Need some help on amplifiers...

[Zaphod]

First of all thank you in advance for any input you may have on the following questions, and I apologize for my ignorance.

My question is three-fold. The first is based on my current setup my fronts and my center are bi-wireable/ampable. If I run a seperate amps for my fronts and my center to bi-amp them is this going to throw off the total sound space, where the front three speakers will be receiving more power than the rest of my surrounds since the receiver I use is putting out 90 W per channel and the seperate amps would be 125 W per channel for the front L/R and 200 W for the center channel.

Next assuming this would be ok, for the L/R to bi-amp would you need a bi-ampable amp, or could I use a 4 channel amp and use two channels for each speaker, or would I have to buy two 2-channel amps to do this. Also the same question would apply to the center channel.

Now assuming this is ALL a good idea and will greatly improve the sound of my system and movie watching experience, what types of amps are good...without breaking the bank.

Now for the setup...here is my current system:
Onkyo TX-SR605
Sony 60 GB PS3
Fronts: Klipsch RF-25's
Center: Klipsch RC-64
Surrounds: Klipsch RS-35's
Sub: Klipsch RW-10

Also from what I have read, it is better to bi-amp. Am I safe in my assumption or is bi-wiring not that much of a difference as far as sound quality goes? Thank you again for any input.

[Ben]

Bi-Amping can really improve the clarity of sound that you experience with your HT setup. The real issue at stake, is if this is overkill for your setup. In most situations, the improvements in bi-amping are most apparent on very high end gear. Bi-amping can also reveal sonic flaws in lesser equipment. If you intend to move to a bi-amped setup, you might want to consider a new processor as well as additional amps (not necessarily bi-amped) to power your rear channels. If you use the lower powered amps for your rear speakers, you might end up having to artificially increase the volume levels on those channels and thus introduce more distortion into the system. There really isn't an easy answer to this question. One way to look at this is through budget. If you are prepared to spend $5k or more on this new setup, you will definitely see an improvement. If not, it probably isn't worth the time and investment. Outlaw Audio has a line of monoblock amps that could be used in a bi-amped setup. They provide 200 watts per channel and can be had for $395 a piece. When you factor in that you will need six of these for your front channels alone, you are already at $2400 without having even upgraded your interconnects. You could check out catcables.com - - they make very high performance products that are very inexpensive, but for six new speaker cables and the RCA interconnects you will need, you should expect to spend at least $1500 on cables.

So, that's a $4000 option that might result in very little improvement in sound quality.

Now, you could buy a completely new set of speaker cables and interconnects for your existing system and then spend about $1000 - $1500 and still get a nice improvement.

Always focus your budget on quality amps, speakers and cables. Speakers are definitely the most important element in the system for great sound. Clean, powerful and efficient amps are a close second. If you compromise on either you will definitely hear that compromise! You'll also find that simply playing with the optimum positioning of the speakers can vastly improve the sonic qualities of the system. Simply moving a speaker a few inches can make a huge difference in sound quality!

Let me know if I can help in any way!