Kev the ironworker

I'm "vertically bi-amping" Becuase I have a volume knob on my m-85's for each channel. This way I can adjust the horns... And, I'll switch my speaker wires around every so often so that the base channel isn't "overdriven" compared to the treble channel (mixing it up).... Make sense ?

Hello again ! Once again I have a question for you.... First I'd like to thank everyone for the advice I've received in the past. I read all responses and although I didn't reply to each I took everyone's advice and am now happily addicted. My question is in regards to a "Preamp". (which I really have no clue as to what a Preamp is) Anyway, I have an Onkyo ht-rc370 that's running a Yamaha m-85 (soon to be 2 m-85's) I'm going to bi-amp (vertically) my fronts but I've been reading all kinds of posts saying that a Preamp is just (or more) important than the amps themselves. Something about the original signal going to the power amp. Could the Onkyo be considered a good Preamp ? (it's thx, Dolby this and that, 100 watts/ch (does this matter ?) has pre-outs...yada yada...) would adding a Preamp just put another unnecessary "link" in the chain ? I have no idea ! Lol ! I know most will tell me that the "bi-amping thing" is a waste but I do like the added sound and it'll be nice to have two amps just incase one dies....(I like the lights jumping around too!) once again, Thanx for helping me "spend my money"!

Thanx for straightening things out for me ! (again) I guess I'll look around for larger speakers that can handle more power ... (and use my 82's in a different room or as my back surrounds. (probably Rf-7's, seems everyone loves them) "Matt 1970" did mention running 2 amps to "tame the horns" but before I try that I think I'll play with the onkyo's treble adjustment a bit more. This is all actually fun and I appreciate everyone's help ! In the last month or so I've gone from a small Panasonic in a box to... My whole wall (including my 50" plasma) being full of cool looking And sounding electronic "stuff"... 1 more quick question if you will... If I replaced my Onkyo Ht-Rc 370 (100 w/ch) with a more powerful unit would I get more power from my m-85 amp ?.... I guess I'm still "stuck on getting things louder"....(for when I've upgraded my speakers)

Here I go again..... Right now I have my m-85 plugged into the Onkyo ....(100 w/ch).... I was told by the Onkyo salesman that all the minus #'s (volume in decibles) will be "distortion free" but if I go into the positive #'s I'll get distortion (more the louder I go).... Does this still happen With my yammie hooked up ? (will the Onkyo send distorted signals to my m-85 ?) actually, I have two small subs coming from the Onkyo but they're powered subs (SW-450's)...

I have another "stupid" question too ... It's about the amp, .... My speakers are rated at 150 rms . The face plate on the amp supposedly tells me the "out put" the amp is sending but I'm not sure how to read it ! (I Belive your m-80 has the same amp-face)...for the L and R channels the led's happily bounce up and down but the #'s start at a low - .06, -0.18...up to -600 and -900 and there's a middle graph that starts from -40 up to +2....I'm concerned about blowing my speakers so I'm wondering if there's a place on my amp's graphs that I shouldn't surpass...? Any of those graph #'s equal 150 watts rms ? Lol ! I hope I've explained this properly....and once again, Thanx for the help !

Thanx for explaining how it's done ! I'm defiantly going to try it out, ... The system sounds good right now but it does sound like it's playing mostly through the horns (not "tinny" but somewhat "high")....turns out the m-85 I had in mind (for my 2nd amp) isn't working properly anyway....(1 channel isn't working) so, I'll look on eBay for something...I do have another question though... If I add another smaller amp will I be forever adjusting the volume level for each time I either play a different song or CD ? ...or if I go from a CD to my tuner to my phono etc. etc. ?....I'm planning on buying a pair of Rf-7's soon and using my Rf-82's as my surrounds...that's the main reason I bought the m-85 in the 1st place...

Hi again folks ! A quick question... I have an Onkyo Ht-Rc 370 and a Yamaha m-85 amp. I have a line on another m-85 but I'm not sure (if I buy it) how to hook up the 2nd amp... (the Onkyo has a left and a right output (which my amp is hooked up to) and all the rest (it's a 7.2 system)....I'm new at this and a bit confused ! (and addicted I guess I could say)... Hoping to bi-amp so it plays louder and clearer ! Running through 2 Rf-82's.... Thanx !

Hi .... Just thought I'd add my 2 cents. I too have a pair of Rf-82's that i had hooked up to an Onkyo Ht-Rc 370. I bi-wired them and found a noticeable difference (positive)...seemed the highs and lows were "separated" and "clearer" sounding... I've since added a Yamaha m-85 amp and I'm now getting ready to move out of the house ! (wife, neighbors and the dog now hate me !) I'd try it, or at least try bi-wiring....

All hooked up ! Sounds very good ! I can't really tell the difference between class "A" or "A/B" though....the sound is (can be) much louder than before but still clear as a bell ! It does seem to emphasize the "higher end sound" but the subs sound great (they kick in and it sounds like a kick drum is in my living-room !)...I wouldn't recommend anyone else buying the m-85 though ! I want another for myself !

I got it ! (except I don't Becuase the amp hasn't arrived yet) .... But the miniute it gets here I'll be hooking it up ! Once again Thanx ! Oh... The Onkyo has 2 subwoofer out jacks and I've already hooked them up ....both work

Thanx for getting back again ..... I'll probably (at first) not bi-wire. Mostly Becuase I'm not sure how to yet. I had to set my Onkyo reciever to "bi-wire" mode (and that changed the load from 8 ohms to 6 ohms...not really sure what that even means !) but now that I'm adding an amp I'm not sure (yet) how I should (a) set the Onkyo and ( where to connect my speaker wires... To tell you the truth, I don't even know where to hook the wires up normally ! The amp has 2 channels...so do I hook up one front to one channel and the other to the other channel ?... It's the 6 terminals and 2channel combination that's got me a bit confused ! (and the a,b,and c speaker combination buttons too...) I'm easily confused (obviously) and I'm hoping not to fry my first ever "real stereo"....

That's what I wanted to hear !.... The reason I'm thinking of bi-wiring is Becuase my Onkyo manual states that (bi-amping (a diagram of bi-wiring is shown) "provides better base and treble performance")....I did this with the Onkyo and it sounded much better ! So, I was thinking why not do it with the amp ? (if I can without fear of breaking anything).... Except my eardrums ! That's ok !....they're expendable !

I totally get it now ! .... I guess I'll see how it sounds with the fronts running through the amp (while watching movies and tv) if it sucks I'll either sell the yam or find an amp for the rears and centre ... You just explained it perfectly ! Thanx ! One more thing though....(if you don't mind) the amp has the 6 speaker terminals... Can I safely bi-wire my speakers (fronts) to the amp ?

Ouch ! I'm really confused now ! (esp. Since I've taken a look at what I actually have in front of me) I really want to use the yam amp...I've read all kinds of reports that's it's the "cat's behind" of amps for it's time, and it'll keep up with modern day high end amps... The Onkyo does have pre-outs but according to my manual I'm supposed to send a line from each jack....(front L/R, center, surround L/R, etc. Even the subs) to the yam-85 but the "85" only has 2 input terminals....(I guess I'm now thinking of going totally through the amp, it does have 6 speaker terminals and a/b/c buttons that I'm thinking (hoping) will do any combo of speakers I choose)... I've never had a real stereo before ! I didn't think it would be so confusing ! Thanx for any help ! I need it !

Hi ! For listening to music I have a Yamaha m-85 (260 watts/ch) and I'm wondering if I can bi-wire my fronts (Rf-82's)... I'm hoping to run the 82's through the yam-85 amp and my 2 subs (both are sw-450's)from my Onkyo Ht-Rc 370 reciever. Does this sound ok ? When I'm watching a movie I'm hoping to run the 82's through the yam-85 and run my center, (Rc-52) subs and two f-1's as my surround speakers through the Onkyo ... Just wondering if I've created a monster too... Is that amp too much ? Should I run everything through the amp ? Will the amped 82's over power everything else ? (esp. The center) Any help or opinion will be greatly appreciated ! Thanx !

Ok ... Thanx ! I'm getting things slowly figured out !...I thinking getting hooked (and, I don't really listen to music or watch movies that much !)...lol !

Hi !... 1'st I'd like to thank you for any information you folks can give me. It's my first time ever on a computer site like this and my first time ever spending more than 100 bucks on a stereo.... I'm confused ! I bought an Onkyo Ht-Rc 370 receiver, two Rf-82 fronts, two Rb-51 backs, two SW-450 subs and a Rc-52 center. I have a ton of questions ! 1st- i was in another stereo store and the salesman told me that the Rc-52 isn't big enough for the rest of the system... Is this true ? I watched a few movies and i did have a hard time hearing the dialogue but I'm told i can turn the gain up on center. 2nd- my receiver "tells me" to set the subs at 75 decibels ... When i do this, the subs are almost "off"...(the volume is 1 click above "0").... Is this where i should have it ? 3rd- Can i by-pass the subs "LFE" so i can use the one in my reciever ? (i have no idea what this means but i was reading a "thing" on the Internet and it told me to ....) 4th- i bi-wired the front Rf-82's and it sounded WAY better... (really... And there was 5 of us that totally agreed) now I'm hooked (and currently unemployed) can someone explain to me what i need to have to bi-amp these speakers ? (besides money...) the Onkyo manual tells me i can use it as a "pre-amp" 5th- i read that i should "calibrate" my reciever to each of my speakers decibel levels...(so the base isn't doing the tweeter's job i think) does anyone know how to do this with my Onkyo Ht-Rc 370 ? Thanx for helping ! ( my next problem is figuring out how to get back here to find my answers ! ) .... Lol