Do AV Receivers really Bi-amp or just Bi-wire?

Hello all.

Here is a questions for the experts, Do AV Receivers really Bi-amp or just Bi-wire? I have done a lot of research on the net but there are no clear answers for AV receivers like the Denon 1907 which claim to have Bi-amping capabilities. I know for a fact that it not true Bi-amping ( which requires 2 separate Amps) but can it be called Passive Bi-amping or is it just bi-wiring cause the signals are not electrically separated at the receiver , although they have couple of extra outputs for 2 more cables to run to the speakers. I am guessing companies use the term bi-amping more as marketing gimmick for novices who have heard somewhere that Bi-amping offers higher sound fidelity and more power. Please correct me If I got this wrong.



Prashant

Theoretically, I don't see why one would not call bi-amping from av receivers as true bi-amping.

Simply put (ignoring circuit complexity), an av-receiver amplifier section is like 7 logical (or 5 depending on the receiver) mono-blocks attached to 7 separate signal sources (or channels) controlled (routing, timing etc.) by DSP logic. Yes, one could certainly argue that this technique certainly introduces some factor of noise(Total Harmonic Distortion and stuff) compared to 7 dedicated mono-blocks.

In a single-amp arrangement, outputs from 2 logical mono-blocks feed the hi and low frequency inputs in parallel (connected with a bridge). The cross-over then splits the signals to the respective woofers, mid-range and tweeters. But as with any parallel circuit there's a drop in current (hence signal strength).

In a bi-amped arrangement 4 logical mono-blocks are used to feed 4 logical speaker partitions (that happens when the bridges are removed) using dedicated links. While 2 of those 4 logical mono-blocks feed the hi frequency partitions of the respective speakers, the remaining 2 mono-blocks feed the low-frequency partitions of the 2 speakers.

Bi-wiring on the other hand requires the signals to be fed from only 2 logical mono-blocks to 4 logical speaker partitions. So whats the advantage over single wiring? We'll the theory is that circuitry of the cross-overs are such that they do a better job of filtering out the noise when fed with 2 duplicate signals instead of one. In fact one could bi-amp and bi-wire at the same time for the most optimal speaker performance

I use an ARCAM AVR 350 to feed ProAc Studio 140 and I have seen that bi-amping results in much better performance than when single-amped. This especially made sense because the Studio's are rated at 250 watt rms and the arcam is capable of only 100 watts per channel. When bi-amped, the combined wattage is 200, which other wise would leave the Studio's under powered.

Finally, please note that bi-amping requires software settings to be configured whereas bi-wiring typically doesn't require any such thing.

Hi,

I had the same doubts.

What if the zone B and zone A are connected for bi amping can it qualify for bi amping or is it wrong by itself.

Thanks.

Very well put. The next level would be to go fully active, where in you omit the passive crossover and go in for active cards which are installed in the power amps itself. For this you need to have amps that can take active cards and your speakers must have a passive by pass to active mode. This comes by default in all Linn speakers and amps.

Heard a fully active 5.1 HT full Linn in Glasgow and was blown, never ever heard Pink Flyod sound so good, it was a dvd concert. Sadly it costs a lot.