I have the 990 and 7700 and I want to bi-amp my LSi15s. I would prefer to use balanced outputs even though its only a short run, mostly because the outputs and inputs are there so I might as well use them even if its a very small quality gain. Can I use a Y-splitter cable to split the outputs or do I need some kind of brick that splits it. I feel like I might be loosing signal quality by splitting the signal to the point that I am actually loosing performance overall when bi-amping. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?
Thanks!

Splitting the signal reduces the gain of each output signal. There's no other particular effect. Unless there is a problem with the splitter, there shouldn't be a loss in signal quality.

Splitters for RCA are easy to come by. Splitters for XLR are harder. If memory serves correctly, you would need a female to dual-male splitter like this one for each channel.

Thanks, I will give something along these lines a try and see how it sounds. Right now most of my concerns have been that I don't want to damage my new equipment so I have been hesitant to just try things.

You might want to try using the RCA outs for your upper range signal and the LCR outs for your bass. There's a little difference in the gain, but I see no difference in the quality.
When you bi-amp, aren't you eliminating the speaker's internal crossover?

That will create a roughly 3dB difference in gain for the low frequencies vs. the high frequencies. That's enough to throw things off quite a bit. Better to split one output so you have the same signal gain going both ways.


Not the way we're talking about it. This is passive bi-amping, which only serves to increase the power available to the speaker. In most cases, the benefits are negligible at best, but with an especially difficult speaker to drive (like the Polk LSi's) it may be more useful.

The only way to remove the internal crossover from the mix is to do active bi-amping, which requires building a crossover network to include between the pre-amp and the amps. That crossover network then handles splitting the signal and sending it to two or more amplifiers. After that, you have to physically remove the crossover network from the speaker and wire straight from binding posts to drivers. This is a very complex process and requires both technical expertise and knowledge of the speaker's design.

A custom built crossover is something i was thinking about until I saw the $400 part pricetag. Some day I may venture down this road but at the time it makes more sense to put my money elsewhere, such as surrounds surrounds and an oppo.

There is no advantage to using the balanced connections if you do not have interference issues with your cables and they are not long runs. The RCA connects are so much easier to split and will save you some money too.