B&W Matrix 800: Bi-amping thoughts?

I own a pair of the Matrix 800, and find the stronger the amp the better the sound.The ML 335 is nice amp for its age. It did the bass very well on mine. what cables and jumpers are you using?

Keep us posted on your journey

Wow lots of people to respond to! I appreciate your inputs. 

@knotscott Ah right, I’ve read that article. In fact I bookmarked it for the tweeter manufacturer in case I need to replace the OEM components. As they will have been silent for almost 30 years by the time I set them up, I’m desparately hoping the ferro fluid in the tweeters is still viable. And thank you for the info on the cross over points.

Never having bi-amped anything before, don’t the amplifiers need to be of similar wattages? I’d thought about using the Defy7 for up top and the ML-335 for the woofers but would be concerned with the greater output from the ML-335 that it would over power the Defy7’s output.

@68pete It’s been a couple of years since I took the system down and packed it for transport. And as I was limited on time, I didn’t make a good inventory of things like cables of which there was a dizzying array. I swear he kept every set of cables he ever bought.

When I do unpack it all, it’s going to be like an audiophile’s Christmas for me! 

Happy listening.

PS: I don't what anyone says. I think they're beautiful!

Ferro fluid is probably best off being changed.  I did mine a few years ago after 35 years.  It made an audible improvement.  It’s not a bad task, and there are helpful vids online.

The amps do not need to have matching power output if  you do a horizontal configuration with one amp on the bottom and one amp on top, as it sounds like you’re planning to do.  It’s very common in the type of setup to use a more powerful amp for the woofers.  I’m using 100 wpc on the woofers, and only 17 wpc on the midbass/tweeters.  You will likely need a method to match the gain so that they play at the same volume, unless the amps just miraculously happen to have the same gain.  There are a few ways to match the output. 

Every situation is a bit different, so no two bi-amp setups are alike.  Don’t worry if you do somethingn different than other bi-amp setups you see, because you’re starting from a differnent place with a different rig than anyone else. 

In my case, relieving the smallish tube amps from woofer duty really made the midbass/treble clearer and more dynamic.  The solid state amp also has better dynamics and control over the woofers, so that improved too.  Also in my case, I added an active low pass crossover for the bass amp @ 63hz, which gave me a separate gain control for that amp, but I also bypassed the low pass passive crossver from the woofers.  (For you that could be a significant mod from the stock crossovers because of how elaborate they are, but I’ve read of people doing it, so some info is out there for you).  Along with the active low pass, I also installed an inline high pass for the tube amps, but my speakers had only a natural acoustic rolloff for high pass and no passive crossover mods were necessary.  (different situations.) 

It’s fun to do, and there’s definitely some potential benefit.  A lot in some cases.  I approached my bi-amping in phases as I went a long starting with a vertical configuration (monoblocks).  Then added the solid state amp later (horizontal), so it’s hybrid vertical/horizontal. It’s also tube/solid state hybrid, and active/passive hybrid.  

Just had another thought, what shape is you're ML 335 amp in? A fully recapped 335 may surprise you on sound quality