Biamping, which way round do the terminals go?

[Ian Dudley]

I just picked up a second hand Denon 1907 to replace my dead Sony DB925.

I'm very happy so far, lovely sound quality and the setup and config is a dream compared to the old Sony.

As I only have 5.1 speakers and won't be getting a 7.1 setup (the extra speakers would need to hang from the ceiling of the Kitchen!), I'm thinking of Bi-amping as I won't need the back surround amps for anything else.

I have Mission 702e floorstanders, which have the twin terminals for this, all I need is a bit more speaker cable.

My question is whether it makes any difference which set of connections on the speaker goes to which speaker output on the amp?

i.e. Should the mid/treble be connected to the front terminals and the bass the surround rear, or vice versa?

I suspect it doesn't make any difference and that the auto-setup will workout what is what, but thought I'd check before I get wiring.

thanks!

(x-posted from the Denon forum)

 

[dante01]

In the case of the Denon AVR 1909, I don'y believe it makes any difference as to which way around you wire the drivers?

Both the Front and rear amplification is equal and they'll both be supplying the same amount of power.

If the power were not equal, it would be advisable to wire the higher powered power stage to the low frequency drivers because they draw more power than the tweeters.

When passive bi-amping (which this is), it shouldn't make a difference anyway, not unless any one single power stage exceeds the rated power handling of the speakers as a whole.

 

[Ian Dudley]

In the case of the Denon AVR 1909, I don'y believe it makes any difference as to which way around you wire the drivers?

Both the Front and rear amplification is equal and they'll both be supplying the same amount of power.

If the power were not equal, it would be advisable to wire the higher powered power stage to the low frequency drivers because they draw more power than the tweeters.

When passive bi-amping (which this is), it shouldn't make a difference anyway, not unless any one single power stage exceeds the rated power handling of the speakers as a whole.

So does the amp send the same signal to both drivers, just through different amps?

I had it in my head that it was filtering the signal with a crossover prior to the power stage, much like is done with an active subwoofer line out, hence I was worried about getting it the wrong way round and sending the bass to the tweeters!

 

[dante01]

So does the amp send the same signal to both drivers, just through different amps?

I had it in my head that it was filtering the signal with a crossover prior to the power stage, much like is done with an active subwoofer line out, hence I was worried about getting it the wrong way round and sending the bass to the tweeters!

Is the crossover cutoff point assignable onboard the Denon when you use the bi-amping feature?

Whether you do assign the frequencies onboard the Denon or not, the crossovers within your speakers are still active. To have a true active bi-amping configuration, you'd need to turn the crossovers off within the speakers.

If the crossover frequencies are assignable within the Denon, simply assign the correct frequencies and their cutoffs to the appropriate drivers. The receiver wouldn't do this automatically anyway, how would it know the frequency ranges of the lo and hi drivers within you speakers?

 

[Ian Dudley]

Is the crossover cutoff point assignable onboard the Denon when you use the bi-amping feature?

Whether you do assign the frequencies onboard the Denon or not, the crossovers within your speakers are still active. To have a true active bi-amping configuration, you'd need to turn the crossovers off within the speakers.

If the crossover frequencies are assignable within the Denon, simply assign the correct frequencies and their cutoffs to the appropriate drivers. The receiver wouldn't do this automatically anyway, how would it know the frequency ranges of the lo and hi drivers within you speakers?

Now I think about it, I'm pretty sure there is no crossover control for this in the amp, just an 'on/off' setting for power amp assignment. I was just making an assumption from how an active sub works. It seemed a bit odd that the manual didn't clarrify this (even just to say it doesnt matter).

In that case it makes perfect sense that it's irrelevent which way round they go, as the power from each output is the same.

Now I just need to scare up a couple of meters of speaker cable and I'm away!

Cheers.

 

[dante01]

I've found the following thread that may help:
http://www.avforums.com/forums/denon-owners-forum/875546-denon-avr1909-stereo-sound-bi-amp.html

It offers some suggestion as to which terminals should be used for the drivers. Although it doesn't clarify why those assumptions are arrived at?