Bi-Amping questions


Please excuse any indication of stupidity on my part in terms of the following question:

My current system is comprised of an Arcam CD player, a 60 watt Adcom amp, an NAD preamp and Linn Keilidh speakers which are bi-wired with Linn bi-wire cables. My interconnects are Audioquest Ruby.

I am very, very happy with this system and am not in a financial situation where I can do a big upgrade. However, I'd like more power as the system can sound a bit stretched at higher volumes.

Would it be better to add another Adcom amp (they are available used for great prices) and bi-wire or look into a more powerful single two-channel amp and forget about bi-amping?

If bi-amping is a good route, could someone explain how that would work? I'm interested in the concept.

THANKS in advance-

Brent
brentaric
With "passive" biamping each amp must swing the peak-to-peak voltage of the full range signal, so, as Almarg says, no significant power increase will be realized.

On the other hand, when you use an electronic crossover (real biamping) at a given total signal level, the peak-to-peak voltage swing of each amp is reduced. The high frequency signal does not ride on the Low, and vice versa.
Some increase in total power will be realized.

However, the greatest benefit of real biamping is the reduction of IM distortion. This was more important years ago when amps commonly exhibited more than 1 percent IM distortion.
If you love the sound now, it can only get better by bi-amping. Just make sure that you find a matching amp.
Vertical bi-amping will most likely give you your biggest bang for the buck. You will need another 60 watt Adcom identical to the one you have now.

This method was used by Richard Vandersteen at the shows using two Classsic 30s to drive 2Cs with excellent results.

Vertical bi-amping should give you the more relaxed sound you are looking for.
You said you like the sound of your system. Wait until you can afford a really good amp...this improvement will be much more to your liking. Bi-Amping will have a very slight if any audible improvement...you already bi-wire.
Thanks everyone. I made a typo and wrote "bi-wire" when I meant bi-amp, but it would seem everyone caught it.

Broad range of responses here. One of my closest friends has a tri-amped complete Linn system with Aktiv speakers, and I agree, the results are stellar.

I got it in my head to get a second MA, which I'm about 2/3's finished with, so bigger upgrades should be possible in a few years.

Having said that I sort of enjoy looking for a sound I like by hunting around for good deals.

My little Adcom doesn't appear capable of chaining, as there are no outputs to connect interconnects to another amp. That means it cannot be use for bi-amping, right?

Likewise, while my NAD preamp's manual says it can work with multiple amps, it only has two sets of outputs for the amp, one which is labeled "high" and would seem is only for using with specific speaker types.

I would need both a different amp and preamp to make bi-amping possible, right? Looks like many feel the easiest solution is to just upgrade to a more powerful and higher end amp.

Again, the little Adcom sounds great at any normal volume, but if being driven hard seems to get a tad harsh. I'd like to eliminate that.

Thanks again- sorry I'm all over the place.

Brent