Unfortunately, the Onkyo TX-SR804 pre-dates this cool feature. You'd have to move up a model year to the TX-SR805, or go with the current TX-SR806 to gain the ability to bi-amplify a speaker system.

Dave

David,

although your question wound up on my bi-amping post, I'm guessing you're asking whether or not you can bi-wire your speakers (as opposed to bi-amping them, since a single stereo amp or receiver by itself would be incapable of that).  You didn't mention which model receiver you have, but as long as your Onkyo has a Speaker A + Speaker B setting you should be good to go. Just run a set of cables from Speaker A to your Polk's high input and a set from Speaker B to the '55's low input, turn the speaker selector to A+B, and you're off to the races. Good luck, and good listening.

DaveB

Hi Sergio,

it looks like you're in luck. The Yamaha '661 is indeed capable of bi-amping a set of compatible speakers, which I'll assume your Tannoy's are (the Brit's are way into bi-amping and even tri-amping their speakers). FIRST, TURN THE POWER OFF TO THE RECEIVER. Then simply connect the Yamaha's Front A speaker channels to the high frequency inputs on your Tannoys, and the Surround Back/Bi-Amp outputs to the speaker's low frequency inputs. !!!BE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN TO REMOVE THE METAL JUMPERS THAT CONNECT YOUR SPEAKER'S HIGH- AND LOW-FREQUENCY INPUT TERMINALS!!! Next, you'll need to go into the Yamaha's Advanced Setup menu to the Bi-Amplifier setting mode and select "ON." You should now be in business! I hope you give this a try, Sergio, and let me know how it works out.

Dave

I'm really psyched to hear your experiment was a success, Sergio. <br>

On another note, I was hoping to amend my response to David, above. David, I totally overlooked the part of your post where you clearly stated you had a subwoofer in your system, and answered as though you didn't. My apologies! What I should have recommended is this: Assuming your Onkyo's A and B speaker terminals are wired internally in parallel (a high probability, given that it's an Onkyo), and that you are using the speaker level (as opposed to line level) inputs and outputs on your sub, you can just run two sets of wires from the receiver's Speaker B outputs to the RT55s and leave the sub hooked up to the Onkyo's Speaker A outputs (being sure to disconnect the wires presently running from the sub to the '55s). That shoud work just fine.

DaveB

Sorry duckhunter1,

the STR-DG820 lacks the ability to reassign back surround channels for bi-amping duty (an ability that, sadly, my older but much loved Onkyo receiver lacks as well). However, you still might try bi-wiring your speakers for improved sound quality. I did, and was impressed with the difference it made.

DaveB

Pazuzu,

by using the '2809CI's A and B speaker outputs, you're actually bi-wiring (not bi-amping) your S603s. That's because the Front A and Front B speaker terminals are wired together internally to the receiver's front left and right amplifiers. To truly bi-amp your B&Ws, you'll need to reassign the surround back amplifier channels (be sure to check your owner's manual for the correct procedure). That should make a noticable difference! Good luck and good listening.  

Dave

Hi Scott,

as you can see by my out of sequence response to your question, I'm more of an "audio guy" than a polished blogger and web administrator ;-) Anyway, to answer your question; I'm afraid your 'SR674 lacks the ability to reassign back surround channels for bi-amping purposes. You might, however, give bi-wiring a try. That's what I did with my old Onkyo TX-DS989, and it worked like a charm!

Dave

Hi Gary,

I'm glad to see you've taken the step to bi-wire your RF-3II towers. Unfortunately, your Denon AVR-1803 was never designed with bi-amping in mind. While I have heard rumors of people using Zone 2 speaker outputs to bi-amp their front speakers (something I haven't personally tried so can't recommend), the '1803 has only a single mono amp to power the Surround Back/Zone 2 speaker outputs (hence the receiver's 6.1 designation). Those output jacks are labeled A and B instead of Left and Right because they are connected together inside the '1803 and wired to the mono amp. Since you've already bi-wired your speakers, Gary, the only easy upgrade path left that I can think of is better speaker cable or a new receiver. There is one other thing that I have tried recently that has me totally jazzed, and that's PS Audio's PowerPort AC outlet -- http://www.crutchfield.com/p_681PPC/PS-Audio-Power-Port-Classic.html -- that one tweak improved the overall performance of my system, and may be the best $50 I've ever spent. Good luck and good listening.

Dave  

Hi ALB,

the amp sections on the mid- to upper-end Onkyo receivers tend to be pretty beefy, and can be set to handle a 4 ohm load safely. 8 ohm speakers in the other positions should present no problems for either receiver.

Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with the JAMO speaker line (except by name) and couldn't really make an informed recommendation for you. My suggestion would be to call and talk to our Advisors. They tend to run into this kind of situation on a daily basis, and could probably offer more intelligent input to help you in your descision making process. Best of luck to you.

Dave  

Hi Noel,

You pose an interesting question for what sounds like an unorthodox setup. Electrostatics in back and dynamic driver in-walls in front, hmmm!?! Leaving the subjective and philosophical elements aside (don't get me wrong, I really do like electrostatic speakers as well as Polk in-walls), I have to wonder if what you propose is even possible with the '3808CI.

I believe when you set that receiver's Amp Assign mode to "Bi-Amp", its back surround amps are fed front left and front right channel info. While that may not be a problem in 5-channel stereo mode, things could get squirrely when playing multichannel music (or surround sound movies).

I suppose it might be possible to connect a spare power amp or receiver to the '3808CI's surround right and surround left preamp outputs and run that to the Sequels. I've never tried it, but the potential mismatch in amplifier power and sound quality makes me wonder if it would really be worth the effort. Bottom line Noel, I believe you've taken things as far as practical in your current configuration with bi-wiring. (But I'll be the first to admit that achieving high-end performance is not always based on practicality!) Good luck and good listening.

Dave

Hi sheikh,

bi-amping your front speakers should have a highly positive impact on sound quality. I would most definitely recommend it, especially since you're almost already there with all of your speakers currently bi-wired.

The reason Noel's situation is convoluted (see above) is due to the fact that he was contemplating bi-amping his surround speakers.

This poses a problem because his receiver (and yours as well) is designed to redirect front left and right channel signal information through the back surround amplifier channels, which are then connected to the main front speakers for bi-amping. If one were to connect this redirected and amplified signal to the surround speakers to bi-amp them instead, you would be feeding them front channel sound. This would result in the surround speakers receiving a surround signal from the Surround speaker outputs (as they should) as well as a front channel signal from the Back Surround speaker outputs.

In other words, the surround speakers would be playing both front and surround channel information at the same time! (I could see that being interesting for, oh, say about 30 seconds). While this trick might work in a "5-channel stereo" or "all-channel stereo" mode available on many receivers, once you switch to surround sound mode, things will no doubt begin to sound strange. Besides, the front left and right speakers in most systems are usually where the most action occurs, and where you'd want to concentrate the most power possible.

I hope you give bi-amping a try.

Dave

No problem, sheikh. Since you already bi-wire your speakers, it seems to me you could easily go ahead and use the same cables to bi-amp (with just a few quick changes at your receiver's end).

To answer your first question, bi-amping your Tannoys with the Yamaha '1800 would, in effect, double the power going to your speakers (2 x 130w per channel).

Your second question regarding how much power is too much, is a little more difficult to answer.

Distortion is the biggest killer of speakers. I've rarely witnessed an instance where speakers were actually damaged by being overdriven with too much clean power by an amplifier operating within its normal limits. A far more frequent scenario for speaker destruction occurs when the amp driving a speaker is pushed beyond its limits into clipping (or distortion).  So the bottom line here is, unless you frequently listen to your Tannoys at insane, distortion level volumes, you should be just fine. (In fact more than fine because with double the power, it becomes even harder to push the system to distortion levels before your eardrums pop!)

Dave

Chris,

The '906 is an awesome receiver with more features and capabilities than you can shake a stick at, including bi-amping. My suggestion would be to call and talk to our advisors to get some custom-tailored advice about where you want to go with your system. As for bi-amp capable speakers that would match that receiver, I would take a look at the Polk LSi towers. In fact, there's a boffo review of the LSi15's on our website from a customer who is using an Onkyo receiver to bi-amp them (evidently with great success)!  Good luck.

Dave

Hi Jerry,

Unfortunately the RX-V659 wasn't designed to bi-amp speakers. I believe selecting the presence speaker outputs in the '659's menu system also activates the Digital Signal Processing (DSP) for those outputs, yielding a signal that will be "processed" differently than the main front speaker outputs (producing what would surely be a strange effect). Short of connecting an outboard power amp to the receiver's left and right front preamp outputs (have you got a spare amp or receiver you're not using?), I think bi-wiring would be about as far as you could take it.

Dave

That's a big ten-four, Troy. As long as you've got compatible speakers, the '2309CI will bi-amp 'em.

Dave

Hi Kong,

I would most definitely recommend a bi-amp configuration for this setup. However, I believe the correct speaker terminals to use on the 'V3900 would be the ones labeled Front L/R and Surround Back/Bi-Amp L/R (the Presence/Zone1/Zone 2 terminals are for powering a pair of Presence speakers, or speakers in a second or third listening zone).

As for which terminals to connect to your RTI-10s, it won't matter. With the 'V3900, both sets of speaker terminals will output identical signals once you have selected the bi-amp mode in the receiver's menu, so you can take your pick. Just don't forget to remove the jumpers from your Polk's upper and lower binding post terminals, and you should be in business. Good luck and good listening.

Dave

Hi Rui,

You never say whether or not your Paradigm's are bi-amp capable, so I'll base my recommendations on the assumption they are. Paradigms, as a whole, tend to have relatively modest power rating specs (but I suspect those numbers are very conservative), so be sure yours are up to the task powerwise before proceeding.  Once connected, start them off at low volume levels and increase the volume gradually to get a feel for the speaker's comfort level before really kicking out the jams!

Connection is simple. Remove the metal jumpers that run between the Paradigm's upper and lower speaker terminals, and run two sets of wires to the '706's Front L/R and Surround Back L/R terminal posts (Onkyo recommends using the Front L/R outputs for the speakers' woofer terminals and the Surround Back L/R outputs for the speakers' tweeter terminals). Onkyo provides detailed directions for this step on page 19 of the '706's owner's manual. If you don't have the manual, you can easily download it from our website. Just go to the product page, look on the left-hand side, and you'll find it listed right under "What's in the box?."

Once you've made your speaker connections, go to the receiver's speaker set-up/speaker settings menu and select the bi-amp mode. Once you've done that, you'll need to run the Audyssey speaker calibration system again to get things properly adjusted (check page 45 of the manual for details). You should now have an even better sounding, bi-amped 5.1 surround system.

Please let me know how it works out for you, Rui.

Dave

Hi Del,

First off, you raise a good point concerning speaker/system size vs. room size. Although I don't believe your specific setup should pose any problems, I have encountered situations where speakers (and especially subwoofers) were simply too large for the given listening room. (This happened to my friend Steve when we auditioned the magnificent THIEL CS3.7s in his 14' X 24' music room. The sound quality was somewhat underwhelming. When we later heard them in our cavernous Crutchfield training room, they blew us away!) So there is a real-world concern when it comes to overloading a room with too much speaker.

Anyway, back to your question about bi-amping and sound quality improvements for your RF62s. You shouldn't be concerned that bi-amping your speakers will somehow result in a massive overload of volume in your room. In fact, the effective doubling of power to your speakers that bi-amping would afford in this case would only deliver a small increase in maximum volume potential (about 3dB). The real advantages here are the improvements in dynamics and sound quality that you'll enjoy at lower volume levels. (The true goal of bi-amping isn't to play the system louder, it's better sound.) So yes, you should notice a difference, Del, and I would recommend you give it a try.

The procedure you mention above for bi-amping your receiver and speakers is correct. Denon does not specify which set of terminals to use for the upper and lower connections on you RF62s. Since the output from the front L/R and rear-surround channels is identical, it shouldn't really matter anyway in your setup.

Of course, since your gear came from Crutchfield don't hesitate to give our tech advisors a call if you get stuck anywhere along the process. Please drop me a line and let me know how it turns out.

Thanks,

Dave

Thanks for the feedback, Kong. It's great to hear that you made a successful upgrade to your system. I suspect most people would appreciate the difference bi-amping makes if they took the time to make the switch!

Hi Jeff,

The '706 is a great choice for high-quality home theater. The Bose Acoustimass speakers (you didn't say which model but I'm assuming AM-6, AM-10, etc) should match the Onkyo just fine. Should you connect an extra set of speakers to the '706's back surround channels? I'm going to say no. I think the Acoustimass speakers would be happier playing by themselves. Since there's no opportunity to bi-amp this setup, you could always put those extra amplifier channels to work running some nice in-walls in the kitchen ceiling or outdoor speakers on the patio!  

Dave

Jeff,

That's a difficult question to answer.  The '706 is a powerful and impressive receiver that can drive any number of different brands of speakers to loud and clean listening levels. Would the AM-10s work with a different (and by "different" I'm going to mean less expensive) receiver without losing sound quality? All I can say is maybe.

Every time you reduce amplifier power and build quality, the liklihood of losing some sound quality along the way exists. How likely that loss is to be audible depends on a great number of factors, not the least of which is the ability of the listener to recognize them. If you're a critical listener (especially with music), you're on the right track. If you tend to be a more casual listener, then it's entirely possible you could drop down a notch or two in price and still get highly acceptable results.

Dave

Hi Dan,

A search of the 'DG920's owner's manual reveals no provision for bi-amping. That means bi-wiring is your only option. I found that bi-wiring was very effective in my system, and would strongly encourage you to give a try.

Dave

Tyler,

Even though the Denon AVR-1609 has seven channels of power, the receiver has no bi-amping capability. You still might want to try bi-wiring, however. Good luck and good listening.

Dave

Hi Tyler,

Bi-wiring refers to connecting two pair of wires between an amp (or receiver) and a speaker with two sets of input terminals. It's similar to bi-amping, but without the increase in power. To see if that might work for you, check out my previous blog on this topic here: http://cli.gs/bi-wiring

Dave

Hi Isett,

These are great questions. Infinity doesn't specify any change from the Alpha 50's nominal 8 ohm impedance in their owner's manual when bi-amping or bi-wiring. That means I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that each amp channel in your system is seeing an 8 ohm load. If anyone else out there knows different, please speak up.

Most manufacturers who's receivers have an impedance (or Ohm) switch use this feature to limit the amount of power (current) that it can output. Typically this switch changes the taps, or points, on the amp's transformer coils to reduce the number of windings, effectively reducing the power supply's ability to convert power. Kind of like the engines in some cars that can selectively shut off a number of operating cylinders to conserve juice.

The reason for this is simple. Four ohm speakers allow more power (current) to flow from an amp that 8 ohm models, and that means more heat (and lots of it!). If you crank it up loud into a pair of four ohm speakers, the amount of heat generated may well exceed the ability of the amp to dissipate it, causing a shut down (or worse). That switch helps to prevent this from happening.

Dave

Hi Robert,

The answer to your question is yes. Your receiver and speakers are perfect candidates for bi-amping. The '1708's manual describes the procedure in detail.

If you don't have the owner's manual handy, you can always look it up on our website. Just enter your receiver's model number in the search box, and pull up the product page (even though it's discontinued, our website will still show it to you if you ask). Once you're on the page, just look under "What's in the box" and you'll find the link to the owner's manual. Good luck, and if you get a chance, let me know how it works out.

Dave

Hey Mike,

looking at the back of your speakers on TSC's website leads me to say that biamping is not in your future (at least not with the NTIW26s). I just don't see any way around it. And wiring 2 into 1 would simply short the front and back surround amplifier channels together, resulting in (hopefully) the activation of your receiver's short circuit protection (not good!).

The only real alternative I can see to recommend (although it's really a somewhat far flung departure from the whole concept of bi-amping) is using the Yamaha's "Presence" speaker mode. This lets you direct the power from the back surround channels to an additional pair of front speakers mounted above your NTIW26s. This gives you an added vertical dimension to your front soundstage.

Dave

Hi Ryan,

I'm afraid I couldn't find any technical specifications for the '3890 receiver (in fact I couldn't find anything at all from HK with that model number), so I'm somewhat at a disadvantage for making an intelligent recommendation -- but I'll just blindly forge ahead anyway.

I did find an HK3490 with 120W/CH that I'm going to assume is similarly spec'd to yours (although you know what they say about assuming, so you may want to refer to your dealer or owner's manual before pulling the trigger). That receiver appeares to be a fairly straightforward stereo design with A and B speaker connections. Harman Kardon doesn't specify how many output devices per channel were being utilized, but I don't think that really matters for our purposes. What you have here,  Ryan, is a bi-wiring situation rather than a bi-amping one. That's because you would need two stereo amplifiers or a multi-channel receiver with assignable back surround channels in order to bi-amplify your speakers.Check out my previous blog on this topic here: http://cli.gs/bi-wiring  

I would defiinitely give bi-wiring a try, and don't worry about sorting out the power distribution between high and low frequencies -- you'll be sending the same 120 watts per channel of power you have now, only through two sets of speaker cables instead of one (and yes, the low frequency drivers will consume the lion's share of power but your speaker's crossover network will sort that all out).

Good luck and good listening,

Dave

Larry:

In response to your question about using your Onkyo receiver's zone 2 outs for bi-amping, the short answer is: You can't have your cake and eat it too.

Your receiver has only seven channels of power. The surround back amplifier channels can be used to power the surround back speakers or bi-amp the front left and right, but not both simultaneously.

Those same two amplifier channels are also used to power Zone 2 speakers when not being used for either of the purposes above.  In other words, you just can't get there from here.

I would try bi-amping first, then running back surround speakers next  to determine which configuration produces the best overall sound to your ears.

This reply is in response to JerryG's question.

Hi JerryG,

I posted a reply to your comment earlier, but it seems to have become lost in the ether; so I'll give it another try, and hope this time it makes it outside. (I've never claimed to be an expert on these blog things!)

I believe you could make noticeable gains in performance by adding a second amp. However, I wouldn't use the zone outputs to drive it. Here's why.

The zone 2 (and 3) preamp outputs on the '697CIHD have independent volume controls that would make balancing the output levels of the built-in and external amps somewhat tricky.  (And I'm not even certain you can select the same source for the main zone and zone 2 at the same time. The owner's manual is unclear on this point, and I don't have a '697CIHD at my disposal to check.)

Here's what I would do. Remove the jumper plugs from the receiver's PRE OUT/MAIN IN loop. (This physically disconnects the receiver's amp section from its pre-amp.) Then connect a high-quality Y adapter to the receiver's pre-out jacks. Feed one leg of the Y back into the MAIN IN jacks, and the other leg of the Y into the external amp's pre-amp inputs. You'll now have a bona fide bi-amp setup; with woofers connected to the external amp and tweeters connected to the Denon. This should work like a charm.

No electronic crossover would be needed for this setup either, since the passive crossovers in your Polk's would still be in place.

If anyone has a better solution to this, please let us know.

No problem, Jerr(y)eg.

You are quite right. Both the Onkyo and Niles amplifiers offer a signal pass through feature that would serve your purposes just fine for bi-amping. Simply connect them to the Denon receiver in the way you describe, and you're in business. Either one of these amps should make a good choice IMHO.

Dave

Hello Ben,

The short answer to your question is: your speakers are rated for 100 watts total.

When most manufacturers rate power handling for their speakers it usually includes all driver elements in the system, plus the crossover.

From experience, I know that Celestion, like many British speaker makers, tends to be quite conservative when rating power. In other words, your speakers will likely be able to handle more CLEAN power than the 100 watts they are actually rated for (when the power becomes distorted, all bet are off). Besides, even when playing your system at a volume level most would consider loud, you're actually feeding them only a few continuous watts of power!

The bottom line here is (and this goes for any amp/speaker combination), if you avoid playing your system so loud your amplifier begins to distort, then you should be able to enjoy your speakers for many years without trouble. It's only when you push your system well beyond its limits (volume and bass turned up all the way, you know who you are), that problems are likely to occur.

So bi-amp away, Ben, but resist the urge to play it at distortion levels. Good listening and good luck to you.

Dave

Hi Zoltan,

from what I can see, the SR7300OSE appears to be a full-featured 6.1-channel receiver that unfortunately happens to pre-date the current  bi-amping trend that manufacturers are following these days. Plus, it only offers 6 channels of power, further making it an unlikely candidate for a bi-amp setup.

The best suggestion I would have is to give bi-wiring a try. Check out my previous blog on this topic here: http://cli.gs/bi-wiring  

Dave

Hi Jerry,

I'm psyched to hear that you made the plunge, and that all went well. Since I'm one of those tweaks who happens to believe that most electronic gear benefits from a run-in period, I would expect that the sound of your setup will continue to improve over a period of days or weeks. (And there may be some truth to the fact that your ears tend to adjust to the changes over that period of time as well.)

As for true bi-amping, I will say that in the pro sound world (and in the nosebleed section of high-end home audio), it is a fact that bi-amping (and even tri-amping) involves electronic crossovers coupled with speakers that lack passive crossover networks. (Unfortunately passive crossovers tend to suck up a lot of power, making them too inefficient for most pro applications.)  

But I'm with you, as long as you notice the difference, that's what counts! Again, congratulations.

Dave

Hi Court,

It would appear that the '920 is not bi-ampable. As I have suggested to others in a few previous comments above, I would recommend giving bi-wiring a try (as I have done with my own receiver).

Here is the link to my post on that subject: http://cli.gs/bi-wiring  

Dave

Hi Russ,

Aah, speaker cables, the great debate. Can you really hear a difference? Do expensive ones sound better than cheap ones? Do the connectors on the ends affect performance? What about the insulation material and length, does that matter? All I can tell anyone contemplating bi-wiring or bi-amping is: you'll probably experience better sound, and you'll definitely need more wire.

I haven't played with the Oval 9s personally, Russ, but they do look pretty sweet. I have had a bit of hands-on experience with the Audioquest CV-8 cables that we carry, and found them to posses a smooth, laid back yet detailed quality that I enjoyed very much. It's a tough call.

You might try bi-wiring your center channel speaker, although I would expect the results to be somewhat subtle. I think here you should let your budget be your guide, since your obviously not looking at cheap cables.

As to using bigger gauge cables for the lower speaker unit; the prevailing wisdom, I believe, is to keep the cables the same for the top and bottom to prevent any imbalance in sound (although I suppose if you were to use cable with identical electrical properties, other than gauge, this might work okay). As for me, I use solid-core, silver plated 18 gauge cables with a thin Teflon insulator for my system. I know the majority of cable manufacturers these days tend toward big, heavy multi-stranded stuff, but over time, I have found the solid core wire to be faster, more focused, and more to my liking. But to each his own, eh?

Good luck, Russ, and good listening.

Dave

Hi Alex,

Your STR-DG820's A and B speaker output terminals are connected to the receiver's front left and right amplifiers in parallel with each other. That means, electronically speaking, they're identical (although I know your B speaker terminals are clips rather than posts, which isn't exactly ideal but shouldn't really matter too much). So the answer to your question is yes.

Just pop the metal jumpers off your DM601's top and bottom connecting posts, and give it a try. Good luck and good listening.

Dave

Hi Ricardo,

The short answer to your question is no.

There are two reasons:

1) Yamaha made no provisions for that in the RX-V1300

2) This receiver has only six channels of power. To the best of my knowledge, all bi-amp capable receivers have seven channels, allowing you to redirect the two back surround outputs to the front speakers (which need a total of four channels of power for bi-amping).

The A and B speaker outputs in your receiver are connected together internally to the front right and left amplifier channels, meaning they share power when playing A and B speakers simultaneously. What you could do is bi-wire your speakers to the A and B terminals (see my take on this subject here: http://cli.gs/bi-wiring ) You won't get any increase in power, but you might still hear an audible improvement. Give it a try!

Dave

Hi Gregg,

I think you should be just fine connecting it this way. I know the LSi9s are 4 ohms, so you won't want to run the B speakers with them simultaneously due to the resulting low impedance. I'm not certain the receiver would let you do that anyway due to the neccessity of the back-panel Speaker C switch being set to the on position (but the manual isn't crystal clear on that point).  Good luck, and good listening.

Dave

Hi Bruce,

If the TX-SR605 owner's manual is correct, and I have no reason to believe otherwise, then you should be absolutely in the clear for bi-amping your 8 ohm rated Klipsch RB-61s. Personally, I would highly recommend giving it a try.

The Onkyo manual gives explicit directions for connecting your speakers (page 21) and re-assinging the back-surround amplifier channels (page 51).

If you don't have the manual, simply enter the item number 158TXS605B in the search box on our website -- this will pull up the '605 page (even though it's discontinued). From there, you can download the PDF version of the manual found in the "What's in the box?" panel along the right-hand rail of the page.

Enjoy!

Dave

Hi Fabian,

Although Crutchfield never carried this exact model, a quick search on Yamaha's website revealed the '3300 to be a 6.1-channel receiver (with a couple of extra low-powered "presence" channels thrown in for ambient sound). I'm afraid there's no provision that I can see for bi-amping with this particular model. However, you may still want to give bi-wiring (http://cli.gs/bi-wiring) a try. Good luck and good listening.

Dave

Hi James

Along with my other duties here at Crutchfield, I find answering questions from readers such as yourself a genuine pleasure and a great learning experience as well.

I apologize for taking so long to respond to your thoughtful questions, but I have been pondering them for several days now.  I can't help but feel that you may be over analyzing your situation. If I'm understanding your questions and setup correctly, I believe the answers may be more simple than you might think.

First, the passive high and low-pass crossovers inside your Polk RTi speakers remain operational and fixed at whatever frequency Polk has selected (2,200 Hz sounds about right), removing the jumpers and bi-amping them will not change this. Also, when the bi-amp mode is selected on this receiver, I believe you lose the ability to independently select crossover points for the back surround channels that will now be powering your RTi's tweeters.

Try the following, and see how it works for you.

Step 1: Follow the detailed instructions provided by Onkyo on page 19 of the manual to connect  your speakers .

Step 2: Once your speakers are connected, go to the receiver's speaker setup menu and select Speaker Type. Then choose the "Bi-amp" mode for your setup.

Step 3: Connect the receiver's LFE output to your powered sub's LFE input.

Step 4: Use the Audyssey setup to calibrate your system.

If the auto calibration doesn't do it for you soundwise, page 73 of the Onkyo manual does discuss setting a high-pass crossover point for your main speakers manually.  I would possibly suggest trying it at the 40 HZ to 80 Hz range of settings. This will then output everything below those crossover points to your powered sub.

If none of this does the trick for you, you can always contact my tech support department for more detailed info and instructions (assuming that you bought your stuff from us). Good luck James, and good listening.

Dave

Hi Tom,

A quick check on Pioneer's website reveals that your VSX-21 does allow bi-amping (check pages 21 and 91 in the manual for more info). You should certainly be able to hear the difference bi-amping makes, regardless of room size. (In your relatively large 24' x 22' room, it should make a noticeable improvement.)

As far as selecting your speaker size settings to large or small, I would consider the RF62 a large speaker (as opposed to say, a bookshelf model) and set it appropriately. The RC62 is, of course, a bit smaller, but I would vote for running it in the large setting, too. If you encounter any audible distortion from the center channel in this mode at the listening levels you normally prefer, try it in the small  setting instead. Enjoy!

Dave

James and Ray,

Thanks for your feedback. This is good information. Both of your experiences help point out the variability from brand to brand, and system to system that folks are likely to come across when exploring system tweakage, including bi-amping.

I think the take away from all this is: Always be considering ways you can improve the sound of your system. And don't be afraid to experiment with making changes, especially ones that are easy and relatively inexpensive (or even free), such as speaker placement, crossover settings, bi-wiring, bi-amping, and cabling.

Dave

Hi James,

I'm not certain it would be fair to lay the blame specifically at anyone's feet in this particular situation. Perhaps it may be more a case of unrealistic expectations and product limitations. Let me explain:

First off, you should know that the numerical readout on the volume control of your Onkyo does not correspond to the actual decibel level (acoustic output) of your system. It's simply an arbitrary numbering scale that allows you to return easily to a particular listening level by sight. There are too many variables involved to predict how loud your system will be playing at a specific number, just as it would be impossible to say how fast your car will be going when you press the accelerator down 4.5 cm. Make sense?

Judging by the fact that you have the volume control set at 80, I can only imagine that the system is playing "very" loud. When I set my Onkyo's volume to 80, it clears out the room with sound levels approaching the threshold of pain.

You asked me at what volume you should set your receiver in order to hear clean sound:  my only answer is, trust your ears more than your eyes. They alone will tell you when it's too loud, and when it's time to turn the volume down.  I suspect that you have reached not only the limitations of your receiver's ability to produce clean power, but your speaker's ability to play cleanly at that level. If I were a gambler (sorry Kenny), I'd bet that it may be your speakers running out of headroom before your receiver.

I have little doubt that your receiver produces the specified levels of clean power that Onkyo claims (they are indeed a reputable manufacturer known for their high-quality amplifiers and receivers). Polk makes a fine speaker, too. I don't think it's either component by itself causing your distress, but instead unrealistic expectations as to just how loud this combination will play before distortion sets in.

Anyway, my operating philosophy has always been: If it sounds bad, turn it down. Conversely, if you must have it louder (and still be clean and undistorted), then you probably need bigger speakers and a bigger amp. Going back to my car analogy; if you want to go 180 mph, your family sedan just ain't gonna cut it (even if the speedometer tells you it will). Good luck and good listening.

Dave

Hi Francis,

I'm afraid you have me confused. You say you have a new high-end "stereo receiver" that allows for bi-amping, and then ask if this will work with your rear speakers for surround sound (!?!).

Hmmm, I think I would need more details about your system before I could make any suggestions. Sorry.

Dave

Hi JP,

I see no reason why your new Onkyo shouldn't work with your Bose AM5 II speakers. You did tell your '707 that you were hooking up full range speakers for the front with no subwoofer, right? (Keep in mind, the Acoustimass module doesn't count as a sub; your setup would be 5.0 instead of 5.1 surround.)

Under no circumstance should you connect the cubes directly to the receiver's speaker outputs. That would bypass the crossovers in your bass module, putting your speakers at risk. Also, it would not be practical or safe to bi-amp the Acoustimass speaker system (they were just never designed that way). As for bi-amping your tower speakers, I'd be all for it if you choose to use them in front instead of the AM 5s.

Last of all, remember that soundstaging, imaging, frequency response, and so forth, depends greatly on speaker positioning and room placement. When I was in sales, I always told my customers to never be satisfied with the first place they plonked down their speakers. Getting them to sound their best is usually a matter of tweaking and experimentation. Every room (and speaker) is different.

If you still can't get everything fired up right, and you purchased your receiver from Crutchfield, don't forget that you can call our Tech Support department for some helpful advice and troubleshooting. Good luck and good listening.

Dave

Hi James,

I apologize if my reply seemed curt, it was not my intention to sound like some kind of smart***.

What I was trying to say is, the relationship between power (both handling and output) and volume is complex. It depends on a great many things, including speaker sensitivity, room acoustics, and proximity of the listener to the speakers. One can scientifically predict and measure the acoustic output of a system based on these parameters, but only an individual's ear can subjectively interpret what that data means to them. How loud is too loud? How fast is too fast?

The other complication involved here is the ability of an individual to recognize the "sound" of distortion, and interpret whether it's the result of an amplifier being clipped (over driven), or a speaker being pushed too hard (even if the power is clean and undistorted), or both.

The main reason it's so hard to determine is simply this; when an amp distorts, you only hear it because it's playing through the speakers, and could easily assume that it's the speakers fault. The opposite is true as well. If the amplification is clean, yet the wattage exceeds the speakers ability to handle it to the point that distortion is heard, one might interpret the problem as being the fault of the amp. In each case, distortion is heard coming from the speakers, but the cause is different. It sometimes requires a very experienced listener with a sensitive ear to tell the difference.

Getting back to your question, James - how loud can I turn up the volume and still hear clean and undistorted sound? - I can only say that your ears must be your guide. Larger, more efficient speakers are usually the most cost effective way to play a system louder. That's because doubling amplifier power only results in a very modest 3 dB increase in volume (to play twice as loud, you would need an amp with 10X more power!), which means going the bigger amp route could get very expensive very quickly. That leaves speakers, or putting your system in a much smaller room.

You have asked some great questions, James (ones that I'm sure a lot of people have asked themselves). The difficulty in answering them is, there is no simple answer!

Thanks,

Dave

Hi Jamie,

I'm sorry my responses are appearing out of sequence with the incoming comments (you can blame me for being blog-challenged).

Anyway, your concern that your Onkyo receiver might possibly be overpowering your bi-amped Klipsch speakers is understandable. Running 260 watts to speakers rated for only 150 watts might be  enough to raise any ones eyebrows. But here's why I think you're safe:

Even though your receiver has the "potential" to deliver 260 watts to each of your bi-amped speakers, the likelihood that it ever will is highly doubtful (unless you happen to have a Frat living in your basement!). That's because the volume control limits how much juice reaches your speakers. In reality, even when playing your system at levels most people would consider very loud, you're probably pushing no more than 10 watts of continuous power (believe it or not).

That means your receiver is operating well below the point where it would begin to distort. Amplifier distortion is the great killer of speakers (for reasons too long and painful to go into here).  So as long as you are pumping clean power into your speakers (and resisting the urge to turn it up as far as it will go), your eardrums will probably blow before your speakers do.

In over 40 years of playing with audio gear, I have only witnessed outright speaker destruction resulting from too much clean power a handful of times (and some of those were intentional demonstrations). The other many speaker failures I've seen were the result of someone wanting more output than their amp/speaker combination could deliver, and turning the volume control way past the point of amplifier distortion.

Bottom line: If it sounds bad or badly distorted, TURN IT DOWN! (Oh man, I'm starting to sound like my father!)      

Good luck and good listening.

Dave

Hi Harvey,

A quick check of your receiver's manual on Sony's website reveals no provision for bi-amping. Bi-wiring, on the other hand, should be readily available by using the A and B speaker outputs connected in tandem to your 782's high and low inputs (with jumpers removed). Just set your speaker output selector to the A+B position. Also, see my other post at http://bit.ly/bi-wiring.

Thanks for visiting us, I'm glad you enjoyed our site.

Dave

Hi James,

I'm aware that both B & W and Monitor Audio make reputable, high quality speakers. But I can't really comment on the models that you mention since I've never had the opportunity to hear them.

What I can say is this, the prevailing wisdom in the audio/video world recommends the use of same-brand speakers for both the front, center, and surround sound positions in a home theater system. That's because speaker manufacturers use similar if not identical elements (tweeters, midranges, crossovers, etc.) in their designs in order to provide a "family" sound. This is called voice matching.

Voice matching ensures that you enjoy smooth, seamless transitions when sound pans from side to side across the center, and from front to back. Using speakers with widely varying sonic characteristics in different positions in your surround system can result in abrupt transitions, destroying (or at least reducing) the illusion of being enveloped in sound.

Anyway, with that being said, I would probably recommend going with the Polks since that's what you are currently using for your front left and right speakers. I hope that helps.

Dave

Hi Shawn,

A search of the '2100ES's manual revealed no mention of bi-amping, so I'm afraid the answer is no. You could always try the bi-wiring route, however. Although some would certainly dispute the effectiveness of this technique, I found that it worked nicely on my rig.

Dave

Hey Bruce,

After looking at the specifications of your Pioneer, I realized that this model has five channels of power with no provision for bi-amping. As a rule, only receivers with seven amplifier channels have the ability to bi-amp the front speakers (although technically, I suppose, some manufacturer could choose to let you redirect the surround channels on a five-channel receiver to bi-amp the front even though that would mean no surround sound at all).

So what does all that mean to you, Bruce? It looks like bi-wiring would be your best option.  

Dave

Hi Robert,

These are great questions, I'll try to answer them in order as best I can.

What you'll hear exactly when you switch your setup to a bi-amp configuration is, I'm afraid, a bit nebulous due to the wide variations in systems. But try to think of it in terms of better (not just more) sound. For example, bass lines become more pronounced and easier to follow, while individual notes will sound clearer and more distinct from each other. You may also notice greater bass extension, although you have a powered sub that shoulders the greatest burden in that department, so the differences may be less pronounced at the extreme deep end.

High frequencies are less affected, in general, by bi-amping because high-frequency sounds take far less energy to reproduce. Although by virtue of the fact that you're disconnecting the typically cheesy metal jumpers that run between your speaker's terminals (a frequently sighted source of bad sound), your highs should be smoother and more detailed. (higher resolution and less grain).

These differences are usually audible across all listening levels. In my experience, the improvements are surprisingly most noticeable at lower listening levels (almost like someone turned on the "loudness" control). I've also noticed this effect when using powerful component amplifiers. Big full sound at volume levels just above a whisper.

In the case of your Onkyo receiver, each of your Polk RTi A3's tweeters and woofers will have access to 90 watts apiece. (You're assigning the back surround channels 90 x 2 and the front channels 90 x 2 to a single pair of speakers.) Of course, they would never be subjected to that much continuous, steady-state power unless you're listening to pink noise with the volume control pegged! (Hopefully you're not doing that are you, Robert?)

In the real world, I would seriously doubt that you're actually using more than a few watts of continuous power for each of your speakers at any given time, even when playing your system at relatively high volumes. (Heck, just because somebody's car has 500 horsepower,  it doesn't mean they're using them all at once and driving 180 MPH continuously!) Your volume control (or accelerator) neatly handles that situation. So overpowering your speakers shouldn't really be a concern.

I don't expect your receiver will run any warmer or cooler than it already does. That's because you're not increasing the amount of power that it generates (or heat that it dissipates), you're simply reallocating that power among different speakers. It's still a 90 watt x 7 receiver. I wouldn't expect any change in reliability or longevity for receivers being used in a bi-amp configuration.

I hope you give bi-amping a try, Robert. Good luck and good listening.

Dave

Hi Neal,

I'm afraid I can't verify if your PL 89s are bi-amp/bi-wire capable or not (there seems to be a dearth of technical data on these speakers for some reason). However, If they have two sets of input connectors joined by metal jumpers you should be in luck.

The RX-V863 is ready for bi-amping. Just go into the settings menu and reassign the surround back speaker outputs. Be sure to follow the instructions in the owner's manual.

Dave

Hi Eric,

If my understanding is correct, the Analog Bypass setting on your NAD lets you input an analog audio signal without the receiver digitizing it using its built-in A-to-D converters (a good thing for preserving the sound quality of a high-end analog stereo source).

But I don't believe it has anything to do with the amount of power reaching your LSi9s. They're still connected exclusively to the front left and right amplifier channels of your T785. Bi-amping in this case would double the available power to your Polks, and result in a boost in perceived sound quality. I would highly recommend giving it a try.

Dave

Hi Barrett,

Onkyo gave the TX-NR1000 receiver the somewhat unusual feature of having A and B speaker connections for all channels.

My best guess as to what's happening is that you've got your surround back speakers connected to the right and left surround back (assignable) "A" speaker terminals, while at the same time, your front right and left speaker's low (woofer) inputs are connected to the surround back (assignable) "B" speaker terminals.

This means your back (rear) surround speakers are now sharing power with your front speaker's woofers (they're running together, connected in parallel with each other through the A and B speaker terminals).

You just need to disconnect your back surround speakers. This will allow your front speakers to receiver all of the power from your re-assigned surround back amplifier channels (instead of sharing it with the back surround speakers). Who knows, your front speakers may sound even better still with this "fix" because they'll be getting the undivided juice from the back surround amplifier channels.

Please let me know if this works for you, my curiosity is piqued.

Dave

Hey Derrick,

I'm afraid there's no mention of bi-amping in your receiver's manual. Basically that means there is no way to redirect back-surround channel amplifier power to the front speakers. It would appear that bi-wiring would be your only option here.

However, if I'm not mistaken, your receiver came as part of a home theater package system. I don't believe the included Onkyo speakers had provisions for bi-wiring. If you have changed speaker systems (or at least front left and right speakers) to ones that offer this capability, you most certainly might want to give bi-wiring a try.

Dave

Hi Jeremy,

I think you've taken your center channel about as far as possible with bi-wiring, at least with your current receiver-based setup.

Typically when you set a 7.1-channel receiver to bi-amp mode, it's designed to send front left and right channel signal information through the back surround channel amplifiers for connection to the left and right front speakers. I'm not aware of a receiver that allows you to reassign just one of the back surround channels and pipe it through the center channel speaker.

Dave

Kaze,

I don't believe the 'SR504 can be bi-amped, however, you might give bi-wiring a try. See http://bit.ly/bi-wiring for more info..

Whether you'll experience better sound quality from a dedicated CD/DVD player using the analog inputs rather than the digital ones depends to a great extent on the quality of the digital-to-analog converters being used in each component.

High-end CD/DVD players frequently boast "boutique" D/A converters such as Burr-Brown PCM1796 or Cirrus Logic CS4398 chips, to name a couple. These high quality processors can sound much better than the cheaper, more generic chips found in typical mid-priced players. The same is true for receivers.

My recommendation would be to try it both ways and see if there is a marked difference. Just be sure to use your receiver's Pure Audio or Direct mode when going analog in. This setting bypasses the digital processing applied by your receiver to incoming signals, allowing you to listen to the pure, unadulterated sound of your player.

As for tweaking, there are always ways to improve the sound quality of any system, some are costly and others are free. The biggest "freebie" is speaker placement. This one factor alone can make a huge performance difference. Check out Julie's speaker placement article (as well as Tara and Malcolm's video) on our website. Also see http://bit.ly/15audiotips for other suggestion to upgrade your setup. Good luck and good listening.

Dave

Hey Kaze,

The owner's manuals supplied with most receivers are a valuable source of information (and frustration!) that I suspect many folks never read. Or if they do, they might not understand much of what is being said because it always seems to be written in a foreign language called "Technobabble." This also points out the importance of buying your gear from a reputable dealer who can provide help after the sale.

Bi-wiring is not a panacea for every system, but I have heard it work well in several, including my own. Bottom line, it never does any harm to try. The same goes for a digital vs. analog hookup between your CD/DVD player and receiver. When these two components are reasonably well matched in quality, you wouldn't expect major differences in sound. When one is significantly better than the other, then you certainly want to take advantage of its superior processing capabilities.

Source quality is a huge factor in overall performance. MP3s are okay for use in most portable applications, but the better your playback equipment the more you'll begin to hear their shortcomings. Low bit-rate MP3s played back on a decent home system will frequently be unlistenable. So using a high bit-rate source, or better yet, lossless or uncompressed recordings, will go a long way to improve your sound.

Unfortunately, I can't advise you intelligently on speaker/subwoofer settings. I don't know which sub you have, the size of your room, or your taste in sound. But even if I did, the settings I might prefer may not suit you. My only suggestion would be to start with all of your settings adjusted to flat, listen to a bunch of your best high-quality recordings, then tweak it a little at a time until it sounds right to you.

(WARNING: This is where the madness of Audiophilia can start to set in. You might never find the perfect sound with your existing setup. Then you end up spending the rest of your life chasing the dragon of audio bliss!)  

PCM is what you'd expect and want to see when you're playing a CD with your player hooked up to your receiver using an optical digital cable. Dolby Digital or DTS is what you'd want with a DVD. To ensure your player sends the right signal to your receiver for proper surround sound decoding, you may need to go into your player's menu and enable the digital "bitstream" output. Otherwise, you'll just be outputing a stereo signal instead of a discrete surround sound one.

Your last question is actually a good one. Carpet spikes ensure that your speakers are firmly rooted to the floor, not floating or wobbling around on the cushy, carpeted surface. This provides a more solid, unyielding platform for proper wave launch. Spiking your speakers should provide tighter bass along with better imaging and detail. (That's why all top-of-the-line speaker systems either come with spikes, or have them available as an option.)  

I guess the trick is to leave the spikes off while you're finding the ideal position for your speakers, then put them on when you're done. Better yet, have a friend or three over to help you move them around with the spikes on while you're playing with speaker placement.

I hope these suggestions help.

Dave

That's good news, Kaze. I have to remind myself from time to time that this is just a fun hobby, and the important thing is to relax to some good tunes and enjoy the sound.

Subwoofers and bass management are fascinating, frustrating, and tricky subjects, all at the same time. I would agree that turning off the "Double Bass" feature on your Onkyo is a good step.

The 80 Hz crossover point would, in my opinion, be a little high for your system given that you're using full-range, floor standing towers with reasonably healthy bass output to begin with. I might be more inclined to run it around 60 Hz, but hey that's just me. You might want to play around with it just a bit to see what works best for you in your listening room.

As for running your speakers in the "small" mode, I might be inclined to agree for the center and surrounds, but I'm less certain that it makes sense for your RF-62s. Again, you could certainly try it both ways to see which sounds better.

If you want to pass it along, I'd be glad to share the URL for the Audyssey blog for those interested.

Good luck and good listening.

Dave

sutefunu,

It looks like your Pioneer is a five-channel receiver, which means there are no back surround amplifier channels to reassign for bi-amping your front speakers. So I'm afraid the answer is no. However, you might give bi-wiring a try. See http://bit.ly/bi-wiring for more info.

Dave

Hi Dave,

All of the speakers I'm familiar with that offer bi-wiring capability also allow bi-amping. The only problem is, I'm not familiar with the JBLs. My gut feeling is that it would be just fine to bi-amp them with your Onkyo. However, to be on the safe side, you may want to check with your JBL dealer or with JBL themselves to be certain. Good luck.

Dave

Hi Paul,

There's no way I know of to use the receiver's internal amplification to bi-amp anything but the front Left and Right speakers (which I would suggest doing if they're capable, and your surround setup is 5.1 instead of 7.1).

But your '807 does have preamp outputs for all channels, including the center, that can be used for connecting external power amps. If you were to connect an outboard mono amplifier to the center channel pre out and use it in conjunction with your receiver's center channel power, I suppose you could bi-amp your CSi A6.

If you just happen to have such an amp (or something similar you could use), it might be worth a try. Otherwise, I'm not certain how cost effective this exercise might be. The Onkyo has plenty of juice for that speaker on its own, you might just want to try bi-wiring first.

Dave  

Hi Kaze,

Chris Kyriakakis at Audyssey makes a compelling argument for "small" vs. "large" speaker settings in his article about bass management. Thanks for passing that along. I  agree with him in principle, and strongly recommend  that anyone interested in sound quality read his blog (see the address above) and the responses to it (after all, if you're reading this you must be interested in sound, right?)

Yet in the real world of less than perfect equipment and listening rooms, there is still plenty of room for experimentation.

With so much latitude for adjustment on today's surround sound receivers, it would be a shame not to at least compare a few settings to see which sound best to you.  Start with a base point, and slowly adjust your system's settings using a wide variety of listening material (even taking notes as you go so you can recreate a particular effect). When it sounds right to your ear, you have arrived.

Anyway, have fun with it Kaze and don't settle for average sound when great sound could be just a few tweaks away.

Dave

Hi Henry,

I can't speak for every 7.1-channel A/V receiver on the market, but I believe all of the current units available at Crutchfield are able to bi-amp a pair of compatible front speakers. Of course, there are still many older 7.1 models out there (mine included) that can't perform this neat trick. That's why I am presently bi-wiring my front speakers. In fact any receiver, including a stereo model, can be bi-wired. All it takes is a couple of pairs of speaker wires and a speaker system with two sets of input connectors.

Dave

Hey Kaze,

There does seem to be some disagreement on this dodgy subject (dueling pistols anyone?). I've tried both and found the coaxial cable connection to sound superior on my system. However, I suspect that cable quality, and the quality of the optical interfaces on both the source and receiving components, play a significant role in overall performance.  

In either case, and to the extent to which one can afford, I would suggest that everyone try both connections (if available) on their own system. I have heard some folks claim better sound with the optical hookup, and I would tend to believe them.

Wasn't it an ancient Chinese proverb that went: The more you know, the less you understand. I'm fairly certain they were talking about audio gear. Don't feel bad, Kaze, you're in some pretty good company.

Dave

Hi Eric,

I'm not clear as to exactly what your question is. The Klipsch RS-62 is a non-biamplifiable surround speaker. If you have just one and plan on using it as a back surround channel speaker, I believe Pioneer recommends connecting to the Right Surround Back speaker terminal.

The VSX-94TXH is also capable of bi-amping a pair of compatible front speakers, but you don't mention what you're using in that location, and whether or not you intend to bi-amp.

If you plan on bi-amping your front speakers, you would then be redirecting the power normally designated for the back surround channels to the front, resulting in a 5.1-channel surround system. That means you would have no back surround speakers in this setup.

I would be glad to help if I can, but I need more details of your system to go on.

Dave  

Hi Caesar,

I'm always glad to help if I can. I know these topics can sometimes be intimidating to the uninitiated.

Although your Denon has A and B speaker outputs, they are connected together inside your receiver to the front left and right amplifier channels. That means even if you have two pair of speakers (or a single pair of bi-amp speakers) connected to the A and B outputs, they'll still only be receiving and sharing the power from the front amp channels. In other words, there's no gain in power or performance.

Your '2307 does have bi-amp capability. The power amp assign section on page 58 of the owner's manual describes the procedure in reasonable detail. In a nutshell, you would re-assign the Surround Back/Zone2 amp channels by setting them to the to the "Front A, Front B" mode (not exactly an intuitive description, huh?), then connect your RF-82s (with jumpers removed!) to the Speaker A and Surround Back/Zone2 speaker outputs on the receiver.

What does this mean? Basically, you can either bi-amp your front speakers, or run your pool speakers, but not at the same time with the same connections. And in order to switch between the two configurations, you will have to change connections on the back of the receiver and access its menu system. Good luck and good listening.

Dave

Hi Joe

I'm glad you found us!

I agree that it's too bad receiver manufacturers don't provide a way to allow users to easily switch back and forth between bi-amp and 7.1 surround operation without re-wiring their system. I'm certain it could be done, but no doubt it would add to the cost of manufacturing and in turn, the price of the receiver. This is clearly something most companies are unwilling to do given the relatively esoteric nature (and rarity) of bi-amping. Too bad.

That brings us to the question: Is there enough (or even any) content going to the back surround channels to justify 7.1 over bi-amping? As you have rightly observed, Joe, most sources at present simply don't contain back surround channel information. And in order to even have your back surround speakers play at all, you must resort to Dolby ProLogic IIx or the receiver's DSP soundfield settings. While this isn't the worst thing in the world, it's not the kind of discrete 7-channel surround sound one would expect from such a high-tech source as Blu-ray (come on movie studios!).  

So now the question becomes: Do I bi-amp and limit my surround sound to 5.1, or go for the full 7.1 surround configuration at the expense of bi-amping the front speakers?

If it were me, Joe, I would probably lean toward bi-amping since I use my surround system a great deal for music listening, where bi-amping's benefits are most evident. And given the dearth of 7.1 content out there, this might seem the way to go. However, I know you have already invested in back-surround speakers, so it would seem a shame to let them go to waste. If your home theater room is very large, you might be better off with a 7.1 setup, otherwise I'd bi-amp it. Good luck and good listening.

Dave