Arcam A85 as power amp for A85 - madness or not?

[scene]

OK, strange sounding title. I am the proud and happy owner of an Arcam A85. But I want more! Now I know the classic upgrade route is to get hold of either an Arcam P85 or P90 power amp and bi-amp my speakers. I would really like to do this, but...

But Arcam P85s and P90s are as rare as the proverbial unicorn droppings...

So, I was wondering. There is a switch on my A85 so that it can act as a Power Amp, to quote from the manual:
Pre/power amplifier connections
PWR IN 5 – To use your integrated amplifier as a power amplifier, connect the output of your pre-amplifier to the PWR IN sockets.

Press in the PRE/PWR switch 7 on the rear panel to select separate pre-amp/power amp mode. Under these circumstances your A85 has exactly the same specification and performance as a power amplifier (see page 8).

So if I can get hold of a second A85, can I use this instead of an P85 as my power amp and Bi-amp with two A85s

Is this madness, or has anyone out there tried this?

 

[Andrew Everard]

Yes you can: that input bypasses the amp's preamp section completely, so it will work just like the P85.

 

[Cheese]

Hi There!

I was wondering if you have tryed it?

I currently have something similar, I have A75+ which I can use as pre amp, or My Simple Audio Roomplayer..

 

[bigfish786]

I had a P85 for a few years, i don't think it improved the sound at all, i actually preferred the sound of just the amp. save your money fella.

 

[plastic penguin]

I had a P85 for a few years, i don't think it improved the sound at all, i actually preferred the sound of just the amp. save your money fella.

Probably right with the flagship model, but the entry-level models certainly benefit from the cleaner currents, especially if the speakers are tricky to drive.

 

[davedotco]

Yes you can: that input bypasses the amp's preamp section completely, so it will work just like the P85.

Quite correct.

With a second A85 you can buy an extra set of speaker cables and an interconnect, remove the links on the speakers and carefully set everything up in bi-amp mode.

Do all this with the appropriate levels of care and attention and it will sound pretty much exactly the same as as your single A85 sounded in the first place.

Try it if you like, it's your money, but any difference that you hear is likely to be down to psycoacoustical effects, ie wishfull thinking.