Of course, doubling up on your amps does demand a bit of house keeping and some additional investment, beyond the cost of the additional amplifier itself. Use the Neodio HQA and you’ll need either a Y-adapter o, preferably, a set of Y-leads to feed the signal into each amp, as well as a second set of identical speaker cables. But what lends added weight to the argument that bi-amping is steadily establishing itself as a go-to system solution is the fact that the Wattson amplifier actually incorporates a passive bi-amp mode, where you connect a single signal lead to one input and it gets fed to both output channels (thus saving you the price of a pair of interconnects). It’s a feature shared with the amplifiers from Wattson’s parent company, CH Precision, but it’s nice to see it incorporated at this lower price level where it arguably makes even greater sense. Both amps also show a degree of ecological sensitivity that’s unusual in high-performance audio products. Both are manufactured with locally sourced components and partners. The Neodio is designed to be serviceable in the long-term and comes with a 10-year guarantee. The Wattson’s compact chassis uses less material in manufacturing and leaves a lower carbon footprint when it comes to shipping. Each in their own way is a harbinger of things to come, but both suggest that, when it comes to getting more music for your money, bi-amping should be firmly on your agenda.
