Biamping

[karatestu]

Come a long way since my last post on this thread. Doc seduced me into trying nva by supplying me with nva amp boards to build in my own amps. Two monoblocs turned in to four and just the other day, six.

I agree with the posts by Doc and DQ at the beginning of the thread. With nva amplifiers and Doc / nva inspired speakers it is clear that there are benefits of going to the trouble and expense of having a dedicated amp for each driver size / frequency band.

If i had posted my findings about passive biamping on pfm or similar forum i think there is a good chance of being laughed at and told i am hearing things . So i don't bother anymore.

Is it something about nva that makes it so good when adding more amplifiers ? Others seem to report mixed outcomes on other forums, some even preferring single amps over multiple ones.

[TheMadMick]

Stu

There are a number of things in you 8Feb post. I'd like to address one. Bi-amping itself is a "good thing". I had a pair of MF P170's each dedicated to one channel. One channel of each amp drove the bass and the the other the treble. Outcome was a tighter and faster bass and a sweeter treble (as much as my old ears could discern).

If you have the kit / cash, it's well worth it. However, it has a low WAF unless your partner is very understanding or has left.

[karatestu]

Stu

There are a number of things in you 8Feb post. I'd like to address one. Bi-amping itself is a "good thing". I had a pair of MF P170's each dedicated to one channel. One channel of each amp drove the bass and the the other the treble. Outcome was a tighter and faster bass and a sweeter treble (as much as my old ears could discern).

If you have the kit / cash, it's well worth it. However, it has a low WAF unless your partner is very understanding or has left.

Surely hifi / music obsession wouldn't result in a partner leaving ? Luckily mine likes music almost as much as me

An extra amp isn't going to be so demanding as regards space ? Aesthetically it all must be a compromise, no one should be bullied at home. There is enough of that going on without getting it at home too

[CN211276]

Agree about the WAF aspect of biamping, unless you have a man cave. Cube 1s are my limit, most of my other boxes being on the small side.

I remember the Doc posting about the benefits of biamping as opposed to upgrading to TSCS (LS7). He advised that each provides different gains. For me it was a no brainer and the upgrade from LS6 to TSCS resulted in a huge improvement.

[karatestu]

I have two sets of LS6. I dare not try TSCS

My wife never complained about my quadraspire wobbly rack with two Naim Nap 140's (mono), Nac 72 + hicap, CD3.5 + hicap, Stageline + hicap with the king of the castle being a LP12 with lingo psu. Quite an eye full.. Looking back it was a testosterone fuelled assault on the ear drums

[karatestu]

Maybe we should all get big full rangers like Steve & Ant and save ourselves a fortune on amps and cables ?

[slinger]

Maybe we should all get big full rangers like Steve & Ant and save ourselves a fortune on amps and cables ?

And if we only played stuff recorded in mono...

[karatestu]

So, nobody else has any views on passive biamping ? Or has it all been said already?

[slinger]

I bi-amp simply because it was recommended by Richard. I had decided to buy NVA amplification and so I bought the basic setup he used as an example: Stereo amp for the top end, two monoblocks for the bottom end, and a passive pre. I have no intention of changing the configuration because it sounds so good. I can't afford to step up the NVA range, and there's little point taking anything out of the equation.

[karatestu]

No need to change anything Paul. Or maybe just one more Audioquest cable

I can safely say that imo Doc was right to recommend passive biamping with nva gear. The gains are worth the cost.