B&W 800D2 - Bi-amping vs Bi-wiring


Hello folks,

I am looking for feedback on bi-amping these amazing speakers. I currently own a CA-2200 amp and it seems 200w per channel may not be adequate to realize full potential of 800D2. So i was thinking of bi-amping two classe ca-2200 for L/R speakers, thus feeding 400w each to Left and Right speakers. Or am i better off buying a pair of CA-M600 for each speaker? I would like to stick with Classe amps only... love the way they sound.

Next question is about bi-wiring. There seems to be bit of confusion (atleast in my head) on the best way to bi-wire speakers. The true shotgun cable is terminated with two split(+ and -)on amp end and 4 splits (2 + and 2 -)on speaker end. I have seen illustrations where bi-wiring is done with 2 identical runs of cables between dual binding posts on amp and speaker ends feeding seperate signal to LF and HF speaker inputs. I have read about the advantages of two single runs but my cable manufacturer doesn't seems to agree with this configuration. He is still recommending shotgun configuration.

I hope to gain some insight before i make an investment in a amp or new cables. I currently own a bi-wire cable in shotgun configuration.
128x128lalitk
I totally agree with Mattmiller. With my B&W 800d2,I tried with (1) MC275V, no big deal. Then added another "WOW..." what a different.
Because B&W demands higher power to be better, I added a pair of MC601 and never look back.
My experience with bi-amping was painful and bi-wiring was enjoyable with my B&W 800D2.
08-01-15: Zd542
If you could by a stereo amp that sounds better and has more power than 2
mono amps, why wouldn't that be the better choice?
I
agree with your view Zd. Carte blanche, I personally prefer the sound of the
Vitus SS-102 stereo amp which sounds a bit warmer and more organic
than the SM-102 mono's. That's in a perfect world, though as with most
audiophiles here I have some room and budget constraints which mean I
don't have the room to accommodate the big SS-102, nor the funds to also
buy the matching preamp (SL-102). I briefly considered the option of bi-
amping the new Vitus SS-025 stereo amp with my current SIA-025
integrated before I remembered the S5's are single wired, so I scrubbed
that option. I could have maybe gone for the SM-011 mono's, but don't
need that much power. Also in that case I would not have been able to
afford the SL-102. I still wanted more power and control & wanted to take
my system to the next level, so in my situation I decided the best solution
was to trade up my integrated amp for an SS-025 stereo amp which shares
the same chassis and price as my SIA-025, but has a LOT more power and
control & is designed in the same way as the SM-011 mono's. That move
leaves sufficient funds to add an SL-102 pre (incl: the requisite cables
and isolation). So it's a question of finding the best compromise within your
budget.
I don't have 802D, but 804S. I biwire. Does it make a difference? Probably not.

I drive the speakers with one MC275 and love the sound. I am finishing a couple of class D Hypex monoblocks to drive the woofers. I plan to get rid of the passive crossover between woofers and midrange and apply an active crossover there, keeping the tweeter-to-midrange passive crossover driven by the 275. My understanding is that active multi-amping (as in active crossovers) is the real deal. FWIW my subwoofers run below 80Hz while the MC275 takes it from there and up.
My experience across various B&W 800 series speakers is that both bi-amping and bi-wiring are worthwhile and discernable.
The improvements from bi-amping are obvious in improved both sound-staging precision and detail, while bi-wiring improvement in detail is only marginal.
Bi-amping is more hassle because need another pair of interconnects and pre-amp with dual outputs unless the amplifier has function to switch from stereo to bi-amp e.g. Cambridge Azur 851W.
One advantage of bi-amping class A or AB amplifiers over stereo/mono-blocks is the treble/mid-range remain longer in Class A.
I currently bi-amp my speakers (800D2 recently upgraded from 803D2) with 2 x CA2300 with no obvious power limitation.
I don't have comparison experience between 2xCA2300 to 2xCAM600 - ideally you need to demo.
"The improvements from bi-amping are obvious in improved both sound-staging precision and detail, while bi-wiring improvement in detail is only marginal"

As per Classe manual, the benefit is a subjectively improved level of clarity and details from the speaker, as a result of being able to feed the two separate sections of its crossover and driver complement with identical, yet separate signals.

What is the point of having two sets of binding posts if you don't use them for bi-wiring?