biamping with Rotel RMB 1066? (1 Viewer)

[Hartwig Hanser]

Would biamping speakers (B&W CDM 7 NT) with this 6 channel amp be a good idea? the alternatives are:
1) bridging to 3 channels which power the 3 front speakers
2) bridging to 2 channels which power the low and mid of the left and right speakers (main). The remaining 2 channels would not be bridged but used to power the tweeter of the left and right speakers (center would be powered by different amp)

Do you think 2) would be an audible improvement?

 

[Greg Robson]

I'm doing something similar with my 1066 now with mixed results. I have four channels bridged to two and these two bridged channels are running my Studio CC in a bi-amped configuration. In this mode it is easier to balance my center's level with my bi-amped mains. However the impedance of the base drivers of my CC must be a little under 8 ohms because when I push it a little it goes into protection mode for short intervals for that half of the speaker only.
I'll likely go back to just running it as a single bridged channel for the CC, but even in this mode it's not the best. I find that bridging the 1066 results in less dynamic range and flabby base response anywhere close to medium to high volumes. I should have bought a 1075 for the little extra it costs.
I don't think your option #2 will work because there will be a balance mismatch between your highs and lows. I'm likey going to try running 2 un-bridged channels to bi-amp the center to see how that sounds. Right now I have my left and right being driven by two 1070's in a bi-amp config. and that sounds better than having the 1070s bridged to mono and one speaker each (no bi-amping).

 

[Rob Rodier]

I don't have experience with your rotel amp but have found that bi-amping unbridged has yielded the best sonic results in similar situations.

You should try out the different configs. Writing this post and checking it will take more time than experamenting.


-rob

 

[Kevin. W]

drivers of my CC must be a little under 8 ohms because when I push it a little it goes into protection mode for short intervals

Greg,

Never had this problem with my 1066 when I ran it bridged to power my Mini Monitor fronts and CC-350 centre. Even tested it in bridged mode with SPR DTS and I just couldn't get it too trip. If you don't mind me asking how much did you pay for yours(CDN$)

Kevin

 

[Hartwig Hanser]

You should try out the different configs. Writing this post and checking it will take more time than experamenting.

Rob, you don´t know my setup, it is extremely painful to change connections because it is all in a cupboard without access to the back panels. Therefore I wanted to collect opinions first.

Now, I finally have my 1066 prepro and in the course of connecting it I tried , as most of you suggested, biamping in nonbridged mode versus monoamping in bridged mode. I think, the biamp solution sounded clearer, less muddy, so I switched to this solution (up to now I had them monoamped in bridged mode).

my proposed solution 2) is moot anyway since I did not buy the 1055 receiver as originally intended and therefore I need the additional amps for the center which I now also run in biamp/nonbridged.

My original fear, that the amp in nonbridged mode would not be powerful enough, is laid at rest. From listening I cannot detect any signs of needing more power.

Thanks for your help and input!

Hartwig