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Can I use a multichannel amp to bi-amp my speakers

Hello to all... 

I have a pair of Gershman Avant Garde RX-20s and want to bi-amp them:

Confused about the advantages and disadvantages, as well as the confusion about cabling - but was wondering if I could use a multichannel amp to bi-amp them?

Thoughts appreciated... Thanks.
justvintagestuff
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,472 posts
 
put your money into a better 2 channel amp rather than a mediocre 4 channel.
lcherepkai
280 posts
 
I had a nice Theta Intrepid which I used to biamp Meadowlark Audio Heron (hot rod version) and BG Corp 520DX.  I ran directly from the source, a modded Oppo BDP 83SE, using the 2 channel outs and the FR/FL to drive 4 channels of the amp.  I thought it sounded very good.  The Theta had a beautiful top end, lots of air and detail, very delicate, mids were clear and slightly warm, while the bass was decent.  It never drew attention to itself but you never felt deprived either and the BG's are intentionally rolled off early.   You could also go with a preamp with 2 pairs of outputs to run the 4 channels.  I also had a pair of Pathos Classic One MK III integrateds.  I had 2 so I could bridge them but I ran them as 2 stereo integrateds briefly for the hell of it.  It was better than a single stereo amp but bridged was way better than 2 in stereo for biamping.   The active crossover might improve things.  I have no experience with them so can't comment on how they'd improve the sound but an active crossover isn't necessary with most speakers.  I'm not familiar with the Gershmans but I've biamped the Meadowlarks, BG Corps, and a pair of DIY 6 driver Legacy Focus clones and all did well biamped.  Just make sure you get a good multi channel amp and don't skimp on the cables.  Good luck!
fossda
112 posts
 
Single amp probably best way to go and both Sim and Modwright very good choices. Nordost now supports a single run with jumpers to the other set of posts rather than a bi wire set. When upgrading my Nordost Valkerie (sp?) to Valhalla series 1 I went this route on recommendation from dealer and nordost and have been very pleased with result
spankedmonkey's avatar
spankedmonkey
18 posts
 
So could anyone speak on this as an option? http://audiophilereview.com/reference-speakers/a-tale-of-two-speakers---how-bi-amping-unlocked-my-bo... I’m using a Denon AVP-A1HDCI, Parasound A51, and B&W 802’s. What possible differences/improvements with options of 2 monoblocks bi-wired, 2 stereo-amps bi-amped, or multi-channel bi-amped as in the review link?
auxinput
2,920 posts
 

In my opinion it would entirely depend on the power supplies in the amplifiers in question. When comparing an smaller amp to a larger amp, the large amp will typically have a lot more brute power and it will make the bass/midbass sound a bit heftier/thicker.

If you are trying to bi-amp with a multi-channel amp that uses a shared power supply, the results are probably not going to be earth shattering (since the different channels will drag down the same shared power supply). In your case, the Parasound A51 has a shared transformer, but completely independent power supply / capacitor banks for each channel. In this case, you will probably get better results with bi-amping versus single-amping if you are just using your A51. However, you may get better overall results by just replacing the A51 with some big monoblocks (like the JC1). Monoblocks will have very large power supplies and may also be fully differential (as opposed to single ended). This will control the speaker movement much better. Also, the B&W speakers really need a high-power high-current amp to sing.

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