Hookup question for a beginner

[LazyB]

I have a Pioneer VSX 56 Txi, 2 KefXQ5's and an XQ2c,

I have the XQ2c for movies, but primarily I am listening to 2 channel, a friend of mine let me borrow his old Ayre V-3 amp, and I'm not hearing a huge difference when I have it connected.

First question is... am I hooking it up properly?

I have my pre outs from my Pioneer running to the left and right unbalanced inputs on the Ayre amp. (both switches are set to unbalanced) and my speakers running from the outputs of the Ayre amp. ( I assume this is the only way to connect things) But it doesn't seem to push anymore power than my reciever already did, or change the sound all that much.

Any inputs or suggestions would be great!
thanks!

 

[hopjohn]

Yes, everything sounds correct with your connections.

Not suprising that you hear no change. Isn't the V-3 100 watts per channel and the 56txi rated at least that? In order to even begin to notice a difference in output you'd need to at least double the power. Even with a 200w amp I doubt there would be a signifigant difference. If your speaker allows you to biamp, you could try experimenting using both the receiver and the amp to see what differences it may make.

 

[LazyB]

Thanks for the confirmation I wasn't screwing somthing up

Now, as far as bi-amping goes, what's invovled in that process?
My speakers are bi-wired at the moment. what is the connection process of "bi-amping"

 

[hopjohn]

Here's a nice article that explains in detail what bi-wiring and biamping are and what they do.

http://www.soundstage.com/synergize/synergize031998.htm

 

[hopjohn]

Note: For those just tuning in, I do realize that this is not biamping in the purest sense (using the speaker's passive crossover), so I don't want to look as though I'm giving uninformed advice here. However, this type of connection has become popular enough now that many people generally regard it as such, just as the author of the article has done.

I would also comment that the article does seem to exagerrate the benefits (both of bi-wiring and "bi-amping"), which I failed to mention in the previous post.

Biamping in the purest sense is a complicated matter that involves active crossovers, multiple identical amplifiers, and tweaking headaches beyond measure. Not reallly something a beginner should worry over at this point in the game.

 

[LazyB]

Thanks for the link about Bi-Amping, I had heard about it, but never looked into it, unfortunatley, I think the Ayre amp is a bit bassy, and I think I prefer the sound better with everything hooked up straight from my Pioneer.