Biamp mishap

mikegtar

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Biamping increases the complexity of wiring connections from simple left and right options to left, right, up and down. This seemingly small increase in the requirement for care and concentration when installing or changing cable connections can cause problems for some people .... like me.

This morning, I realised that I have joined the hard of hearing club as well as it seems that of the hard of thinking.

I was moving some furniture around in the lounge to get a better listening position and went close to the right-hand speaker. Noticed a distinct lack of bass and midrange. Checked the speaker cable connections and found that the black wires in the integrated amp and power amp were swapped around. Must have happened a few months ago when I was "improving" the system with new mains cables and powerblock and untangling cables.

After I corrected the mistake, the system sounds a whole lot better. Obviously.

How embarrassing !! I've been listening to the system for months and hadn't noticed.

I was considering making further tweaks to the system over the coming months, but if I haven't noticed a major cockup like this, then it seems unlikely that I'll notice any more subtle improvements. Kind of puts things into perspective for me.

After several quiet moments of reflection, I have accepted what has happened and am now moving on to enjoy a day off work listening to the proper sound of my system, interspersed with lawn cutting and tree pruning. Will probably need to go out and buy a nice curry tonight in an attempt to make me feel better about myself.

Regards,

Mike.
 
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JoelSim

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mikegtar:Biamping increases the complexity of wiring connections from simple left and right options to left, right, up and down. This seemingly small increase in the requirement for care and concentration when installing or changing cable connections can cause problems for some people .... like me. This morning, I realised that I have joined the hard of hearing club as well as it seems that of the hard of thinking. I was moving some furniture around in the lounge to get a better listening position and went close to the right-hand speaker. Noticed a distinct lack of bass and midrange. Checked the speaker cable connections and found that the black wires in the integrated amp and power amp were swapped around. Must have happened a few months ago when I was "improving" the system with new mains cables and powerblock and untangling cables. After I corrected the mistake, the system sounds a whole lot better. Obviously. How embarrassing !! I've been listening to the system for months and hadn't noticed. I was considering making further tweaks to the system over the coming months, but if I haven't noticed a major cockup like this, then it seems unlikely that I'll notice any more subtle improvements. Kind of puts things into perspective for me. After several quiet moments of reflection, I have accepted what has happened and am now moving on to enjoy a day off work listening to the proper sound of my system, interspersed with lawn cutting and tree pruning. Will probably need to go out and buy a nice curry tonight in an attempt to make me feel better about myself. Regards, Mike.

Goes to prove that biamping doesn't necessarily always work!!!

Do you mind if I call you a muppet? I'm glad it sounds better now though.
 
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Well this depends on the speaker and how the terminals go to the drivers. For example my GR20's have 3 drivers. The top set drive the tweeter and mid/bass cone whilst the lower set drive the dedicated bass woofer. If I turn off my 8000M's, depowering the added bass driver then, unless I am doing a side by side comparison, they still sound fine - just less bassy. more like standmounts I suppose. I guess it's just the way they are tuned. Handy for late night listening actually, takes the penetration power of the sound away.

one thing I failed to notice right away when I first bi-amped was that the woofer on the left speaker was inverted. Couldn't work out why the bass handling hadn't really improved. I'd got the wires right, it was the cheap interconnect that appears to swap the signal and ground. Noticed it whe I saw the cone movements;) Swapping that back made it sound a whole lot better...
 

mikegtar

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No not at all, I don't mind being called a muppet. Rowlf the dog was mave favourite.

But after a bit more listening I've found that although the mid and bass was great, the tweeter was now not working. So after some more messing around with the cables, I've found that I was wrong about being wrong. It was one of the interconnects from the integrated amp to the power amp that had come loose. So at least I hadn't plugged the speaker cables into the wrong holes.... but still I hadn't noticed the drop in sound quality in the last few months. So the curry plan still stands :)
 

Pike900fish

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mikegtar:No not at all, I don't mind being called a muppet. Rowlf the dog was mave favourite. But after a bit more listening I've found that although the mid and bass was great, the tweeter was now not working. So after some more messing around with the cables, I've found that I was wrong about being wrong. It was one of the interconnects from the integrated amp to the power amp that had come loose. So at least I hadn't plugged the speaker cables into the wrong holes.... but still I hadn't noticed the drop in sound quality in the last few months. So the curry plan still stands :)

Don't be embarrassed my HiFi tweaking friend. I too often suffer from the common disease of muppetary. Keep Tweaking!!!
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