how to wire avr to amp

[moneybags]

Pardon the newbie question. I have a harman kardon 347 avr and a emotiva mps 2 and I want to either go 5.1 or 7.1 with bi-amping . If I do a 5.1 Can I get away with using a 2 channel rca cords (3 set) to connect the avr to the amp?
How would I go about connecting the avr to the amp if I want to bi-amping my fronts. Would I need 3 sets of rcas and 2 y splitters? Please help me out this is the first real setup I am trying to do.

[Otto]

Hi James and welcome to the Shack.

You'll basically need to connect the AVR to the amp for each channel that you want to amplifiy. Unless the amp has a special accommodation for bi-amping (some type of switch that will "connect" two of the channels together), you will need to use a splitter to get the bi-amp signal to the correct channels of the amp. I went to the Emotiva site and looked at the specs for the MPS-2, and I don't think it has that type of control. I didn't see the manual, though, so it's possible.

Anyway, for a 5.1 channel configuration, here's what I would do.

Main Left AVR Out -> Y Splitter -> Emotiva Channel 1 -> Top Half of Left Speaker
-------------------- " " " " " "-> Emotiva Channel 2 -> Bottom Half of Left Speaker
Main Right AVR Out-> Y Splitter -> Emotiva Channel 3 -> Top Half of Right Speaker
-------------------- " " " " " "-> Emotiva Channel 4 -> Bottom Half of Right Speaker
Center AVR Output -> Emotiva Channel 5 -> Center Channel Speaker
Surr Left AVR Output -> Emotiva Channel 6 -> Left Surround Speaker
Surr Rght AVR Output -> Emotiva Channel 7 -> Right Surround Speaker

So the blue is the "left/main" side. You'll use a splitter there to split the preamp signal, and then feed two channels of the Emotiva. Similarly, the dark red is the "right/main" side. You'll also split that signal and feed two other channels of the Emotiva. The other connections are just one-to-one.

I highlighted in red/bold the places where you will be using RCA cables. You will need a total of seven RCA cables and two Y splitters.

Good luck and have fun!

[Anthony]

I don't know if the HK avr has this, but a lot of the receivers and preamps I have installed lately have had internally selectable options for biamping. Bascially, you lose either the zone 2 or 7.1 capability in order to send the signal to a separate amp.

My clients did not use this feature, so I didn't get to play with it It didn't seem like those AVR's did any sort of crossover or EQ'ing for the biamping, so I don't see what the difference between that and just using a Y cable would be. The Y cable would need a bit more gain to make up for the split loss, but that's hardly worth losing 2 more preamp channels.

Good luck.

[Otto]

Anthony wrote:

I don't know if the HK avr has this, but a lot of the receivers and preamps I have installed lately have had internally selectable options for biamping. Bascially, you lose either the zone 2 or 7.1 capability in order to send the signal to a separate amp.

My clients did not use this feature, so I didn't get to play with it It didn't seem like those AVR's did any sort of crossover or EQ'ing for the biamping, so I don't see what the difference between that and just using a Y cable would be. The Y cable would need a bit more gain to make up for the split loss, but that's hardly worth losing 2 more preamp channels.

Good luck.

Yep, that's right, forgot about that possibility. If your AVR can assign those channels to be the same as the main L/R, you won't need the splitters.

If you do need to use splitters, though, I wouldn't worry about signal loss from the split. The input to the amp will be high impedance, and the voltage at the inputs to the amp will be identical after the split. I would expect no problems.

[doubeleive]

Yes You Can Use Multiple Sets Of Rca, No Problems There. I Am Not Really Sure What The Theory Of Bi-amping Is But Yes You Can Run 2 Seperate Wires From The Amp To Each Of The Speaker Inputs, Or Just Connect The Two Inputs Together At The Speaker, Either Way I Dont Think Will Make Any Pronounced Difference In Audio, I Think To Get Any Noticeable Audio Difference You May Have To A Sepperate Crossover In The Mix, But Like I Say I Dont Know What The Theory Behind Bi-amping Really Is