Bi-wiring and bi-amping loudspeakers, Before you start – important information, Bi-wiring your loudspeakers – Arcam AVR280 User Manual

Page 30: Bi-amping your system

AVR280

Bi-wiring and bi-amping loudspeakers

Bi-wiring improves the sound of your system as it divides the high and low frequency signal currents into
separate speaker cables. The performance of your system can be further enhanced over that achieved
with bi-wiring by extending the principle one stage further to include separate amplification for the low
and high frequency drive units in each loudspeaker enclosure. This is called ‘bi-amping’.

Before you start – important information!

1. Ensure that the volume control is set to minimum before starting these procedures.
2. Do not make any connections to your AVR280 while it is switched on or connected to the

mains supply.

3. After connecting the loudspeakers, but before switching on the AVR280, please check all

connections thoroughly, making sure bare wires or cables are not touching the AVR280 in
the wrong places (which could cause short circuits) and that you have connected positive
(+) to positive and negative (–) to negative.

Bi-wiring your loudspeakers

Bi-wiring avoids signal distortions arising from the high and low frequency currents interacting
with one another within a single cable, as occurs in conventionally wired systems.
You will need:

Speakers – with four input terminals each: the terminals will be marked

(High Frequency

+ and –) and

(Low Frequency + and –).

Loudspeaker cables – two pairs of cables per loudspeaker.

How to bi-wire loudspeakers

1. Remove the terminal links on the rear of your loudspeakers.

Note that If you do not remove the shorting links from the speaker terminals, the
speakers will still be single-wired!

2. Connect the cables as shown in the diagram, ensuring correct polarity at all times.

Bi-amping your system

Notes:

In order to bi-amplify your speakers, your speakers will need to be bi-wirable (have

positive and negative terminals for both high frequency (

) and low frequency (

)

information). If your speakers are bi-wirable, ensure that the links between the

and

terminals are removed.

WARNING: This step is essential or damage to
your AVR280 may result which is not covered
under warranty.

If you wish to bi-amplify speakers using external

power amplifiers, you must use amplifiers with the
same gain as the AVR280 (31dB), otherwise the
bass and the treble will become unbalanced. Please
contact your dealer if you require more information
on bi-amping your speakers.

Bi-amping using the AVR280

If channels 6 and 7 of your system are not in use (i.e., you
have a system comprised of a maximum of five speakers,
excluding the subwoofer), these spare amplification channels
may be used to bi-amplify the front left and right speakers of
your system.
Follow these steps:

1. Remove the terminal links on the rear of your

loudspeakers.

WARNING: This step is essential or damage to
your AVR280 may result which is not covered
under warranty.

2. Connect the cables as shown in the diagram below,

ensuring correct polarity at all times.

3. Ensure that the

USE CHANNELS 6+7

for setting in

Basic menu 6 ‘EX Settings’ is set to

BIAMP L+R

. (See

page 13 for details of how to do this.)

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Bi-wiring using the

AVR280 (only one speaker

is shown, for clarity)

Left
speaker

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Right
speaker

Bi-amping using the surround back channels of the

AVR280 (only the front left and right speakers

are shown, for clarity)