# Bi-Amplification Blues



## vjsanaiz (Oct 23, 2012)

I am looking to bi-amp my Epos Epic 5 speakers (2.5 way, 4 ohm, recommended for 20-200 WPC). I currently run them through a Linn LK 140 power amp in a bi-wire set up (140 WPC @ 4 ohms, the Linn actually has 4 speaker terminals per channel, facilitating the bi-wire set up).

I am looking to add Linn LK 85 (85 WPC @ 4 ohm) for the tweeters to create the bi-amp configuration, leaving the LK 140 for the woofers.

The question is: is this a reasonable configuration? Or is it a must that the two power amps be of equal power?

Your feedback will be greatly appreciated. Regards,

Javier


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## robbo266317 (Sep 22, 2008)

Typically you need less power to drive the tweeters as they are usually more efficient, so what you are suggesting is quite reasonable. 
Just a side note, Bi-Wire is not the same as Bi-amping.
Bi-wiring runs two lots of wire from the one amp, whereas bi-amping runs separate amps and wires.


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## vjsanaiz (Oct 23, 2012)

Thanks for the quick reply. I was guessing as much on the second amp.

BTW, I'm quite clear on the difference between bi-wire and bi-amp.

Thanks again.


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## chrisletts (Oct 16, 2014)

What many people forget (or don't know in the first place) is the way power and output are related - i.e. a 200 watt amp does NOT give you twice the volume of a 100 watt amp, it actually gives you only about 10% more.

To double the sound output of a 100 watt amp, you'd actually need a 1000 watt amp.

Therefore the actual output from your LK140 is only marginally more than an LK85 and you probably wouldn't notice the difference.


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## mollie (Feb 27, 2014)

QUOTE= equal power?

Your feedback will be greatly appreciated. Regards,

Javier[/QUOTE]

Best sound quality is only archieved with the same " size" of amplifiers all from the same producent.
The way and the quality of the filtering method and used components is also an important issue.
The used speakers should not only match all over the frequency response (which is easy to adjust active),
but more important is the time/timing and overall fase which is very difficult to archieve, even with digital ways of filtering.

cheers 
mollie


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Truthfully bi-amping really is of no real benefit. You gain almost no power savings on the amp load and even less an advantage if you have subs to handle the lower frequencies.


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## istvan (Jul 5, 2013)

I bi-amp but I use the second amp for my lower MID-BASS and the main (control) amp for my tweeters. My logic is that the signal path to the tweeters is shorter and I can suffer some HF transients in the lower range - they get filtered out anyway, I drop the high end 4db on the second amp and I have a simple crossover to the speakers.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

What are you going to use for a crossover when you bi-amp?


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## istvan (Jul 5, 2013)

My tweets are Hells and they have a good quality prop cap on them and are powered by the mains of a Pioneer SC-25. My Bass and mids is a crossover from a Uni-q in a box I custom built with an additional bass speaker. I also trim off 6 db of treble on the amp driving the bass-mid. I adjust my levels on the two amps and then run MCACC to equalize the thing. (its very difficult to upload images)


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## istvan (Jul 5, 2013)

My next project will be to tri-amp the front speakers using that tube ultra q you see in the picture as the eq for the uni-q tweeter. Maybe just going with a coil for the bass or maybe keeping that portion of the original crossover. The centre is bi-amped as well and there is a small subwoofer for the centre speaker that isn't pictured.


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## GsPlace (Dec 19, 2014)

Nice project, bi-amp and tri-amp setups are excellent when dialed in. It sucks there aren't more products available to do this effectively in most common setups, people would be surprised at how much of an improvement it could make.


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