Bi-Amp ... how about Tri-Amp ?

Thanks for the discussion,

I find more power useful not for getting the music louder, but for driving it in a more relaxed tone.. let's say more effortless, less strained.
I'm looking to improve my hifi#1 : What would you say the next step up in sound is from Arcam A90 + P90 ?

I also find it's the Amplifier that is the heart of a system...
Once I got my A90 + P90 setup, I found no matter what speakers I attached.. everything sounded good
Surprisingly, even the cheapest £200 Gale floorstanders made a great sound... the speakers seemed to make little difference to the sound.. more like a different finishing touch
Oh I know everyone will say I'm mad, but I tried it, and couldn't find a speaker that made a bad sound, as long as the amps were doing a great job... & I mean great...

I know excellent source equipment is essential... I just don't see speakers making much of a difference, unless they lack bass (like my B&W 704s).. adding a REL 7Ti Sub went a long way towards fixing that

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Originally Posted by pandoraefretum

Thanks for the discussion,

I find more power useful not for getting the music louder, but for driving it in a more relaxed tone.. let's say more effortless, less strained.
I'm looking to improve my hifi#1 : What would you say the next step up in sound is from Arcam A90 + P90 ?

I also find it's the Amplifier that is the heart of a system...
Once I got my A90 + P90 setup, I found no matter what speakers I attached.. everything sounded good
Surprisingly, even the cheapest £200 Gale floorstanders made a great sound... the speakers seemed to make little difference to the sound.. more like a different finishing touch
Oh I know everyone will say I'm mad, but I tried it, and couldn't find a speaker that made a bad sound, as long as the amps were doing a great job... & I mean great...

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I've also found that with good/well matched amplification that even the cheapest speakers can sound good.

If you want cheap power you could check out something like the Behringer iNuke https://www.amazon.co.uk/Behringer-N.../dp/B005EHIN12

1000 watts into 8 ohm, just 139 English pounds.

With the bi and tri amping it isn't the extra power that makes the difference (because there isn't any extra power in reality) but the fact that the individual amplifiers are not having to work so hard. Although any benefit will depend on how tricky a load the speakers are. B&W speakers tend to be quite demanding in that respect (low impedance load) so not surprising you noticed an improvement.

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Originally Posted by Macca

I've also found that with good/well matched amplification that even the cheapest speakers can sound good

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Yes. That's a strange phenomenon, rubbish speakers allowing changes in upstream equipment quality to be heard. True though.

Thanks for that Martin,

Finally someone starting to agree with me...
Your reasoning sounds good to me

Well since I recently purchased an Arcam A39 Integrated Amp
I was wondering if I could get another, and use them in classic Bi-Amp configuration (since Arcam doesn't make a matching "P39") ?
(using Pre-Out to hook up the second A39)

Of course I would set them to the same volume

If you are diy inclined then it is easy to see (hear ) the effects of more power on tap. With the same amplifier circuit, rectifier and smoothing caps just keep swapping the transformer for one with slightly higher secondary voltage. Must keep within the limits of the components on the board, the rectifier, caps and heat sinks

This little experiment is not cheap to do as transformers are expensive but it is the only way to know what is really going on. I think you are right regarding the effortless nature of the same amp with higher voltage rails. Also increasing transformer VA can bring rewards in certain circumstances due to the lower impedance.

I am a big fan of giving each drive unit its own amplifier. Also I like splitting the front end off and giving it its own dedicated psu (transistor amps) usually with a nice EI transformer. In fact I just love an EI transformer on most things except power amp output stages.

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Originally Posted by Eileen Dover

If you are diy inclined then it is easy to see (hear ) the effects of more power on tap. With the same amplifier circuit, rectifier and smoothing caps just keep swapping the transformer for one with slightly higher secondary voltage. Must keep within the limits of the components on the board, the rectifier, caps and heat sinks

This little experiment is not cheap to do as transformers are expensive but it is the only way to know what is really going on. I think you are right regarding the effortless nature of the same amp with higher voltage rails. Also increasing transformer VA can bring rewards in certain circumstances due to the lower impedance.

I am a big fan of giving each drive unit its own amplifier. Also I like splitting the front end off and giving it its own dedicated psu (transistor amps) usually with a nice EI transformer. In fact I just love an EI transformer on most things except power amp output stages.

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I'm not anywhere near DIY in nature, unfortunately... But I like what you say; "each drive unit its own amplifier" is my goal too.. "dedicated psu".. couldn't agree more..
If I get rich overnight, first thing I'll do is vamp up my hifi, for the moment it's one item at a time...