If bi-amping is so great, why do some high end speakers not support it?

Folks can say what they want about bi wiring, but Vandersteen designs all his speakers to be bi wired and they do sound better doing it.  I trust my ears. I know what engineers may say, but again, the ears don't lie.  There are plenty of things that can't always be explained in audio and that could be because we don't have the measurements for them yet.  

Since Richard has no skin in the wire business, there is no way he'd espouse this if it didn't make a difference for the positive in his speakers.  

I've also heard them bi amp'd.  Once in a store, I didn't like it. He used less than stellar amps doing this.  Another time when I heard at a friends house, it sounded the best I've heard the Treo's sound. He was using all Audio Research amps and I think keeping in the same company made the world of difference.   JMHO

For for those engineers who dispute what I am hearing, the fact is that you can't because you aren't in my head, lol.  All of audio is subjective.  The first time I heard bi wiring of the Vandersteen's, I had no idea that he was changing anything in the system.  I was listening to a track and then he took a few minutes and unhooked the second run, but I didn't know it.  It was pretty easy to tell which was which.  I know many who feel the same way and some, who have never heard the Vandy's both ways, make statements about how they sound....even though they have never heard them.  Just saying.  

I don’t see a value in biwiring or biamping unless you have an active crossover. It does offer the possibility of using less expensive high quality amps to achieve a higher total power output to drive your speakers than the cost of a high powered amp with comparable stats of the two combined. . . Like others here I think that most manufacturers don’t want people to get into speaker design (building crossover networks) as most implementations will not deliver as good a final product as all of their research has shown. To implement a crossover, measurement software and hardware needs to be used. When executed properly the results can be stunning but often fall short due to the experience of the person trying to build it. I personally opted for the older 20.1 Magnepans exactly for the ability to build a crossover network and actively biamp the mains with matching amps. I played around with the slopes and type of crossover and found that their factory suggestions were best to start with. Custom crossovers have been implemented using REW and MSO but most affected is the bass region, little was corrected on the mains.

Thanks,
Steve

@kalali 

No not deaf. However for those few seeking audiophile high quality sound (through biamping and all manner of extra tweaks and high end gear) might simply consider the hypocracy of using 2nd rate cheap RCA interconnect approach for line level when a superior method is available and in wide use by professionals.

@co_jones

Isn’t the use of active sub-woofers bi-amping? (Yes)
I have tube amps, are people still using passive sub-woofers vs. powered ones, e.g. class-d? (I have 2 passive subwoofers with my mains with a Pass x250 powering and 2 high quality class d active subwoofers in room)
No one mentioned the quality of the active X-over. There has to be a wide range in quality. (Yes, I recommend that it operate at least 24bit/96kHz which resolves the range of human hearing) 
Like wise there was no mention of tri-amping. Wouldn’t leaving a passive X-over between the mid and high drivers and actively feeding the bass really be a hybrid? (Yes, Ex my 20.1 Maggies, there is an undefeatable crossover for the high/mid so one is really biamping mid/high and low) It can be done to defeat this crossover and add an additional channel and stereo amp  but the slopes and volume better be right or the tweeter will blow)

I agree, true balanced XLR are the best connections to reject all noise from the line. I use it in all but one (optical) connection. A high quality RCA can be used for short distances but one has to be careful to keep any noise inducing things away such as power supplies, cords, chargers, etc. Use balanced whenever possible. :)

- Steve

I use an Ayre amp and DAC run only in balanced mode.  I use Vandersteen Quatro's that are a semi active speaker (active subs built in).  Richard has been at this as long as nearly any other designer and knows what he's doing.  He measures, builds and listens.  He takes into account everything a designer needs to.  

I personally love the idea of a full y active system.  That's the way a designer wants it to sound. Now if you don't like how it sounds, move on.  My favorite system of all time, regardless of cost is the Vandersteen 7 mk2 with his own amp (speaker cable included as is the passive crossover that's built into the amp.  The amp also has the DBS unit that Audioquest uses (Richard I believe is a co inventor) as well as the well received HRS systems vibration control system and to top it all off, his amp as well as the amps in the 7's has the Audioquest Niagara technology built in.  

Folks don't often realize what's inside a speaker or amp etc...  To me, it's a fully active system as it was designed that way.  Add a pre and run a source into it and then add a top end pair of AQ balanced interconnect and you have a GREAT system, that's simple and sounds outstanding to most of us.  

Everyone talks about synergy and often forget about it when assembling their systems.  

Bi amp?  if the speaker allows, it can sound so much better than not going it.  I do feel strongly that you shouldn't go with two lesser amps as I've never heard system sound better with lesser electronics.  Again, that's just me.  Bi wire, as I said earlier, yes if it's designed that way as Vandersteen and some others are.  It's all in the implementation.