Bi-amp vs. 5channel??

[Darks!de 10+ year member]

I'm a bit confused about the major difference between bi-amping a system and running everything from a 5channel amp. I like the idea of spending money on just one amp rather than two amps and an active crossover, but would this be a noticable change in quality?

MBQ 60rms components in the front, MBQ 50rms coaxs in the back, and soon

MTX 12" Sledge Hammer 300rms sub. How does that sound so far?

I was thinking either 4channel 60x4 amp for the front and a mono D 400rms for the sub wired via active crossover, or a 5channel or bridgeable 6channel for everything.

I would love to get some input on how differently these two options would work. Thanks for the help.

Luke

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[flakko 5,000+ posts]

calm down dude lol

think of a 5 channel amp just like (2) two channel amps, and (1) sub amp all rolled up into one

 

[AcidicDreams 10+ year member]

5 channels are nifty... I have a memphis belle 75x4 AND 1100x1 in one nice small package so there's no messy dual amp wiring and it has tons of power to do either a 3way active system or power front/rear/sub or bridge the 4ch part and power the sub + some high power comps.......

of course it's for sale though... I need to pay debts and go on a honeymoon in a few months....,,

 

[Darks!de 10+ year member]

jman, chill out yo. I don't have them confused. I'm asking about the actual differences in quality they give to a system. AS IN, why is bi-amping better and how much better???

Luke

 

[AcidicDreams 10+ year member]

jman, chill out yo. I don't have them confused. I'm asking about the actual differences in quality they give to a system. AS IN, why is bi-amping better and how much better???
Luke

bi amping gives you the flexibility to go active. But it requires more channels of amplification and an active xover. Flexibility is the main feature. I also imagine that pre-amplified processing is better than post amplification processing (ie passive xovers) but I dunno... I'm active and it's nice to have the flexibility to change my crossover points at will and the ability to swap tweeters and mids independantly

also bi-amping has nothing to do with how many channels a particular amp has. If you are biamping you need a driver for each channel (i'd say speaker but you only need 1 for two subs etc). A 5ch amp will do for a 2way front stage and subs. Otherwise you are basically stuck with more than one amp.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Bi-amping means using two amps. You could bi-amp a set of components but any time you are using 2 amps in the system, you have a bi-amped system.

For the OP, the advantages and disadvantages depend on the amps in question and the system. A single amp is easy to install as you only have to worrt about mounting one amp and usually only have to run on power wire. The drawback is that some multichannel amps use a single power supply for the entire amp and bass transients rob power from the high freq section and it falls flat on it's face sound wise. With multiple amps, this isn't a problem as each amp has its own power supply. Multiple amps also gives you flexibility when it comes to upgrades and powr levels. If you want to change something or want to run different power levels than are available in a single amp setup, then it won't work for you.

 

[giantgloworm 10+ year member]

I use a condination of both. I have 2 5 channel Vipers. One has the 4channel section bridged to 2 channel. So total I have 75x4, 200x2 and 600x2. 8 channels running 2 tweeters 75 each, 2 4s 75 each, 2 8s 200 each, 2 12s 600 each. Yes powering each speaker with a dedicated channel can greatly improve sound....but your crossover, slope, crossover points make a huge difference also. Biggest + is simplified wiring, which is two-fold. 1st Less wiring = less chance for noise induction, 2nd less cost for wiring/ more money for better amp. Hope this helps alittle.