Biamping/biwiring questions

[s0nIc]

Iam new to this whole new audio world,So if it sounds stupid let me Know.Okay I finally decided Im going to get the paradigm monitor 9s when I get me reciever,Unfortunately Since I decided to buy these that will be the only thing I buy at the time.Because of the cost.

Now i realyy dont understand biamping or bi wireing even though I tried to read the thread.But let me see if I get The concept,Since I will be getting the pioneer 1019 thats a 7.1 channel that delivers 110x7 watts per channel.Since I wont have 7 speakers I can run 2 of those lines to my floorstands making it 200 watts per channel. Or am I way off..

[s0nIc]

Originally Posted by McGarnigal

it'd be pointless, most stuff doesn't have 7.1, u could damage damage ur speakers, 7.1 has 4 rear speakers, u'd be sending 2 fronts and 2 rears to ur same 2 front speakers.. no advantages

Okay then how in the blu hell do I get my monitors to 200 watts if that what they accept?

[Trix]

Originally Posted by McGarnigal

it'd be pointless, most stuff doesn't have 7.1, u could damage damage ur speakers, 7.1 has 4 rear speakers, u'd be sending 2 fronts and 2 rears to ur same 2 front speakers.. no advantages

The OP was on a better track than you are here...

When bi-amping with the extra channels on the receiver, just make sure you tell the receiver that's what you're doing, ie. tell it it's a 5.1 setup, and re-assign the extra amps to bi-amp your front left and right.

So, far, you seem to be on the right track. Don't let McGarnigal's comment lead you astray...

[Steve]

Originally Posted by s0nIc

Okay then how in the blu hell do I get my monitors to 200 watts if that what they accept?

I don't think you're looking at this quite right. Just because your speakers can handle 200 watts doesn't mean they have to get 200 watts to sound good. In fact if you were pushing a steady 200 watts to your speakers, the volume would be intolerable. Literally. It would damage your hearing very quickly. Wattage is closely related to volume. The louder you're listening, the more wattage required. So just because you have a component that can push 200 watts per channel (which your receiver can't) doesn't mean you'll actually use 200 watts per channel. In fact, you would almost never actually need that much power.

Also remember that your speakers are rated at 96 dB which is VERY efficient, and also quite loud. If you really want to be able to run 200 watts to these speakers without damaging anything then you'll need to add an external amp that can push the desired level of power. When it comes to pushing any level of power, you don't want to ever have to max out your receiver or amp's volume setting to attain the desired volume level. This starts to introduce its own problems, namely distortion, which will quickly damage your speakers. Any time you're running a piece of equipment at its maximum output you're shortening its life significantly. I like to use a car analogy. A Geo Metro compared to a Porsche. Both can carry you down the highway at 80 mph. However, the Geo won't handle well, will ride rough, have a lot of wind noise, and will wear out faster because you're pushing it at its limit. The Porsche, on the other hand, will ride smoothly, handle well, ride quietly and will last a long, long time, because you're not running it at its limit. At this speed, the Porsche has "headroom" which is what you want in your receiver/amp.

[DBlackGT]

There are many advantages to bi-amping. Better bass, better high, and overal better performance out of your speakers.

And just because your speakers say they are 200 watts does not mean that you need 200 watts to run them. Paradigm recommends 15-200 watts to run those speakers. And even if you had a 200 watt amp powering them, you will never get 200 watts out of them. 100-140 watts per channel to those speakers would be plenty. But if you must have the satisfaction of knowing your speakers are hooked up to 200 watts. The only way to do that is to get a seperate 200 watt per channel amp.

The receiver you are getting will be plenty though. And if your not going to run 7.1, for sure bi-amp.

[s0nIc]

So in your guys opinion I should just leave it alone ?hook it up no biamping or anything ill get a good sound?

[DBlackGT]

Originally Posted by s0nIc

So in your guys opinion I should just leave it alone ?hook it up no biamping or anything ill get a good sound?

No. definitely bi-amp if you are not going to use 7.1

[s0nIc]

Okay again sorry for the dumb questions but is this easy? what do I need just the extra speaker wire?I need 2 new Hdmi cables and I was going to order from mono but figured I would get the banana plugs and speaker wire too ,So I dont have to pay for shipping later again.

[DBlackGT]

Yup all you need is more speaker wire. Here is a post I used earlier to describe bi-amping.

Look at it like this:

A) Front Right
B) Front Left
C) Center
D) Surround Right
E) Surround Left
F) Back Surround Right
G) Back Surround Left

A) and B) are going to go to the top binding post of your speaker
F) and G) are going to go to the bottom binding post of your speaker

So for your 5.1 system you will be using:

A) and F) for your front right speaker
B) and G) for your front left speaker
C) for your center
D) for your surround right speaker
E) for your surrounf left speaker

And make sure to take off the metal plate connecting both binding post when bi-amping. Hope this makes sense

[Audiophile_At_Birth]

I thought it was your L/R driving the highs and the Back Surrounds driving the lows.

And yes bi-amping makes a remarkable difference. It certainly adds serperation between the mids and highs. It makes the highs sing compared to a single connection, which seemed to make my highs skimped out on, like running out of gas.

[DBlackGT]

Originally Posted by Audiophile_At_Birth

I thought it was your L/R driving the highs and the Back Surrounds driving the lows.

And yes bi-amping makes a remarkable difference. It certainly adds serperation between the mids and highs. It makes the highs sing compared to a single connection, which seemed to make my highs skimped out on, like running out of gas.

Switched it, thanks.

[s0nIc]

so this wont hurt my speakers right

[Audiophile_At_Birth]

No not at all. You'd be pushing about 100watts a channel total of good clean power.

[s0nIc]

So I need 12 banana plugs.Also How can I find out if I can Biamp these speakers? Last question If I biamp them wont they over power my center?

[Audiophile_At_Birth]

Depends on how many speakers your hooking up at this time and whether or not your going to use banana plugs on your AVR. It's going to be four banana plugs for each tower.

Usually it's in the spec sheet for the speakers. If they're paradigm, I'm almost certain you can bi-amp them.

And no you won't be over powering your center. Think of it like this. Before with a single connection, you were powering the whole tower. Highs, mids, lows...ect. Now all your doing is powering the highs and mids/lows seperately which will add seperation and clarity, not necessarily adding volume and wattage to your speaker.

[s0nIc]

Originally Posted by Audiophile_At_Birth

Depends on how many speakers your hooking up at this time and whether or not your going to use banana plugs on your AVR. It's going to be four banana plugs for each tower.

Usually it's in the spec sheet for the speakers. If they're paradigm, I'm almost certain you can bi-amp them.

And no you won't be over powering your center. Think of it like this. Before with a single connection, you were powering the whole tower. Highs, mids, lows...ect. Now all your doing is powering the highs and mids/lows seperately which will add seperation and clarity, not necessarily adding volume and wattage to your speaker.

Okay that Explained it Thanks.Good thing I found this sight.Heres a question off topic on towers whats the main difrence from 5 1/2 woofers .61/2 and 71/2 is it just for bass?

[Audiophile_At_Birth]

In a way you're correct. But to give you an idea a 5 1/2 cone diver isn't really a woofer. To me and most people, that is a decent size for a mid driver and a low mid driver at best. 6 1/2 is on the small side for a woofer cone driver. It will produce muddy bass and is really only an extension of the lower mids. A 6 1/2 cone woofer will produce good music bass at 40hz, but won't be life altering once it comes down to explosions. 7 1/2 is a good woofer size and would add extension from the low mids down into the low bass area. For two channel listening, that size woofer can produce a decent ammount of bass for a small to mid sized room. Some people would say, I still need a sub woofer, some say it's fine just like that. But what does this all mean if your going to have a sub crossed at 80hz with your towers? So IMO, I would go for a 6 1/2 or a 71/2 cone driver to produce the upper lows in a tight clean sound. The 5 1/2 is to small and won't dig low or loud enough. If it does, there is a chance that it might make the lows sound small or tiny. Just think of it this way. You have a subwoofer, A 10' and 15'. Which one do you think will go lower? Now apply that to your question...there you go.

[s0nIc]

ya cause the only diffrence between the monitor 11 and the 9s is the woofer ,So I am going with the 9s at least

[Steve]

I've always been under the impression that bi-amping really didn't do anything. However, for those of you who say differently, do you feel it makes a significant difference with music or HT or both? My system is almost exclusively used for HT and virtually no music. I'm gonna give it a try if you guys say it's beneficial for HT. Let me know what you think. I already have the cable for it.

[Steve]

Also, if I bi-amp my mains, should I re-run my Audyssey setup? Thanks.