Hey T Cobe, buddy,
YES, that is called "bridging" an amp. And that can give like double the power. BUT it "normally" halves the impedence, more or less.
SO again, although that may be a good idea, and only your ears can tell (definitely go for it if you like the sound) but I would strongly recommend setting things back to 8 ohms. That should give a smooth ride, even when you drive the speakers pretty hard.
Anyway, enjoy all the experimentation and happy listening.
And PLEASE keep up the writing, you are good at it and this is all very informative.
and FUN.
God Bless,
Wayne

Thank you, Sir! I am certainly pleased with the sound!

T Cobe wrote: Moderator,

"Bi-Amp" is the term used by Onkyo/Integra. I was trying to use their language to communicate what I have done for my set up. The better term may be bridging two channels as I set the receiver to "bi-amp" and hook the speaker up to the positive on one channel and the negative on a separate channel. I'd definitely like to know the proper term for this configuration so that I don't confuse anyone further.

In any case, it's one speaker wire and more amp power and it sounds better. It's a small/incremental change but it's there and the receiver runs cooler. Thank you for the follow up and trying to keep us all straight!

Cheers,

T Cobe

Hi T Cobe,

I am not familiar with the bridging concept being discussed by you and the Moderator. Just to clarify my understanding of your connections (as stated in you post above): Do I understand that you have connected the speakers across multiple speaker terminals (foe example, the Left Triton One positive is connected to the Integra Front Left Positive and the Left Triton One Negative is connected to the Integra Front High Left Negative). Is this what you are doing?

If it is, I would question the results. You might want to obtain a wiring diagram of your Integra unit. It may be that all speaker terminals share a common ground (common negative). If so, that could explain why your connection process actually works.

My Onkyo also offers and discusses the Bi-Amp option, but as I read my manual, I believe that Onkyo is using the term Bi-Amp in the traditional sense - that is, for speakers which have two sets of speaker terminals which permit connections to two different speaker outputs on one or more amplifiers. I have a pair of speakers (now retired) which have Bi-Amp capability so that the woofer section could be driven separately from the mid-range/tweeter section. I used this capability to drive the woofer section with a separate amplifier so that I could manipulate the low frequency volume level independently.

With respect, I don't think that either the Onkyo or Integra manuals intend for you to connect your speakers across multiple speaker terminals. However, as I said, I am not familiar with bridging and I will research the term to better understand it.

In any case, it won't work for me because I am using all 9.2 channels of my Onkyo in my current setup. I will try out your "noise floor" test on my setup and report the results.

Best,

Art

Hi T. Cobe,

I have just finished reading two different articles discussing bridging speakers on amplifiers. Both articles stress that the amplifier must be designed for external bridging to avoid the possibility of damaging the amplifier. Both articles also stress that the principal reason for bridging is to increase the power output to a speaker. Both articles also seemed to relate this practice primarily to sub woofers in automobiles as a means of increasing power to the subs.

When you bridge speakers across an amplifier, you are reducing the impedance presented by the speakers to the amp, which allows the speakers to draw more current from the amp. OK so long as the amplifier can safely deliver the increased current. But, delivering more current will certainly not make the amplifier run cooler - in fact just the opposite. You might offset the increased current being delivered by turning down the volume, but I'll bet that you aren't really causing the amp to net run cooler.

In any event, I recommend you contact Technical Support at Onkyo and discuss the bridging concept with them. I'll bet you'll find that they do not recommend bridging and that you may be increasing the chances of damage to your Integra amp by doing so. I believe that Onkyo is correctly using the term "Bi-Amp" in their manuals - that is, for connecting speakers with multiple sets of speaker terminals to the receiver and not for bridging.

My two cents worth....

Best,

Art

If I may, I'd like to offer a suggestion with all these options. Start with a baseline setup and see what sounds better or worse from there. I'd start in non-biamp and non-bridged mode, impedance set to 4 ohms (based on Stereophile's measurements). Then try 8 ohm setting. Determine which sounds best to you, then try bridged or biamp, with 4 then 8-ohm settings if available in that mode.

I'm not there to hear, but my gut instinct is the simplest signal path will sound the best, i.e. non-bridged. But hey, this is hi-fi and what seems to make sense in my mind doesn't always translate to what I hear.

No matter what setting ends up working the best for you, enjoy the journey getting there!

Dave

redirect.onkyousa.com/redirect_service.p...70.2_80.2_En_web.pdf

Check page 16 for bridging information. If I recall, the 3009 had similar instructions but you should certainly double check.