Bi-Wiring an onkyo 605 and polk tsi-400s

[Marquoz]

I feel pretty stupid asking this, but I've looked at the manuals, and I Want to make sure I am doing this right. (i.e. the manuals are next to useless)

The polk manual doesn't clearly mark which one is the high and low frequency, is the top one the high and the bottom low? or vice versa?

Also on the onkyo, are the surround backs the high frequency? and the fronts the low frequency?

Thanks for any help! Sorry to sound so stupid!

[aramis109]

Speakers: Top = high, bottom terminals = low.

Receiver: Fronts = high, Surround rear = low.

[Marquoz]

Originally Posted by aramis109

Speakers: Top = high, bottom terminals = low.

Receiver: Fronts = high, Surround rear = low.

Awesome, thank you VERY much! As I said, I couldn't make heads or tails of the manuals, and I didn't want to do it blindly.

[aramis109]

No problem. My 605's manual was actually wrong, in that it showed the top terminals on the speakers were for the lows. I wouldn't be surprised that yours was the same way, so I can see how it'd be confusing.

If you look at the Polk manual you'll see that what I've listed is correct.

[Marquoz]

Originally Posted by aramis109

No problem. My 605's manual was actually wrong, in that it showed the top terminals on the speakers were for the lows. I wouldn't be surprised that yours was the same way, so I can see how it'd be confusing.

If you look at the Polk manual you'll see that what I've listed is correct.

Heh, my polk manual showed left and right, that's why I was so confused!

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by Marquoz

Heh, my polk manual showed left and right, that's why I was so confused!

...stoopid manuals.

[blu_world]

heh,onkyo was the worst for trying to learn about bi-amping..thank you Speaker Bi Hook up
Thread.

[Marquoz]

Originally Posted by blu_world

heh,onkyo was the worst for trying to learn about bi-amping..thank you Speaker Bi Hook up
Thread.

Heh, I tried reading through it, but I work at midnight, so by the time I was working on it I had been up 10-11 hours, and I just was not understanding it at all.

[jubalpalooza]

So now that we know which is which...

is it better to seperate them? meaning should i take off the plate and wire the highs to the fronts and the lows to the rears?

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by jubalpalooza

So now that we know which is which...

is it better to seperate them? meaning should i take off the plate and wire the highs to the fronts and the lows to the rears?

In my opinion, yes. I think it will vary depending on each speaker manufacturer, however.

[Riff Magnum]

I think there's a sticky somewhere, but i was under the impression that it doesn't really matter which terminals you use. Otherwise, how are all of us who aren't bi-amping getting the high's and low's out of our fronts if we're just plugged in to the top or bottom terminals?

[Steve]

Originally Posted by jubalpalooza

So now that we know which is which...

is it better to seperate them? meaning should i take off the plate and wire the highs to the fronts and the lows to the rears?

If you're hooking the front speaker channels from your receiver and the surround back speaker channels from your receiver to your front speakers (bi-amping), then yes, you need to remove the jumpers.

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by Riff Magnum

I think there's a sticky somewhere, but i was under the impression that it doesn't really matter which terminals you use. Otherwise, how are all of us who aren't bi-amping getting the high's and low's out of our fronts if we're just plugged in to the top or bottom terminals?

Because they're jumpered with the metal shim. You need to properly send the highs and lows to the proper terminals once you remove that jumper.

[Riff Magnum]

Still sounds like snake oil to me. I thought the whole point of bi-amping was giving your fronts more power? More room to breath.
So your saying that the rear surround outputs from your receiver provide nothing but high end frequencies? Weird, because i hear more than that coming out of the actual surround speakers.

More to the point, how does your receiver "know" that your now bi-amping your fronts instead of sending those rear channels outs to the speakers they were meant to power?

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by Riff Magnum

Still sounds like snake oil to me. I thought the whole point of bi-amping was giving your fronts more power? More room to breath.
So your saying that the rear surround outputs from your receiver provide nothing but high end frequencies? Weird, because i hear more than that coming out of the actual surround speakers.

More to the point, how does your receiver "know" that your now bi-amping your fronts instead of sending those rear channels outs to the speakers they were meant to power?

If it sounds like snake oil, then don't do it.

The whole point isn't just to give them more power. Passive bi-amping is using the same receiver/power source and thus you're not truly getting more power. You're separating the signal in an attempt to pass on clearer highs and mids and not muddy them together. Active bi-amping uses more than one power source (such as two amps) and yes, you'll get more power that way as well as cleaning up the signal.

I'm not saying that the rear outputs only the highs. You have it completely backwards. If that was the case 5.1/7.1 would sound like a real mess. You have to tell the receiver (ie the receiver has to have the capability) that you're bi-amping. You change the speaker type from "Normal" to "bi-amp" in Onkyos, for example. It then changes the surround rear channels into outputting the low end for the fronts.

If your receiver is capable of it, give it a go. It's only speaker wire.

[Riff Magnum]

You have finally pounded it through my thick skull. I definitely want to bi-amp, since i only have room for 5.1, but most receivers these days are 7.1. I'm waiting to find a good deal on the yamaha vx-663, or something similar in price and specs/power. These are bi-ampable, correct?

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by Riff Magnum

You have finally pounded it through my thick skull. I definitely want to bi-amp, since i only have room for 5.1, but most receivers these days are 7.1. I'm waiting to find a good deal on the yamaha vx-663, or something similar in price and specs/power. These are bi-ampable, correct?

That I'm not sure about, though it does have pre-outs so you could actively bi-amp with a separate amp. Someone who has the Yamaha should be able to answer that better than I.

[Riff Magnum]

Yeah, there are plenty around here doing the vx-663 + emotiva thing. That might be overkill for my room, although i could get a 3 channel power amp for my L/C/R front soundstage and use the yammie to power my surrounds. I just wish the fry's around here had the same deal on the yammie that i'm seeing in California.

[Steve]

I believe you can bi-amp with the Yammy 663. You should start looking for one. The new 665 is about to come out, so you can probably get a decent deal on a 663 now. I bi-amped my Klipsch RF-82's with my Onkyo TX-SR605, and I think it sounds better. There's the ongoing debate of whether it "really" makes a difference or not. As long as I think it sounds better, which I do, then that's how I'm going to leave it. I don't have enough room to set up a 7.1 system properly anyway, so I may as well use those channels on my receiver for something.

[Riff Magnum]

amen, sounds like we're in the same boat, and believe me i'm looking for deals.