2 Pre-Outs?


I have a high end preamplifier (which has 2 balanced pre outputs) connected to two stereo amplifiers, both J. Rowlands 112's. Each amp is connected two a pair of 8 Ohms loudspeakers with fairly equal efficiency ratings.
When I play a source (digital or analog) both loudspeakers lose their inherent sonic virtues, particularly gain. When I play each one individually(by turning off one or the other amp.), each pair performs flawlessly.
Should I increase the gain on the preamp?
drmoles

Showing 3 responses by aball

I have done experiments with 2 pairs of speakers playing together before. It can work but you have to really REALLY work at getting them in the right spots so as to not get wave interference - which sounds to me is the problem you are having. In my experience, just half an inch of toe-in can make or break it. If you have them close to each other, it will be much easier. I don't think your preamp is the issue - just speaker placement and/or compatibility.

It is doable of course, otherwise home theater would be a crock of s, but stereo imaging demands much more accuracy in your speaker placement.
The difference in phase is what we are talking about, just like you said in both of your posts. Also, the difference isn't large at all - it all comes down to playing with just a few milliseconds.

Using the B-speaker outputs works very well for surrounding yourself with sound. I don't know if you have actually tried it but I have and it sounds rather realistic if you get the positioning right.

Of course, I am only talking about music, like Drmoles is, so you can't expect there to be any sort of "decoding" needed - just a few milliseconds delay to create a feeling of ambient space and that is pretty easy to do.