Bi amp-ing using 2 Arcam A90's

S

sc00by05

Guest
Hi all,

New to this forum so apologies if this has been discussed elsewhere. Would like a p90 so I can bi-amp my a90, however, struggling to find a p90 for sale and have been offerred an a90 at a good price. I know in theory switching the a90 to 'power mode' will effectively turn it into a p90 but wondered if anyone out there had actually tried this? Any views on using 2 a90's to bi-amp welcome.

Cheers
 
Hi sc00by05

I have never tried this, but using 2 A90 would be like running 2 intergrated amp, you can lock one of the amp volume, you still be running through an intergrated amp. althou it sounds possible, it wouldnt sound as good as using a P90 as the power amp is just a driving your speakers it not changing the sound like a intergrated amp.

Barrie
 
AIUI when selecting that switch on the back to pwr then all the integrated circuitry is powered down and the A90 will be just a P90 with a non-functioning display, buttons and knob.

Ian.
 
sorry i had no idea that the A90 could be used as a power amp, and i'v had my 1 for 2 years.

you learn something new every day:rolleyes:
 
AIUI when selecting that switch on the back to pwr then all the integrated circuitry is powered down and the A90 will be just a P90 with a non-functioning display, buttons and knob.

Not quite, but you're kinda on the right lines. Nothing is powered down though.

Pressing in the "Integrated" switch on the back of the A90 separates the internal connection from the preamp board and the power amp board turning it into two completely independent blocks.

If you then connect the "Pre Out" from the first A90 (used in standard integrated mode) to the "Pwr In" on this second A90 (in pre/power mode), this A90 is effectively used as a slave power amp, just like a P90.

However, the display, buttons, etc., and the unused pre-amp section of the second A90 will still be seen to respond to remote commands, and the display will still be on, however you can just ignore it as it has no effect.

You may or may not find it a little disconcerting that the two units have different numbers on them even though it makes no performance difference.
 
Hi all - thanks for the responses.

So... will 2 a90's sound as good / the same as 1 a90 + 1 p90? Will the fact that the pre-amp section is still 'on' albeit disconnected detract from the sound? In theory I guess there will be no difference but wondered if anyone else had tried / compared this before I shell out for the 2nd a90 that I have the option of buying?

Cheers
 
Well, it depends on how you are going to bi-amp your speakers. Are you going to drive the tweeters with one amp and the woofers with another, or just run the speakers from the 'power amp' (ie, a switched A90)?

IME I never found much benefit from the first option, music sounded a bit weird. At the mo, I use the top-end C31 which I got for a steal on ebay, and use a P90 to drive the speakers. Great.

But, I used an A85 as a power amp initially, before getting a P90, and this was just as good too! so I think the A90 works as a great power amp, not too different from a P90.

I think that just a pre/power combination with the speakers driven from one amp gives the best sound. You may find some improvement with two A90s, but to be honest, you won't hear night and day till you upgrade the pre-amp part. That's where the detail comes in. For welly, one A90 will be not too different from two A90s in any combination. IMHO!
 
sorry to jump this thread but i currently have the a85 and the alpha 10 power amp i currently want to do away with the alpha 10 and get a p90 but can i link 2 p90s to the a85 as i currently have the amp killing infinity kappa refrence 9 speakers would this work?
thanks
 
sorry to jump this thread but i currently have the a85 and the alpha 10 power amp i currently want to do away with the alpha 10 and get a p90 but can i link 2 p90s to the a85 as i currently have the amp killing infinity kappa refrence 9 speakers would this work?
thanks

Hi

I presume you are wanting to use the A85 as a pre-amp only and use the two P90s to bi-amp the speakers. To do this you would run an interconect from the pre-outs of the A85 to the inputs of the first P90. Then run another interconect from the pre-outs of the first P90 to the inputs of the second P90.

HTH

Dave
 

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