Bi amping with Audiolab

[davev8]

Hi every one...

at the moment the hifi is placed away because of house move/ renovation etc. but I can see the light and should be back up and running in a month or2

I have a Audiolab 8000a (UK F seralnumber )and a 8000sx bi amping a Pr of AE 109, now what I want to do is get another power amp next and use the 8000a just as a preamp then later upgrade the 8000a for the 8000c

So my question.. as you know the 8000a and 8000sx power amp are both 60watts

Now I often hear on forums of a 8000a and the 100watt 8000p being used together for bi amping so how will that work?

Is the gain the same so when the 8000a is putting out say 50 watts out the 8000p is as well? Or will it end up putting out more?

I ask this as the SX amps are thine on the ground but plenty of Ps about ..

All so apart from more power is there any sonic gains to be had with the 8000P over a 8000SX? If so what .

Thanks Dave

 

[davev8]

I am surprised that non of you clever peeps know the answer

 

[davedotco]

I am surprised that non of you clever peeps know the answer

The answer is that the 8000a is the weak point, the pre-amp section was always the limiting factor. The 8000c is little better.

Bi-amping is largely a waste of money and you are far better off with a single good amplifier than two average ones.

So, sell your 8000a and buy a good pre-amp to go with your 8000sx. Replace your 8000sx with a better amplifier in due course.

Well, you did ask........ oke:

 

[davev8]

Thanks for the reply davedotco

My original question still needs an answer which was using a 60wpc 8000a and a 100wpc 8000p together bi amped

You may be correct about one big amp as opposed to two smaller ones, I don’t know...it probably open for debit with a lot of conflicting opinions.. (I could have 2 BIG amps ) but for me getting more power which I needed for the 109s the SX was by far the cheapest way at £125 4 or 5 years ago I ended up with 120wpc and the difference it made to the 109s was staggering even at low volumes their so much more control and focus to the bass and general improvements every place..So I dont think it was a wast of mony,as it will still make what I pay..

The upgrade path you mention seems the same as mine in the end but just the other way round ...unless you mean for me to move away Audiolab stuff..

If that the case can you sugest a replacement ...bearing in mind I just look at completed listing on the bay and the cheapest 8000P went for £137 ...I have a feeling I may have to pay a lot more for maybe a little gain ..

So spread out over time I can get 2 8000P and a 8000C for less than £150 a box

 

[davedotco]

OK.

Generally speaking Audiolab say that their amplifiers are gain matched so can be used in any combination.

In my experience this is not the case with the 8000a/8000p combination, never tried the 8000sx. In essence if the input sensitivity and power is the same for both amplifiers then they are gain matched. For non identical amplifiers this rarely seems to be the case.

Not quite sure if I understand what you are saying, but bi-amping does not increase the power of your system, for all practical purposes the bass anp provides all the power. You believe that bi-amping makes a difference in your system. fair enough but again the general consensus and my experience suggests otherwise. Debating subjective evaluations is pointless, you hear what you hear, I hear what I hear........... :?

The weak point in the 8000 series was always a lack of transparency and body in the preamp, this was written about extensively back in the 80s. However selling extra power by adding a power amp is easy, selling a better pre-amp is much more difficult even though it makes a bigger difference.

Probably quite difficult, but try something like a Croft Micro 25 driving your 8000p. Your world will never be the same again.

 

[Tackleberry1]

Hello dave,

I've pasted a link to a similar forum post I had regarding the 8200a and 8200p

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/audiolab-and-monitor-audio-biamping

The long and short of it was that although they were both gain matched, the 60 and the 100w difference between the units seemed to make my speakers sound a bit dull and had an effect on the crispness on the tweeters I was biamping with the 8200a. I rewired the speakers to run solely off the 8200p and used the 8200a as a preamp only. The difference was highly noticeable and sounded much more balanced and brought back some of the sparkle that was missing. Noticeable by others as well.

I'm not sure if this helps you with your units as I'm not familiar with those models, but from my experience the biamping of a gain matched different wattage unit didn't seem to work.

All the best.