EXTERNAL BI-AMPING | Home Theater Basics | How To | Hi-Fi Audio

[@edwardwilson9195]

This guy is so underrated I swear. I think he's one of the very few I would trust. I asked him a question and he helped me figure out what I need to do to adjust my center to get more clarity out of my highs for dialog. Amazing guy. I appreciate all the work you put into your channel.

[@ealanosborne]

Awww, thanks man. Truly appreciate your kind words. 🤘

[@edwardwilson9195]

@@ealanosborne quick question you said to change the frequency on my center to 3000. Is it okay to do that for the left right channel and my elevations to get more clear highs or just keep it the same as it is.

[@ealanosborne]

@@edwardwilson9195 Eh, no harm in trying it out to see if your ears like it. Otherwise, it’s usually not necessary, since you want to keep those full range since they are largely for music and sound effects, as opposed to the center which is primarily for dialog. 👍

[@edwardwilson9195]

@@ealanosborne Ok thanks I'll leave them alone. My highs are better but always want more from my setup.

[@DaveClark-ib6sp]

​@ealanosborne yes because the center is mono correct?

[@Rob_James]

It’s like if Bob Ross did home theater videos instead of paintings. Loved it

[@davonfranklin5158]

Your channel is teally taking off man. So much great content.

[@DaveClark-ib6sp]

Yep, SUBSCRIBED! Thank goodness for that!

[@ealanosborne]

Hooray! Thanks for joining the madness. 😁🎉

[@DaveClark-ib6sp]

@ealanosborne in the late fall, that's just around the corner, I'll be wiring this monster up! I can't wait to see and hear the results!

[@jaden9037]

Hi, so I just watched your video on amping I just want to say thank you so much for taking the time to do this. I was trying to figure out how that was possible with having dinner on AVRX 4700 H and heaven and outlaw audio amplifier that tutorial that you gave is perfect thank you so much.

[@ealanosborne]

You’re welcome! And thank you for those kind words. 😊

[@jaden9037]

@@ealanosborne I wanted let you know that I bi-amped my speakers today and found it to be ok, that being said when I changed the settings to speaker and subs for bass it really sounded great. I did this for 2 channel play back

[@ealanosborne]

@@jaden9037 nice! Thanks for the update! And yes, bi-amping may prove to be a slight upgrade, although it may be more apparent when you’re dealing with expensive speakers with very high quality components and internal crossovers, etc. 🤷‍♂️

[@fotophotographer]

Continue to love these videos. If I could offer one note, the video are a bit dark. For example, when you're showing the towers, it's hard to distinguish between the tower itself and the surrounding area. Perhaps some additional lighting would be useful. Keep up the great work!

[@ealanosborne]

Thanks for the feedback! 🤘

[@dave2094]

Love these how to videos! On this topic I kinda wondered if it was just that easy. Could you do the same using XLR cables to a processor?

[@ealanosborne]

Sure! I don’t see why not. 👍

[@gerhardtroskie9578]

allota questions answered. thanks man!

[@Coffeedad]

Nice video as always

[@psyphonyxaudio]

One Handed Skill - Impressive. =)

[@psyphonyxaudio]

Ther was this one time in college I tried Bi ..... wait a second..

[@ealanosborne]

😄😄

[@dragonstone6594]

Can you do a video on 5.1.2 vs 5.1.4 vs 7.4.6 setups? Is it worth getting extra channels? and when is the point of diminishing returns on surround sound?

[@jebo4jc]

When I built my theater room, I stupidly didn't run extra cable to the front to enable bi-amping. I've never heard anybody say it makes a huge difference, so I'm not too concerned about missing much. Lesson learned though. I wish I had those extra cables in my walls to enable front wide channels.

[@dfalekulo9138]

🐟🐠

[@TheAioros261176]

Came accross your channel whike I'm currently experimenting with my set ups. Excellent videos and explanantions. I 100% agree with other comments about you being the Bob Ross of a/v youtube gear. I will follow this guide for my two stereo set ups. 2 turntables and dac going into a denon avr-x4000 as preamp, into a (set up 1)NAD 2400 ➡️ polk r700, (set up 2) yamaha rx-v596 ➡️ klh quincy. And 2 subwoofers.

[@ealanosborne]

“I got 2 turntables and a DAC!” 😄 Wow. Excellent setup, my friend! Thanks for your kind words!

[@wswsn7396]

Hi Ealan, can you do a video how to properly set external amplifiers gain for bi-amping. My guess is that to properly bi-amping a speaker, the gains on two amps needs to be set at exactly same level. Many amps have a very small unmarked gain nob. It's difficult to know even if identical two amps are set at the same gain.

[@aryanmotors3877]

Hi bro u r videos r excellent n fantastic. Can u suggest me which speakers are suitable for my new denon x3700h reciever . For tower speakers, centre,sorround, n for atmos. Pl suggest above budget level speakers

[@ealanosborne]

Aperion Audio Novus series speakers, which I've reviewed quite a few of and LOVE! And if you use code "EO10" on any regularly-priced item, you get 10% off! Check out this link below! www.aperionaudio.com/collections/novus-speakers?ref=xgnDvScPYS9H3

[@robertofdetroit9190]

Great job, when I bi amp on my demon 3800h it sounds much better than when I biamp with my monolith 5 channel amp. Its sounded hollow when I bi amped them but when I just jumpered then put into the amp it sounded better. So, maybe I did something wrong or my systems a bit different?

[@ealanosborne]

Yeah systems can be weird or tricky sometimes. Whatever ends up sounded the best to you is the way to go! 😁😁

[@10MEGAMETAL]

I used to have marantz 6013,I sold and bought Onkyo RZ840,so in order to Onkyo receiver recognize my 5 channels outlaw 5000,also I have to go and do 11.1 or pre out all of them or how do you recommend on the he RZ840??

[@ealanosborne]

I’m not 100% certain, but taking a quick glance at the manual, it looks like it’s possible. It’s not an 11.1 setup you start with like with Denon or Marantz, though. Although to maybe “activate” the use of preouts, you might still need to start with a 7.1.4 base configuration and adjust it from there? Not too sure since I’ve never done this on an RZ-series Onkyo

[@10MEGAMETAL]

@@ealanosbornethanks for the info

[@tom-nl5sj]

I have a similar setup to yours, (Marantz SR7009 and Outlaw 5000 5 channel amp Polk R700's) Did you notice any improvement after doing this?

[@ealanosborne]

Eh, a little bit. Although bi-amping is primarily most noticeable when playing stereo music. In a home theater setting, with so many speakers involved, it’s not as noticeable. 👍

[@Apurv1990]

Got to know the bi-amping process using external amp but how to pass this audio signals now ? I’m good with AV receiver and speakers but don’t know much about using external power amp. My setup is Denon x4700 with Polk legend L600 5.1.4 atmos setup.

[@setiawangemawidjaja3455]

can i set bi-amp in marantz then use 4 pre-out rca to external amplifier? i try do that with interconnect pre-out into front LR and assign back surround LR, but the back surround LR dont send any signal audio

[@ealanosborne]

Correct. Using the internal amps for bi-amping is the only way to utilize the surround backs like that. You would have to get an RCA Y-splitter cable and only come out of the Front L/R pre-outs to properly bi-amp your front L/R speakers

[@ClintBower208]

Considering adding an Emotiva BasX amp to improving sound quality on my front three channels. Do you suggest the A3 at 140w/ch or the A5 at 95w/ch with bi-amping the Left and Right?

[@ealanosborne]

🤔 Hmmm…if you listen to a lot of music on your system (like at least 40% of the time or more) bi-amping might be the way to go, since music listening is where bi-amping really shines. Otherwise, get the A3. 😁🤘

[@doubleya215]

This is the exact question I am pondering. I have polk monitor 70s front l and r with polk cs1 center and monitor 60s in the rear running on a yamaha rx-a4a and would like opinions on what the best emotiva basx external amp options I have. Bi amp yamaha to fronts and 3 channel basx amp to center and rear or 5 channel emotiva amp biamped fronts and center. So many configurations lol any opinions out there?

[@ealanosborne]

@@doubleya215 Well, same idea with what I said in a previous comment: bi-amp if you listen to music at least 40% of the time. Music is what bi-amping is really for to really hear a difference. In a Home Theater Setting, with all those speakers, it’s hard to really hear the difference when bi-amping

[@michaelkupka5096]

Have you reviewed the Golden Ear passive sound bars and surrounds?

[@ealanosborne]

Not yet! Would love to get those to test for myself. I’ll try and get in touch with them. 👍

[@Colin.T.]

Your connecting those lovely items using a ''Ten Buck Cable'' that was when I switched off.

[@alphacapo]

I've never listened to a hifi setup and thought boy listen to those 100$ rca cables

[@image969]

If Im running 7.1.4 right now with Denon 3700. And I want to get that second BASS channel. If I use the powered subs I have in my front towers(That are currently unplugged) will that sound right or be better than no second sub at all??

[@ealanosborne]

Sounds like a cool experiment to me! I say go for it. Which towers are they anyway? And if you do plug in and use your towers' powered subs, I'd take your actual subwoofer and experiment with different placements, just so it's not interfering with your towers' subs (like putting it in a back corner, for example)

[@image969]

@@ealanosborne There old guys but still knocking. Boston Accoustic VR965s. My Sub is in the back left corner already which is good becasue there is literaly no other place to put it if you saw the set up lol Thanks for the reply

[@SlashFever]

Hi @@ealanosborne let me see if i understand, in a tower that has the ability to bi-amp, i can use the low frequency tower channel to put a subwoofer with a Y splitter to get a better bass? thats my crazy brain lol

[@ealanosborne]

@@SlashFever No, not quite. His situation is different than your ordinary tower, because his towers have subwoofers built in (which he choose to engage or disengage). In his case, he's dealing with 3 things: Highs, lows, and sub bass. Typically bi-amping towers just means your splitting the high and low frequencies to be powered by separate amps.

[@arturo_lugo]

Is this better than setting the AVR to bi-amp and using the Back Surrounds (or whatever the AVR assigns), aside from using 2 more avr/amp terminals? I thought the AVR actually did some processing to create one signal dedicated to the lows and other to the mids/highs, and that it actually mattered where you plug the cables on the speaker. This makes it seem like there's no difference in the signal itself, no "frequency optimization", we're just feeding more power to the speaker but the audio signal is just the same.

[@ealanosborne]

Any time you alleviate the strain on an AVR by introducing an external amp, it allows the AVR to process audio better, not having to process AND power all speakers simultaneously. An AVR is always a good all-in-one solution to have as the main hub of your entertainment system, but having separate components performing their own tasks has always been better - but unfortunately it just costs a LOT. Bi-amping from within an AVR is possible with most on the market today, but will still be inferior to ultimately powering speakers externally.

[@arturo_lugo]

@@ealanosborne hi, thank you for answering! So, ok: I'm on board on the subject of power delivery through an extra cable and the advantage of using an external amplifier. My confusion came from the actual signal (the audio information) fed trough the cables: does the AVR does something to actually separate the lows from the mid/highs to feed each cable its own discrete signal, so the speaker actually receives optimized (unique) audio signals through each cable to "put together" (regardless of the extra power that comes with it)? Or is it just repeating the exact same audio signal through a different terminal, making it irrelevant to where on the speaker terminals will the cable be plug and giving the exact same result as what you did on the video (using an RCA Y splitter) audio-information wise? I ALWAYS thought that there was an actual difference in how the signal was processed and pumped out when choosing "bi amp"...

[@Dan_d00d]

Nice one Ealan . A long msg: You are def leaning in to that soft gravel ASMR voice gimmick - and why not. I actually stumbled onto your channel lookin up some more specific config and connection info on amps - for THIS video type content, and you made one on it after id seen a few of your others. I tend to check across wide ranges of ppls home setup or profesional vs enthusiast info and theory, you are doing well i can say, and def make things simple. I am yet to EXACTLY find out what I am after though - care to throw in your 2cent opinion? It comes down to deciding either - is my intention possible (but will it make a functional or quality difference), or is it not actualy doable ? The situation - Got the Denon 4700. So in the family with your own model. Only running a 5.2 right now, but I BI AMP the fronts, internally, using a set of the assignable surrounds. I have an older baller Sony ES beast 5ch power amp, and am yet to physically do the tests / wire it up and check- I want to pre out the LCR front stage, using those 5Ch in centre plus bi amp fronts. Easy to do, just as you showed, and I can just use Y split RCA for the front LR. BUT Can it work to do use the same 5 inputs to the power amp, but coming from 5 discrete pre out outputs? (leaving my rear as speaker direct internal amp) I was trying to work out if the denon/marantz menus allow this.. basically saying I will do a 5.2, with front pre out as current, but does that allow or activate those 2 surround channels to be use with RCA to my power amp , thus never using a Y splitter, and having true separate cables 1 per each hi/lo of L/R ? Can it be done?Would it make a difference? the power amp has no idea of the source or a split, but doe sit affect the signal or anything through the chain? Nothing i can see online is about THIS specifically, but I figured since its a line out, and its all technically passive bi amp (ie, full frequency going in each and all RCA lines with no DSP or cut offs ) mayvb its all irrelevant? Interested of your opinion, or try doing this setup config in a test? I havent yet as I am still making some new cables and I have to do temp testing of equip in the cabinet (with a pile of AC infinity aircoms ) . Cheers dude ! Dan in Australia

[@donlavette7523]

Anyone bi amp using one external amp and assigning one internal amp on the avr instead of using the splitter?

[@zubidoc]

Hi Ealan and thanks for the interesting video. May be you could help me with this? I've got Denon AVR 4700x and and 2 channel external amp. Is it possible to power upper binding posts (mids and twitters) using the front outs of the receiver and at the same time to use preouts to connect the external amp for powering lower posts (woofers)? I am not sure if I make myself clear, hope you will understand my question... Thanks in advance.

[@ealanosborne]

No, sorry, it’s either one or the other. If you’re wanting to bi-wire a speaker with 2 sets of binding posts, you could do that by connecting 2 sets of speaker wire to your AVR (or 2 channel amp) and connecting to the speakers 2 terminals independently.

[@zubidoc]

@@ealanosborne Ok, thanks a lot Ealan, appreciate your help 👍

[@derekmaynard5619]

I wanting to just bi amp just stero configuration. Just the 2 fronts. Either with the denon 6700h or i can use external amps as well. Question, that option doesn't seem to be available from what i see. Any tips?

[@ealanosborne]

The manual shows that anytime you bi-amp the front L/R speakers with its own internal amps, you use the front L/R terminals for high frequencies, and the Height 3 terminals for the low frequencies. If you bi-amp using external amps, there is nothing in the menu you need to specify, you just plug RCA Y-splitters into the Front L/R pre outs and plug those into the external amp, like I showed in this video. 👍

[@TheLkdude]

Great video! , btw this is not vanilla bi-amping because your are also adding Sub(s) .. the "Large" typically means whether your speaker can handle full-range (3-way or better) , small is 2-way (so avr allows you to set the cross-over settings based on the capabilities of the speaker) . If you set crossover on AVR the low frequencies will get directed to LEF/Sub output. Unless you need your 3-way bi-amped fronts to be supplemented further by Sub(s).

[@ekimandersom4478]

No speaker will do less than 40hz , so small is always the way to go.

[@fedurrrass4226]

Nah its possible. Polk audio signature elite goes easy 36Hz on - 6dB ​@@ekimandersom4478

[@DaveClark-ib6sp]

@ealanosborne, I just checked out your video. It's a great tutorial, thanks! I posted a 3 part question right underneath. Maybe you could help me out if you could find the time? Much appreciated! These mono blocks are great but not that convenient. I don't care. I love them!

[@jennifercoleman3594]

Hi Ealan, Would there be any signal loss using Y Splitters?

[@ealanosborne]

Not much signal loss, if any. Bi-wiring creates some signal loss since you’re splitting the power from one amp. But bi-amping doesn’t have the same result since you’re still using 2 amps to power a speaker. That’s why I prefer bi-amping over bi-wiring, usually. 🤘

[@jennifercoleman3594]

@@ealanosborne Thank you :)

[@frederiknielsen9023]

Hey hope you Can help me😅I Got a marantz sr7011 and want to try bi amp Can i use my old marantz sr7400 for external amp if i use the sorround back and the front Channel with an y split from preout to pre in?

[@ealanosborne]

I believe you could pull that off! You should be able to take RCA Y splitters from the L/R pre outs of the SR7011, and connect them to 4 of the analog inputs in the 7.1 analog input section of the SR7400. No need to worry about surround backs on the SR7011, since you only need to worry about those terminals when bi-amping with the INTERNAL amps. But since you’re external bi-amping them, just the Y splitters is all you need. In theory. 😄🎉

[@LifestyleTravelChannel]

I just picked up the Denon 4700H for my upgrade towards a 7.2.4 system, but would 9.2.4 be possible with the help of additional amps combined with this AVR. I’m running Polk Audio Monitor 70 Series 2 for my LR and, Polk CS20 for Centre, 2 x Polk TSi 200 for front LR Height, 4 x Polk TSi 100 for Surround LR and Surround Back and 1 x Polk HTS12 sub. Adding in 4 x Polk XT90 for the surround heights. Any suggestions are welcomed!

[@ealanosborne]

No, sorry. The x6700h is the lowest tier Denon AVR that supports up to 9.2.4, not the 4700h. You can definitely pull off a 7.2.4 system with the aide of an external amp, but that’s where it maxes out. 👍

[@LifestyleTravelChannel]

@@ealanosborne ok awesome! I might return the 4700 and get the 6700! It’s only a few bucks more and honestly I was just being cheap thinking I could jimmy rig something! Appreciate all your videos! They are what the community needed imo!!

[@Dan_d00d]

@@LifestyleTravelChannel the jump up from 4700 to 6700 is quite a bit more than than 2 channels, its also mono block design, more power. few bucks more is relative, i mean where I am its a 1500-200k price jump. also, did you really buy something without checking the total channel decoding ?typically these amps can do discrete X number of channels on a variable speaker config, but have ON BOARD, a total of X -2 amps, meaning 2 at least need to be powered external - so wih 3700 and 4700 that is both 11.2 decode but 9.2 on board, and then 2 more for the 6700 and 2 more again for the 8500 / 110yr anniv special ed.

[@LifestyleTravelChannel]

@@Dan_d00d I did some research prior to buying for sure, and looking at my upgrade path to a 9.2.4 system from a Pioneer Elite 7.1 AVR to this new Denon 9.2 AVR I concluded to keeping the 4700H and consider it to myself “a mid cycle bump” before I get into remodeling the current theatre room next year to accommodate in-wall surrounds, surround backs and in-wall heights/overheads* (not sure on the 4 overheads vs 4 surround heights)

[@LEMON48]

What is that RCA splitter and where to buy ???

[@ealanosborne]

Yep! It’s an RCA splitter! And you can find them at most stores that sell electronics, or Amazon for sure. 👍

[@tommyr87]

Is using the Y spliter the right way to send the signal to an externa amp? Is it not deminishing the signal? Are there other options?

[@ealanosborne]

No other options that I’m aware of. But in answer to your question, it’s a matter of splitting a non-amplified electrical signal, so any drop in voltage is almost negligible. If you split an amplified signal, yes, you would lose signal strength. But since it’s a signal that’s split “pre” the amp, it works just fine. 🙌

[@tommyr87]

@@ealanosborne great news! I was thinking that I will need to buy a new AVR (Also havbe the SR7015) since I run 5.1.4 so no room for BI Amping. But then this fixes it as long as I have enough slots in the external amp. On the other hand as you mentioned also, maybe it is not worth spending money on extra amps just for the Bi amping purpose since I 99% of the time only use the system for movies.

[@ealanosborne]

@@tommyr87 That IS great news! And yes, I agree that you shouldn't spend extra money for the sole purpose of bi-amping. 😁

[@alexsiegfried3693]

Pretty good content, I'd like it if you would move his mic back as it sounds like he's whispering in my ear

[@aaronrojas5399]

Hi Ealan. When you activated the external amp does that apply to all AVRs? I have the Outlaw 7000X and the Onkyo RZ50. I am having issues getting my setup to sound right. Right now everything is hooked up but I have to turn the volume way up just to get it to be loud. Also the sound is very very light until I get to about 20 and 30 on the volume dial. I know I'm doing something wrong.

[@ealanosborne]

I’m not sure. I would start by double checking all the connections. When I introduce external amps into a system, I usually get away with turning it up LESS than when I used the AVR’s internal amps, but still get the same output volume. Are you using new RCA patch cables from the RZ50 to the Outlaw? I’ve used old RCA cables in the past (since they were already lying around) and had a poor experience since the build quality wasn’t all that great. 🤷‍♂️

[@aaronrojas5399]

@ealanosborne First off, thank you for replying. I've had nothing but trouble with this. I had another Onkyo with no external amp before this and it sounds the exact same. I have the Monoprice patch cables, they are new. Everything is properly connected as well. In my set up, it was pretty basic. I followed the on screen initial instructions too but I know I'm off somewhere. It feels like a game. I have vintage equipment where it's just plug and play but this is driving me nuts. Would you have any recommendations? Should I start by trying the zone 2 application like you did? Maybe something else? I know I'm going to need to spend some time getting this corrected.

[@ealanosborne]

@@aaronrojas5399 “Vintage equipment that’s just plug and play.” Can you elaborate on that? What speakers are you using? And please don’t take offense to this question, but you’d be surprised how many people mess this part up (😄): You have the speakers connected directly to the Outlaw, right? Not the RZ50?

[@aaronrojas5399]

@ealanosborne no offense at all. Yes. All 4 Elac debut b6's are plugged into the Outlaw. I used your video as my instructional. My vintage setup is a Sansui receiver is setup with Zenith Allegros. I love em and my 1989 pioneer receiver is setup with Klipsch towers. I have very different receiver setups in all rooms in my home. But this one is kicking my butt.

[@aaronrojas5399]

@ealanosborne Hi Elan, hey Bro, just an update on my setup. I spent the day yesterday figuring all of this stuff out. I got everything working way better than the previous week. My problem was that the speaker db's were all at set to zero, which was why my volume was so low. By raising all 4 speakers to +12, correcting my listening spot measurements and other small tweaks, we are finally up and running. That said, I can now listen to music and movies comfortably at volume of 38, and then it has a nice volume at 43. I was able to lower the volume but gain additional head room for sound. Thank you for responding last week. The wife complained to me a little for how long I spent toying with this, but I finally got it. These little Elacs have turned into really nice sounding speakers. Thanks again.

[@james66787]

Hi. Can I connect low frequency of a tower to emotiva and High frequency of the same to marantz front same channel for biamping.

[@ealanosborne]

I wouldn’t recommend that, with the differences in amp power. The Marantz will provide significantly less power to the high frequencies, so the balance would be off. 🤷‍♂️

[@james66787]

@@ealanosborne marantz gives 125 watts per channel when 2 channels driven right when we use preout to emotiva all these channels are free?

[@ealanosborne]

@@james66787 No, sorry. When you connect something to the pre out, it doesn't route that signal back into the AVR. Typically you'll use one or the other - pre outs or internal amps - to pull of bi-amping. It's a software limitation on most AVRs to not allow combinations of pre outs and internal amp usage when bi-amping.

[@hatoraidcowboy]

I tried Bi-amping years ago on an earlier system and for me, I didnt notice enough of a difference to justify it. And just never really fiddled with bi-amping again.

[@dfalekulo9138]

I think if your speakers have high enough efficiency then there's no need. That was probably it in your case

[@hatoraidcowboy]

@@dfalekulo9138 That’s a very good point.

[@dfalekulo9138]

@@hatoraidcowboy now that I think about it, biamp speakers were much more popular back in the day, there's a correlation between the number of bimpable speakers back then and their efficiency, with technology evolving consumer speakers can have up to 94db efficiency with ease and its not just the pro stuff anymore. Mine are from mid 2000s so maybe I'll give it a go, so old that there are no specs online to know if it's worthwhile

[@hatoraidcowboy]

@@dfalekulo9138 Yea I did a lot of research on it back when I was experimenting with it, and I think you’re right, back in the day when speakers weren’t as efficient there was probably more of a benefit. I’ve read that it’s really most beneficial for massive speakers like at concerts where you’re trying to cover vast amounts of space to deliver sound, they’ll bi amp speakers with massive drivers. That’s really where it actually is beneficial to split up the higher and lower frequencies.

[@dfalekulo9138]

@@hatoraidcowboy I see, guess the only viable reason nowadays is for digital crossovers for dsp on diy speakers.

[@craigosterberg5045]

Thanks

[@keyzone72]

So how does it now sound?

[@ealanosborne]

In this video’s title, you can see that this is a “how to” video, not a review. Although you can surely search my channel for another bi-amping video that does go over the sonic qualities. 👍

[@Marc1973Dez]

@4:08 I would use the words "black & red" Or " positive & neutral" Or "positive & negative" instead of Right & left. Some newbies folks could easily get lost at 04:08 with those words (Right & left).

[@DaveClark-ib6sp]

Hello! I have a dozen Marantz MA-500 MONO blocks. #1I'm assuming that a PAIR of "Y-SPLITTERS" is still necessary for my BI-ampable Polk RTia 9s. #2 Is the trigger necessary? I was going to plug 6 MONO blocks into a FURMAN power conditioner for the R+L towers and the CENTER CS6. #3 I have an HDMI SPLITTER can I daisy the signal to my second YAMAHA RX V863? Or do I have to use the OPTICAL OUT? Does anybody have any suggestions? THANKS IN ADVANCE!

[@ealanosborne]

Hi Dave! 1) Yes, Y-splitters are still necessary, since each channel only has one corresponding pre out, so bi-amping would still require you to split that signal. 2) You don't HAVE to use a trigger, it's just a little more convenient, since it automatically makes the amps turn on simultaneously when the AVR/preamp kicks on. But you could also just turn everything on manually, if needs be. 3) Yeah, I'm not sure about the HDMI splitter question. I usually try not to get too DIY with connections. 😄 That might be a question for a home theater or AV forum, honestly.

[@DaveClark-ib6sp]

@ealanosborne thanks so much! What I'm really confused about is the y splitters. If the pre out has a white and red out, then the white splits. one goes to one mono block and then white to the other. there is a red and black speaker wire terminal. How is this assingened? One white mono block Is for the top terminal of the left and the other white mono block goes to the right top tower? The red out goes to each red mono block, and then each terminal is assigned to the bottom left and the bottom right right? I'm dyslexic (no joke) and I'm confused. I know there are 4 mono blocks in total. I just dont know how the white and black speaker terminals are wired. I need a diagram. I'm also ashsmed of such a simple task.

[@ealanosborne]

@@DaveClark-ib6sp My advice? Ignore the colors on the pre outs. 😊 For example, connect a y-splitter to the Front Left pre out. One RCA cable goes to one monoblock RCA input, which then connects to the black and red HIGH frequency speaker terminals of your Polk speaker. Another RCA cable goes from the y-splitter to ANOTHER monoblock RCA input. The red and black speaker wire goes from THAT monoblock to the LOW frequency red and black terminals of your Polk speaker. Repeat those steps for each speaker, using the other monoblock amps. 🎉

[@DaveClark-ib6sp]

@ealanosborne you are awesome! Thank you so much. That was extremely helpful and CLEAR! I can't wait to show you my setup. I have the perfect cemetrical room with a YAMAHA RX-V863, all the POLK RTi9/7/6/3x2/FXi4, and all the Marantz MA-500 mono blocks a man could ask for. Of course, I'm only uising 6 for the towers and center, but the center is a beast. I also picked up a CAMBRIDGE DAC MAGIC first generation for my streaming audio, and a Yamaha A 550 sound stage for my Technics SL-1200 with a GRADO GOLD (which is overkill 😂) but my Sansui 222 MKII with a GRADO GOLD was stolen) it's a long story but I lost my 40,000$(replacement value) vinyl collection including my limited edition Led Zeppelin bootlegs. It was crushing. They weren't stolen they were vandalized. I can replace my collection but not my bootlegs. Fortunately, 1,000 CDs and music DVDs remained unharmed. Also, I have some 31 band stereo EQ's and compressors/gate/limiters that will come in handy for when I hook up my 200w bullet tweeters that are spread wider and higher for stereo separation. It's incredible how they sound for live concerts. Because of their overwhelming power, they only sound great when the threshold is crossed and the gate opens for very high frequencies on the cymbals. It's just incredible! They only open abruptly at a cirtan frequency range, wave length, and close more tapered off. I'm a sound engineer certified by the Canadian government, and that's why my questions were embarrassing. Dyslexia however can be crippling and can really be debilitating. For instance, my question regarding the mono blocks. Your help is really appreciated, and I see that many people really respect your help and expertise. I'm subscribing for sure if I haven't already! P.S. What is your opinion on the Yamaha RX-V863 VS the Yanaha A 550 as a vinyl sound stage? I've read that people just adore the A-550, and some say it's the best of all time when it comes to the bang for the buck. What's your opinion? I'm only asking because I got it in trade for setting up a system for someone as payment.

[@s.raviekumarsubarayan9182]

Hi ealan good morning very nice thank you Raviekumar India Tamil Nadu

[@chebrubin]

Ealan last week you were telling us the miracle of XLR with your IOTAVX AVX17. The problem is you are still trying to "play" to the Denon / Marantz receiver crowd. Let's dump the receiver and RCA output setups and continue our journey with separates.

[@imgleb]

Too many transitions. Not worth it. You need a separate processor to properly biamp. You’re just splitting the signal and the wires aren’t balanced. They emotive will do better with XLRs. Bi amping is a thing of the past when amps and processors were shitty