[NickK]

Ok... probably a dumb question here, but figure I will ask. I am rather new to alot of the HT stuff, but I am working to catch on quickly as I am addicted to the whole HT way of watching movies, etc.

I have an Onkyo TS-DS797 receiver which I was bi-wiring my front speaker thru (I have Mirage OM-10's). I recently purchased an AudioSource AMP THREE to power these and get them off my receiver (figured they could use more power). My question is... the AMP THREE has an A and B speaker(for a pair each) output. Can I use all four outputs to bi-wire my speakers? Does this even make sense to do? Currently I have one set coming out of the amp split into two sets going into my speakers for bi-wiring.

ANy help is appreciated. And if this had too simple an answer or if it was too dumb a question... sorry. I'll learn eventually as long as I keep up reading this forum.

[Michael R Price]

Yes, the A and B outputs are in parallel so connecting A to your woofers and B to your tweeters is the same as splitting one output. Just be careful wiring it up. I damaged my Amp One when I re-wired my speakers and accidentally shorted the output.

How does the new amp sound compared to your receiver?

[NickK]

So far it sounds great. I feel it has a much clearer sound.. though some may say it is a bit "bright", I am impressed. There are some sounds from my speakers on some DVD's that I swear I didn't hear before. It also seems as if now my center and rears are doing much more as well. I don't know... is it possible that by removing the load of powering my front speakers from my Onkyo, that it is now able to do a better job on the rest? I have always loved how my Onkyo sounded, and was surprised that it got even better when I added this amp.

Thanks for your answer to my question. I'll be sure when I wire it up, to not short it out, by accident.

[Adam.Gonsman]

Nick,
You may not be imaging the better sound from your center and surrounds. Offloading your mains like that really does have the potential to improve things. A lot of receivers aren't equipped to dish out full power to all channels at once. If you get in a very sound intensive scene, your receiver may not have the raw power to feed the amps all they want. My old Sony receiver (despite it's ES power supply) had this problem. This results in sound that is muddy and distorted.

Now that your mains are off that powersupply, it's load is decreased by about one third. So now it can give all it's power to the remaining speakers.

Also, I think you'll find that those Mirages, while they are fairly efficient speakers to begin with, will still really open up with the extra power. I'm running OM-10's also and since I moved up to a new Yamaha receiver with more power than I could ever use in my size room, the 10's just seem so clean and clear and open.

[NickK]

That makes sense. It really does feel like the receiver has more umph to give the other channels now. I didn't know at first... I went back and checked my setup, sound decibel output, etc. But now that I see how well it is working with the fronts off-loaded, I guess I am going to have to watch all my DVD's again... heh heh.

As for my Mirages... I love them... the look great, sound awesome, and were a great pick up at Hi-Fi Buys at 50% off last year. Only thinkg I noticed was that it took moving them a bit further than normal away from walls to get the best sound. Seems they need the extra breathing space.

[kevin tate]

NickK, I am purchasing an Audiosource Amp 3 and also thinking about bi-wiring it to front my speakers. How does the bi-wiring your front speakers sounds comparing to regularing wiring?