Am I wasting money on the theory of Bi-amping?


As a long time audiophile I'm finally able to bi-amp my setup. I'm using two identical amps in a vertical bi-amp configuration. 
 

Now me not fully understanding all of the ins/outs of internal speaker crossovers and what not. I've read quite a few people tell me that bi-amping like I'm doing whether it's vertical or horizontal bi-amping is a waste since there's really not a improvement because of how speaker manufacturers design the internal crossovers. 
 

Can anyone explain to a third grader how it's beneficial or if the naysayers are correct in the statement?

ibisghost

@knotscott makes a very important point: electronic crossovers provide only "textbook" filters. TF’s are 1st/2nd/3rd/or 4th order, which create slopes of 6/12/18/or 24dB an octave for each driver. The internal passive crossovers in almost all good loudspeakers do more than provide just those slopes; they also contain parts that create compensation filters for the drivers themselves.

To best bi-amp a loudspeaker, the speaker should really be designed with that as a given. Older Maggies (those with parallel crossovers) are perfect candidates for bi-amping, as their crossovers contain no driver compensation networks, only textbook slope filters. The .7 series Maggies contain not parallel but series crossovers, so need to be modified to allow bi-amping.

Just my opinion, but the difference between bass drivers and midrange/tweeter drivers FAR exceeds the difference between comparable amplifiers. Except of course for planar-magnetic’s, ESL’s, ribbons, etc. Different drivers made of different materials sound radically different from one another.

Amplifier designers have to make compromises in their amps: bigger output transformers in a tube amp produce better bass than does the same amp with smaller transformers. But smaller transformers produce better high frequencies (smaller ones create less saturation of the transformer core, a consequence of magnetic flux).

Of course the above pertains to only tube amps. But ALL amplifiers are designed with compromises made. Using different amps for different frequencies makes a lot of sense. Everyone with a subwoofer is already doing exactly that.

Totally agree with Mike L.   He's dead on.    Waste of money for most people because seldom is it done correctly.   It's expensive to do right and the complexity just isn't worth it in most systems.   Upgrade the speakers or amplification for real noticeable improvements instead.  

It’s not a theory

Forget techniques of setup for the moment

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IF you have a ’not so powerful’ amp that you love

IF you have speakers with large woofers, or even subs that are not self-powered

Then, to get more power for the demanding bass frequencies, you bi-amp, size your bass amp for both strong fundamentals/overtones, and enough control to work with the woofer's magnet to stop the woofer

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IF you have enough power, I do think bi-amp based on ’this cable is better for bass’ frequencies, this ’other cable is best for mids/highs’ is ......................................

If you can afford it, like many other ______, why not, unless you lose something messing about.

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This made a slight difference, a big difference, a huge difference.

Ten ’upgrades’ all made a slight, big, huge difference: oh my god, gotta be the BEST system you ever heard! Gotta be.

 

The issue is half in the speaker, half in the amp.  Lots of speakers have challenging loads in the bass, and lots of amps can perform better with better power supplies.   Notice this is kind of statistical.  I say "lots" and "most." So, while bi-amping may help, it won't always.

When you bi-amp you double the power supply and output transistors, therefore making the amp less sensitive to impedance issues. 

Whether or not it helps you is something you should hear for yourself.  Generally you should hear better defined bass and transients.  If you don't hear that you may as well sell an amp.