bi-amping Q:

[musikphile]

I'm thinking of bi-amping some speakers. Q: If the speakers max. power ratings are 200W @ 8 Ohm, and I use 2 amps rated at 100w/ch @ 8ohm. Am I feeding the speakers 100W or 200W? Could I use 2 amps rated at 200w/ch @ 8ohms? Or would that be 400W? (too much power) Many thanks!

 

[j_garcia]

What speakers? Usually you don't need as much power to drive the highs portion of the speaker vs the lows, so 100w to the top may actually be too much. As long as the power is unclipped, it is unlikely to harm anything even if you run 200w to each side.

 

[musikphile]

Thanks j_garcia,

Any hypothetical speakers really... Take the axiom milennia m60 for example: The manufacturer says 250W max. amp power. If bi-amped with 2 x 200W amps, are you supplying 400W and exceeding specs by 150W (and probably voiding warranty) Or are you really only supplying 200W, just to each portion of the speaker (high & low) I'm just not understanding how manufacturer power ratings apply to bi-amping.

Also, I meant to say using 2 stereo amplifiers to accomplish this, so different power to each portion would not be an option using the same 2 amps.

 

[j_garcia]

With the jumpers removed, each side sees 200w (which you must do otherwise both amps will fry). However, the rating is for the speaker as a whole and once separated, each side may not split up evenly to 200w max handling and each will also have a slightly different impedance profile, does that make sense? Now, that does not mean it won't handle it, because having more than enough clean power is almost never a problem for the typical speaker, it is normally too little power that causes damage due to clipping.

With 2 stereo amps, you CAN power each portion differently - use horizontal biamping rather than vertical. Vertical would be one amp per speaker, one channel on each terminal. Horizontal would be each channel of one amp handling the highs of each speaker and the other amp handling the lows of each speaker, then you can reduce the total amount of power going to the highs as needed.

 

[musikphile]

Ahh.. It's becoming clear now. So when I read that both amplifiers must have the same gain to avoid upsetting the balance of the speaker, that is not really the same as the output power required to drive each portion of the speaker. So, that's why one could use the horizontal bi-amp scenario you mention. Right?

 

[j_garcia]

Yep, that's right. Each portion of the speaker receives the power output it needs as distributed by the x-over, so the top portion may only need say (example) 15W out of a total 100w going to the speaker. So that means when you separate the terminals, you don't necessarily need to feed the top portion with half of the total power that would have been going to the whole speaker.

 

[musikphile]

Thanks j_garcia! Sounds like I've got some experineting to do...

 

[Nick250]

What speakers do you have that you think would benefit from bi amping?

Nick

 

[mtrycrafts]

I'm thinking of bi-amping some speakers. Q: If the speakers max. power ratings are 200W @ 8 Ohm, and I use 2 amps rated at 100w/ch @ 8ohm. Am I feeding the speakers 100W or 200W? Could I use 2 amps rated at 200w/ch @ 8ohms? Or would that be 400W? (too much power) Many thanks!

Are you going to by[pass the passive crossovers in the speakers? If not, no real benefit will follow.

 

[j_garcia]

What speakers do you have that you think would benefit from bi amping?

Nick

This is what he said:

Any hypothetical speakers really...

So my guess is the question came about as a result of doing new speaker research.

 

[Nick250]

Originally Posted by Nick250
What speakers do you have that you think would benefit from bi amping?
Nick
This is what he said:
Quote:
Any hypothetical speakers really...

So my guess is the question came about as a result of doing new speaker research.

Let me rephrase:

musikphile, so far, have you found any speakers that you are considering purchasing?

Nick