AVC-A1XVA Bi amping

[Paul_thx]

I'm considering buying this amp (although I'm going to wait until something is announced regarding possible HDMI 1.3 support and decoding of the new HD audio formats). I notice that the 10 power amps are configurable, making it possible to bi-amp selected channels if required. Presumably this would result in an increase in maximum output power on the bi-amped channels. Does anyone know what the output would be for these channels?

[Badger0-0]

Surely it's double whatever a single channel is

The output would remain the same at 170 watts. I think you are thinking of amp bridging which is where two amp modules are combined to give a single output. The AVC-A1XVA is not bridgeable.

Bi amping basically provides a separate signal to the base section and treble section of a speaker. The main benefit is that each section is supplied with a dedicated current supply. When single amping a speaker, the input current is shared by both the bass and treble sections of the speaker. This can mean that during large transients (such as a big 'bass' moment of a soundtrack) one or the other section of the speaker is taking most of the power. In addition the crossover of the speaker itself abosorbs some of an amps out put power. Giving both sections of a speaker an independent amp input avoids the problems mentioned above. Believe me it makes a vast difference in sound especially with 'difficult' speakers (all my fronts are bi-amped).

I suggest you google for a more in depth explanation.

Edit: It is extremely unlikely that the A1-XVA will support HDMI 1.3 via an upgrade. More likely to be a new amp altogether in the future.

[Jase]

Originally Posted by Paul_thx

I'm considering buying this amp (although I'm going to wait until something is announced regarding possible HDMI 1.3 support and decoding of the new HD audio formats).

You don't need to wait for HDMI 1.3 as the current HD-DVD players decode the new HD Audio Formats internally and pass that as Hi-Res PCM via HDMI. All you need to accept them is an Amp/Receiver with HDMI 1.1 Audio Support. Alternatively you can use the 5.1 Analog outputs of the players and connect to the 5.1 EXT In's of the Amp/Receiver.

[Badger0-0]

Originally Posted by jakal

The output would remain the same at 170 watts. I think you are thinking of amp bridging which is where two amp modules are combined to give a single output. The AVC-A1XVA is not bridgeable.

Bi amping basically provides a separate signal to the base section and treble section of a speaker. The main benefit is that each section is supplied with a dedicated current supply. When single amping a speaker, the input current is shared by both the bass and treble sections of the speaker. This can mean that during large transients (such as a big 'bass' moment of a soundtrack) one or the other section of the speaker is taking most of the power. In addition the crossover of the speaker itself abosorbs some of an amps out put power. Giving both sections of a speaker an independent amp input avoids the problems mentioned above. Believe me it makes a vast difference in sound especially with 'difficult' speakers (all my fronts are bi-amped).

I suggest you google for a more in depth explanation.

Edit: It is extremely unlikely that the A1-XVA will support HDMI 1.3 via an upgrade. More likely to be a new amp altogether in the future.

Hmmm yes, I thought it would automatically bridge.
Or more that it would send one amp to the high and one amp to the low, effectively doubling the power available.
You learn something every day

[Paul_thx]

Thanks Jakal. I was getting it mixed up with bridging. I'll do some more reading into bi-amping though.

I know that I could just buy this amp and use the analog ins for DDHD & DTS HD, but if I'm going to be spending this kind of money on an amp, I'd rather wait a few more months. Whether it's an HDMI 1.3 version of this amp, or a new one all together, I'm willing to hold off until it's available. HDMI 1.3 also adds 'deep colour' support, so in the future when I have a suitable screen, I'd like to be able to switch between sources which support this too.

[javry]

For those of you who already own this amp, is it really worth it? Mainly, I'd like to know how it works with an SVS sub like the PB-12.

[Badger0-0]

Pretty much any half decent amp will work fine.
All the amp does is pass a low-level signal to the sub.
All the work is done by the sub itself and trust me, there is no problem with the pb12

[The WB]

firstly im going to say that the a1xva is a superb piece of machinery.Im at the moment bi-amping my B&W 704 and my centre which sound fantastic.Secondly, im running a Hd player through my hdmi connection, which on the amp it automatically switches to multichannel and the Dolby true Hd and dd+ sound absolutely nice.And regarding picture quality, fair enough you might have hdmi 1.3 but make sure you have a damn good projector/plasma/lcd. As one I once read in an article "you can have a 1080p display with a cheap processor and optics or a 720p with a very good processor and optics and you will find that 720p is better".Also by that article it reads that "you won't even notice the diffrence beetween a 1080p or 720p on current screens.1080p will cater for very large screens (100 inch +)which haven't even been made yet on lcd/plasmas, only projectors at the moment."