Need help bi-wiring amp

DezUk

DezUk

DezUk

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Ok I have an Arcam Alpha 8 and Arcam Alpha 8 power amp.

On the back of the 2 amps are 2 sets of left and right connectors, one is labelled SP 1 Direct and 1 is SP2 Switched. At the moment I have the bass connectors of my Mission speakers connected to the SP2 connectors on the alpha 8. The tweeters connectors are into the SP1 Direct ports on the alpha 8.

So how do i properly connect the power amp to this setup since I can only use one set of connectors from each amp. One for the bass drivers and one set for the tweeters.

Hope this makes sense as I'm stuck lol :)
 
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arcam_back.jpg


This is what the connections on the back of the integrated alpha 8 look like and its the same layout on the power amp. Hopefully this helps explain better :)
 
Hmm its actually Bi-amping I need to do as its the 2 amps i want to use, one for the bass drivers and one for the tweeters.

Do I just bi-wire the speakers to the integrated amp and then connect the integrated amp to the power amp via a phono cable?
 
Post pic of the back of your arcam 8p and I'll draw something in paint. I've had Arcam stuff in the past (8P's, and currently have 9 integrated)
 
1) Connect the integrated amp's "Pre-Out's" to the inputs on the power amp.

2) Connect the left tweeter to the integrated left out, and the right tweeter to the integrated right out using the SP1 Direct connections. I believe the "Switched" connections are if you have multi room, there is probably an A/B type button on the just have it set to A.

3) Connect the left bass, to the poweramps left out, and the right bass to the poweramps right out.

That should be all you need, you'll be running as Passive Bi-Amping.

Its also possible to do the reverse, with the integrated driving the bass, and the poweramp driving the tweeters, with my Audiolab 8000S/P I always had the more powerfull "P" driving the bass.

NOTE: ENSURE THE BRIDGE LINKS ON THE SPEAKERS ARE REMOVED, If the bridge links are still in the poweramp's outputs could possibly feedback into the integrated's outputs, and viceversa. Not sure what the results would be.. but there is potential for problems ;)
 
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Corasik said:
1) Connect the integrated amp's "Pre-Out's" to the inputs on the power amp.

2) Connect the left tweeter to the integrated left out, and the right tweeter to the integrated right out using the SP1 Direct connections. I believe the "Switched" connections are if you have multi room, there is probably an A/B type button on the just have it set to A.

3) Connect the left bass, to the poweramps left out, and the right bass to the poweramps right out.

That should be all you need, you'll be running as Passive Bi-Amping.

Its also possible to do the reverse, with the integrated driving the bass, and the poweramp driving the tweeters, with my Audiolab 8000S/P I always had the more powerfull "P" driving the bass.

NOTE: ENSURE THE BRIDGE LINKS ON THE SPEAKERS ARE REMOVED, If the bridge links are still in the poweramp's outputs could possibly feedback into the integrated's outputs, and viceversa. Not sure what the results would be.. but there is potential for problems ;)
Click to expand...

Thanks for this :)

I hooked it up as you said and seems to be working nicely with the power amp powering the bass drivers and the integrated amp working the tweeters. There does seem to be a very slight buzzing noise though, any ideas what that could be?

I'm thinking the speakers are not big enough top accomodate the 2 amps. They are a pair of Mission 771e book shelf's on stands I feel I should have floor standers but dont know what's what really.
 
What quality of cable are you using between the integrated and the power amp, I found that cheaper cables could pick up humm/buzzing if they were too close to the mains cables. Shouldnt need to spend megabucks on the cable though, as long as its got decent shielding and good quality connectors.

Part of the reason you want this to be a "good" cable, is the preamp puts out a much smaller signal than the Line out's from say a CD player or DVD. The smaller the signal the more chance of audible interference. But with a reasonable cable it shouldnt be a problem. I started out with a passive Bi-Amp setup like yours, but now I switched to Monoblocks instead. Still needs good cables though :)


The bookshelf speakers should be able to handle it just fine, although with a pair of nice amps, you can easily drive a more difficult load ;)
 
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