Biamping vs only inserting an Active crossover


I guess if one is deciding to biamp, you need to insert an active crossover device.

When you insert an active crossover device, does this improve the quality of the signal directed toward individual drivers on your speaker so as to avoid the need to biamp which is also designed to better focus the signal reaching the drivers in your speaker?

Are there phasing issues when you biamp?

Further, biamping is a way to bring the quality of tubes to mid and tweeters so another reason why biamping may be of benefit.

In the process you substantially increase all the interconnects which to me sounds unfavorable overall. So in the end does any of this effort make any sense at all???

jumia

Hello Jumia!  Whether you bi-amp or use an electronic crossover, you will need at least one stereo amp in addition to what you currently have. The electronic crossover need not be expensive. MiniDSP makes a two way unit for under $100. (You will need a computer with USB capabilities to program it. It is NOT difficult.) I have five systems in my home and four of them use electronic crossovers. You can have very steep crossover curves (24 - 48 db/octave, much steeper than commonly used passive crossovers) to prevent unwanted bass from getting into your midrange/tweeter drivers. That is a very good thing; and the electronic units are much cheaper than passive crossovers with massive coils of copper and exotic capacitors. You get first class performance on the cheap. Also, if the amp handling the low frequencies overloads (clips), your tweeters are not exposed to the high frequency energy generated by such distortion. In a two way system, one stereo power amp handles the bass, and another one drives the mid/tweeter speakers. If you simply add a subwoofer (or two), cross over at 300 Hz and run you current speakers for the mid/treble frequencies. Those speakers will not have to produce the bass frequencies and will have a much easier time producing music. They will breathe easy. (If you can, remove the internal passive crossovers and connect the drivers directly to the amps. This may expose problems with some speakers that have humps and bumps in their reaponse that the internal crossovers try to fix. Proceed with caution.)

Four channel amps are available if you don't want to add new units to your stack of audio gear. One of my systems uses a four way electronic cross over. Each channel (R & L) requires four amps: low bass, lower mids, upper mids, tweeters. That's eight channels of amps for stereo. I use 4 channel amps from Starke Sound. Another 4 channel amp runs center, and L & R rear speakers. I could uses that leftover channel to power a subwoofer, but I don't need one on that rig.

You always want good cables anyway, but they are easy to build if you DIY. All the amps and speakers downstream from the electronic crossover have an easier life and suffer less stress than they would handling full frequency signals.

MiniDSP's electronic crossovers are programmable, but not adjustable on the fly. If you like to experiment, DBX and others make units with twistable knobs for changing levels and frequencies as the music plays. Great fun! It is a hobby, isn't it? Happy Listening!  Feel free to contact me if you need more encouragement/advice.

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I am running a McIntosh C2700 Tube Preamp with a MC462 stereo power amp driving B&W 800D3’s along with two REL 212SX subs. I have been thinking of bi-amping with a second MC462.  Anyone done this or have comments on this?  Do you think I’d get a noticeable improvement in the sound? The MC462 owner’s manual shows an optional wiring diagram with a bi-amp configuration - one MC462 drives the woofers on each speaker, the other one the midrange and tweeters.  

Under $600 and configurable.

tube amp for upper and mids, ss for lows and dual powered subs.

each amp does what it sounds best at, runs cooler and there is more power available for driving only the specific  frequencies fed to the particular amp...