have said before dedicating an amp to power a tweeter through a passive crossover, is a complete waste of time and effort. You will not be increasing head room at all, as the tweeter takes little power.
 
P

PENG

Audioholic Slumlord
As I have said before dedicating an amp to power a tweeter through a passive crossover, is a complete waste of time and effort. You will not be increasing head room at all, as the tweeter takes little power.
There are many people on this forum who claimed to have the ability to hear differences between amps so may be the OP can hear the theorectically cleaner high frequency signals when the reproduction of them are not (or at least less) affected by the low freqency signals. I agree bi-amp with active XOs are better, but the passive XO in his speakers still can block the unwanted low fequency signals so the HF (may be MF as well it depends) amp can concentrate on reproducing the HF signals as distortion free as it can.
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
There are many people on this forum who claimed to have the ability to hear differences between amps so may be the OP can hear the theorectically cleaner high frequency signals when the reproduction of them are not (or at least less) affected by the low freqency signals. I agree bi-amp with active XOs are better, but the passive XO in his speakers still can block the unwanted low fequency signals so the HF (may be MF as well it depends) amp can concentrate on reproducing the HF signals as distortion free as it can.
That could only be true under conditions of clipping of the bass amp or full range amp.

You can show mathematically the bi-wiring is of no possible benefit. Bi amping through a passive crossover is no different. All of the significant problems will be related to the passive crossover anyway.
 
R

rnatalli

Audioholic Ninja
I always tell people to try it and see if they notice a difference. I tried bi-amping using my Emotiva LPA-1, but didn't notice a difference.
 
TheFactor

TheFactor

Audioholic Field Marshall
Thankyou everyone for all the input!!! :)
 
TheFactor

TheFactor

Audioholic Field Marshall
Call me Crazy but when I was just bi-wired before I swear my highs sounded more crisp but I didnt notice wright away . But it seems to have more base now not bi-wired, not a lot but enough were I can notice it. Thats why I was considering bi-amping. Maybe my ears are more sensitive then others I dont know. But I Hope EVERYONE is sitting down after this statement But I swear I can hear the difference between new speaker wire and old speaker in the sense of it sounds better after many hours of use like it has to break in or something .
 
TheFactor

TheFactor

Audioholic Field Marshall
Im guessing if I do try bi-amping I'll have to do the mic setup to recalibrate everything again.
 
TheFactor

TheFactor

Audioholic Field Marshall
It should make no difference to the spl, if the amps are the same type and model.
Well I'd be just bi-amping off my pioneers rear surround back channels for starters and If I personally noticed a difference then I'd probably pickup a separate amp. BTW I really do appreciate everyones advise so dont take it as disrespectful or as a waste of time giving me advise if I try bi-amping because I really do take to heart and respect everyones knowledge and experience here , I just like to know what to expect from others experience and see if it differs from mine :)
 
TheFactor

TheFactor

Audioholic Field Marshall
Ok guys I just finished bi-amping with my Pioneer just going to 5 and 1. I'm telling you with my setup there is a definite difference in power and mostly clarity. The highs are more pronounced and sound more clear kind of like the highs mids and lows sound more separated . Now I did do just for the hec of it another mic setup to but that shouldn't have anything to do with not turning the volume up as up and it sounds louder. So far I've listened to just some drag racing , motorcycle racing and cds / tuner and Im very happy with the results. I'll be trying a bluray later. Now this result could be just that my pioneer and or Digms like being biamped or im just very sensitive. Regardless im very pleased with the results.
 
mtrycrafts

mtrycrafts

Seriously, I have no life.
I always tell people to try it and see if they notice a difference. I tried bi-amping using my Emotiva LPA-1, but didn't notice a difference.
Yes, but you seem to have your biases under control:D
 
C

chadnliz

Senior Audioholic
There is a certain level of gear that in general wont show much if any benefit in Bi-amp but as you go up the food chain equipment responds more to changes.. Most mass market budget gear wont show a lick of difference and most of the time its these consumers who insist it doesnt work....and at that level they are 100% correct. Just about the only item in audio that is rerlly hard to improve on are most CD players as they sound very close to each other and even the best of the best are only maybe 20% better but with Pre amps, amps, speakers, turntables and associated gear it becomes a case of (in general) you get what you pay for but many budget items are like cd players in that even at small investment your gonna be 75% of the way there.
Is it worth major cash to squeeze out that 20%? for some it clearly is and for most it isnt worth the hassle or investment.
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
There is a certain level of gear that in general wont show much if any benefit in Bi-amp but as you go up the food chain equipment responds more to changes.. Most mass market budget gear wont show a lick of difference and most of the time its these consumers who insist it doesnt work....and at that level they are 100% correct. Just about the only item in audio that is rerlly hard to improve on are most CD players as they sound very close to each other and even the best of the best are only maybe 20% better but with Pre amps, amps, speakers, turntables and associated gear it becomes a case of (in general) you get what you pay for but many budget items are like cd players in that even at small investment your gonna be 75% of the way there.
Is it worth major cash to squeeze out that 20%? for some it clearly is and for most it isnt worth the hassle or investment.
If there was improvement from his passive biamp experiment, then his receiver amps have to have significant inter modulation distortion. In that case he would be better off with a good two channel amp, which would be going up the food chain.

The advantage of active bi amping is the elimination of the passive crossover. Really we need to move towards having the amps in the speakers with active crossovers. Then there will be significant improvement.
 
TheFactor

TheFactor

Audioholic Field Marshall
There is a certain level of gear that in general wont show much if any benefit in Bi-amp but as you go up the food chain equipment responds more to changes.. Most mass market budget gear wont show a lick of difference and most of the time its these consumers who insist it doesnt work....and at that level they are 100% correct. Just about the only item in audio that is rerlly hard to improve on are most CD players as they sound very close to each other and even the best of the best are only maybe 20% better but with Pre amps, amps, speakers, turntables and associated gear it becomes a case of (in general) you get what you pay for but many budget items are like cd players in that even at small investment your gonna be 75% of the way there.
Is it worth major cash to squeeze out that 20%? for some it clearly is and for most it isnt worth the hassle or investment.
That makes a lot of sense, and I really like the logic not just because it makes me feel better but that im not someone with super natural hearing:D Like I said These Paradigms and my Pioneer really took well to bi-amp. They really shine now and has giving me another dimension of sound im really enjoying :)
 

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