ELSock

bi-amp or not to bi-am

ok i was wondering if it is possible to bi-amp my mains for 2ch stereo listening and not lose my 7.1. my mains are polk audio rm50t's, and my reciever is a pioneer elite 81txv.
so i want them bi-amp'ed when listenin in 2ch mode, and not bi-amp'ed when watching a movie, unless the bi-amp'ing isn't going to effect the movie surround.

also is it a bad idea to add an amp to my speakers ontop of the receiver amp, or should i add an actual amp as well?

thx
~ELSock~

chuckg

Re: bi-amp or not to bi-am

Well, that sounds like a train wreck just about to happen....not puttin' ya down, but I doubt that the receiver is designed to handle such a configuration.

You could get separate amplifiers just for your mains, and always bi-amp them, but seriously you wouldn't gain much. Are the speakers designed for bi-amping? If not, then you can't do so anyway.

--ignore the man behind the curtain

Jeff Gatie

Re: bi-amp or not to bi-am

In order to bi-amp, most speakers have you disconnect a bridge between the two sets of terminals. Also, bi-amping requires wiring through crossovers that aren't really easy to bypass once they are wired in. So switching from 2-channel to 7.1 channel would require reconnecting the bridge and getting the crossovers out of the equation somehow - pretty time consuming if you ask me.

Have you thought of purchasing seperate amps so you can bi-amp the fronts at all times? This would be the most practical (and typical) setup and I see no reason why the benefits of bi-amping your fronts for stereo would adversely effect the fronts for 7.1.