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Another Bi-wiring question: Amp related

While experimenting with different bi-wiring arrangements between my McIntosh MC2200 and Vandersteen 2Ci speakers, I’ve concluded that using the 8 ohm tap for high/mid and the 4 ohm tap for low (bass) gives the best sound. Nothing real dramatic but audible to me. It probably has to do with the different damping factors (output impedance) for the two different taps along with my fairly long speaker cable runs. Anyway, my question is, 1) has anyone else tried this approach on their amps, regardless of the brand, and 2) would this approach harm the amplifiers in anyway. I suspect the answer is no for the second question but just curious and wanted to ask.
Thanks. 
kalali

Showing 1 response by almarg

almarg's avatar
almarg
9,670 posts
 
That is perfectly ok, Kalali, as long as the two sections of the speaker are not interconnected internally. And in that regard I see the following statement in the FAQ at the Vandersteen site:

The crossovers in Vandersteen bi-wirable speakers are engineered with completely separate high-pass and low-pass sections.

Also, by the way, the manual for my VAC amplifier states as follows:

If you bi-wire your system (run separate speaker leads from the amplifier to the high and low frequency transducers) you may discover that two different impedance taps work best. For example, with early production Martin Logan Sequel II we find that the bass speaker is best matched with the 4-8 ohm tap, while the electrostatic panel is best controlled by the 2-4 ohm tap. On later production Sequels we use the 8-4 ohm connection to both drivers.

Enjoy!

Regards,
-- Al



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