a biamplification experiment

[ohskigod]

I know there is always a raging debate as to wether biamplification makes a difference. I always conceded that normally it doesn't but in an odd situation it can.

I recently biamplified my Teledyne AR9's, as this is the only speaker I have ever owned where I could hear a significant difference when I biamped them in the past. recently I had them powered by one Carver 4.0 amp but one of the channels were getting a little fuzzy (she was due to be shipped off for a refresh, I guess now is the time)

Luckily I still had the 2 Hafler DH500 amps I biamped these with in the past. I broke them out again and ran one of them on the AR9's for a while, a little brighter than the Carver but I expected that. At higher volumes it was a little brighter than my tastes but most wouldn't mind...I like my highs more laid bak them most. I noticed a hint of glare/sibilance? when I really played it loud

I then biamplified, and while the difference was not huge, there was definitely a smoother response in the highs when the volume was very high....at lower volumes, not much of a difference.

my result thus far, I have to say biamplifying can make a difference, but certainly not all the time. I would say it is a rarity. These AR9's are unique in that the top binding posts power the tweeter, a mid range dome and a 8" mid bass driver while the lower posts drive 2 12" drivers....perhaps this split is the reason why it can use the power of both amps in a more beneficial fashion than usual?

might do this experiment on a pair of LSi9's I have.........while they can be a power hungry speaker for a bookshelf.....the top posts only power a tweeter, so I assume there wont be much if any difference.

 

[JerryLove]

There are two situations where bi-amping comes in useful.

1) You are right at the border where clipping is beginning to occur.. in this case it's better because you gain another 3db headroom.

2) You are clipping, but only on one half of the speaker.

Given the speaker you describe: It's possible that the amp is being over-driven by the woofers. They may have been right on the edge (no longer over-driven amp), or you may simply have isolated the HF drivers from the problems of a clipping amp by separating them.

I believe the real argument against bi-amping generally boils down to "it's usually less expensive to get one, more powerful amp than two less powerful amps".

 

[ohskigod]

you have a valid point in that it would have to be a weird scenario for biamplifying to make sense espescially from an economical standpoint, in this case I won a second DH500 amp on a lark by low bidding an ebay auction and inexplicably winning it. a DH500 for 200 & change local pick up is never a bad thing.

I only raised the issue when the point was emphatically raised that biamplification making any difference was an impossibility. I still disagree with that sentiment. I agree that the ultimate goal should be to get one beefy amp to get the job done.

 

[jinjuku]

I know there is always a raging debate as to wether biamplification makes a difference. I always conceded that normally it doesn't but in an odd situation it can.

I recently biamplified my Teledyne AR9's, as this is the only speaker I have ever owned where I could hear a significant difference when I biamped them in the past. recently I had them powered by one Carver 4.0 amp but one of the channels were getting a little fuzzy (she was due to be shipped off for a refresh, I guess now is the time)

Luckily I still had the 2 Hafler DH500 amps I biamped these with in the past. I broke them out again and ran one of them on the AR9's for a while, a little brighter than the Carver but I expected that. At higher volumes it was a little brighter than my tastes but most wouldn't mind...I like my highs more laid bak them most. I noticed a hint of glare/sibilance? when I really played it loud

I then biamplified, and while the difference was not huge, there was definitely a smoother response in the highs when the volume was very high....at lower volumes, not much of a difference.

my result thus far, I have to say biamplifying can make a difference, but certainly not all the time. I would say it is a rarity. These AR9's are unique in that the top binding posts power the tweeter, a mid range dome and a 8" mid bass driver while the lower posts drive 2 12" drivers....perhaps this split is the reason why it can use the power of both amps in a more beneficial fashion than usual?

might do this experiment on a pair of LSi9's I have.........while they can be a power hungry speaker for a bookshelf.....the top posts only power a tweeter, so I assume there wont be much if any difference.

I think the raging arguments are over bi-wiring, not so much bi-amping. I would never really poo poo someone for bi-amping. Especially if you are going active on your x-over. It really is the best way to do it.

 

[jamie2112]

I think the raging arguments are over bi-wiring, not so much bi-amping. I would never really poo poo someone for bi-amping. Especially if you are going active on your x-over. It really is the best way to do it.

And THAT is it in a nutshell........