Bi-Amping help please

[dnice555]

I have an onkyo TX-SR805 receiver - Speakers are Def Tech Bp7004 fronts Def Tec C/L/R 3000 Center Def BPVX/P Tech surrounds. All these speakers have digital amps in them to power the subwoofers but I am wondering if an additional amp would work with the system to put out more power. I was looking at the emotiva amps and didn't know if there was a way to combine the power of the 130 watts of the onkyo reciever with the extra wattage from an emotiva or another amp. My center speaker is tri-wirable so I think I could hook the amp directing up to the center channel but I'm not sure how to hook the amp up so it can add power to the power already coming in from the onkyo to all the other speakers. Some help would be much appreicated as I am just learning about this aspect of home theatre. Thanks very much!

 

[MDS]

It doesn't work that way. An external amp will not 'add' power to the power of the receiver.

You can use an external amp to drive some speakers and the receiver to drive others but the power available is not additive.

 

[Adam]

dnice555, welcome to the forum!

MDS is right. An external amp won't take a high-level speaker signal and amp it even more. MDS mentioned using an external amp for some speakers to lighten the load on the receiver. That's what I've done, and it made a noticeable difference to me. I got an Emotiva RPA-1 to drive my front main speakers, and I use my Pioneer receiver to drive the center and rears. For my normal listening levels, I can't tell a difference. However, when I turn the volume up, it sounds much clearer to me. My Pioneer doesn't have as good of an internal amp as your Onkyo, though. You may or may not notice much of a difference.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

...onkyo TX-SR805...Def Tech Bp7004...C/L/R 3000...BPVX/P.

Even when you use just the Onkyo805 and no external amps, you are in effect bi-amping all those speakers! Great system.

The Onkyo is amping the DT's tweeters & mid-ranges, while the DT's internal amps are powering the woofers----> bi-amping.

The only other thing you can do is buy TWO Y-Spliters (1-male/2-female type). Hook the FIRST Y-Spliter into the Onkyo805's Center Pre-Out. This will now be TWO center pre-outs. Hook the SECOND Y-Spliter's Male to one of the FIRST Y-Spliter's Female. Now you have THREE Center Pre-Outs. Connect the 1st & 2nd center pre-outs to a 2-channel external amp. Connect the ext amp to the HIGH & MID speaker terminals of the CLR3000. Using a subwoofer cable, Coaxial Digital RCA cable, or just plain RCA cable, hook the 3rd center pre-out to the CLR3000's CENTER FULL RANGE RCA input.

Now you have TRI-AMP the Center speaker and BI-AMP the Front L/R & Surround Speakers!

P.S. Since your Onkyo 805 is already a great receiver, I don't think tri-amping the CLR3000 will make a difference. I'm Tri-amping my CLR3000 with 3 channels of 300 wpc (4 ohms), but I sure can't tell a lick of difference!

P.P.S. Since the impedance of your DefTechs range from 2-8 ohms (Home Theater Magazine Lab), you are probably pumping 160-watts (6 ohms) per channel into each speaker even when you don't use an external amp!

 

[Seth=L]

I have an onkyo TX-SR805 receiver - Speakers are Def Tech Bp7004 fronts Def Tec C/L/R 3000 Center Def BPVX/P Tech surrounds. All these speakers have digital amps in them to power the subwoofers but I am wondering if an additional amp would work with the system to put out more power. I was looking at the emotiva amps and didn't know if there was a way to combine the power of the 130 watts of the onkyo reciever with the extra wattage from an emotiva or another amp. My center speaker is tri-wirable so I think I could hook the amp directing up to the center channel but I'm not sure how to hook the amp up so it can add power to the power already coming in from the onkyo to all the other speakers. Some help would be much appreicated as I am just learning about this aspect of home theatre. Thanks very much!

If you got say the MPS-1 from Emotiva, you wouldn't need anymore power anyway.