Question on Onkyo M-501

[BLinindoll]

Hey guys. First time poster here, but have been using the site for about a month or two.

Here's my question,

I am buying an Onkyo M-501 amp for $80. It has some pretty good reviews so I couldn't say no at that price. I am trying to find out if I can use this amp to bi-amp my 2 front Klipsch F-3's. Right now I have them bi-amped to my Yamaha HTR-5990 and they sound amazing. I un-bi-amped them to compare and it is like night and day. So I defnintely want them bi-amped.

My first instinct told me that I would need two M-501 amps to do this, but here is what confuses me... The amp has an A and a B channel, plus obviously a left and right. That's 4 output channels, correct? Now, the amp is rated 2 channels x 150 wpc. I called Onkyo and asked if I bi-amp my two fronts using the A and B channel, will I be pushing 300 watts to each speaker (150 to the top and 150 to the bottom of each speaker)? The guy said yes, but I don't know If I believe him.

If I want to bi-amp my fronts, will I need to find another M-501 to do this or can I use Channel A for the top and B for the bottom?

And I realize that I am not "truely" bi-amping them, because I am not disconnecting the crossover and using an inline. All I know is, again, it's like night and day between "fake" bi-amping and single amping them.

Thanks in advance!

[thekid]

welcome to AR.

The short answer is the M-501 (good deal at $80-BTW) has more than enough power to drive your F-3's.

[BLinindoll]

Thank you for the reply, thekid.

Still wondering if two amps are needed or if this single amp is all that is required to bi-amp my fronts.

[thekid]

Based on the WPC you be fine for biamping with this one amp but give a listen and see what you think.

[BLinindoll]

Well I decided to go with 2 amps. 2 is always better than 1, right? Haha.

So I got the first one for $80 shipped to me.

The second one, I drove 7 hours round trip to Rhode Island and spent $26 in fuel, and payed $40 for the amp. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me.

[bfalls]

Why not use your Yamaha to power the mid/high portion and the M501 to power the low-end. This is how I have my Legacy Focus' set up and they sound great. I'm using a Sony ES Series STR-D5300ES (120w/ch) for the mid/high and a Yamaha M-65 (170W/ch) for the 3-12" woofers/ch. Taking the low-end duty away from the receiver will free up a lot of available power for the mid/highs.

[BLinindoll]

Why not use your Yamaha to power the mid/high portion and the M501 to power the low-end.


I'm thinking volume. When connected to the amps, the volume is noticeably louder when set to a specific volume setting compared to using the receiver at the same volume setting. If set up like you suggest, then the tweeters will be running at a lower volume than they should compared to the woofers. This might not be the case for every setup, but I know it is with mine. Is this a valid thought?

[hydroman]

^ It is a valid set up. You need much more energy to drive bass than highs.

Try it.