Does anyone own a tri amped system in Florida I could hear?

I rarely listen to my tri-amped set-up, partially because of the seating logistics.

Mine is vintage (Super Big Reds) with Marantz amps, and I prefer the Mermans that I created (JBL 18", JBL 10", Heil AMT) with passive crossovers.  But then, I designed these in the room in which they are used and am extremely careful in how I match parts in the crossovers, of my own design.

The tri-amped setup uses the Super Big Reds (Altec 604E2/Utah aux woofer) that I purchased from a recording studio.  These are one-off in furniture-grade oak cabinets.  The analog electronic crossover was designed for this assemblage and is also a one-off.  There are also passive eq units that go between the amp and the horn drivers.

The amps include two Marantz 170DCs for the four woofers and a Marantz 1180DC integrated for the preamp and to power the horn drivers.  I also have the matching Marantz 2130 tuner with the built-in O-scope.

This set-up could be had..., but I am on the left coast.  I was trying to track their history, but Doug Sax had died a couple years prior to when I got them.

https://youtu.be/iGa9259pz-I

@tlcocks --

It depends on the approach you want to pursue: with passive bi-amping I don’t see the obvious benefits to make it worthwhile and would rather invest the money on a single amp.

However, if you want to see how deep the rabbit hole really goes, so to speak, go outboard active - which is bi-, tri- etc.-amping by its very nature and inherent to its design. This is where the real benefits of such an amp configuration will show itself, and contrary to passive bi-amping it’s a dedicated approach that 1) sees the negation of the passive crossover between the amps and drivers for direct connection between a single amp channel and its driver section, and 2) that each amp channel will only be asked to amplify a frequency limited range - as dictated by the digital crossover/DSP or electronic crossover (analogue) and the line signal received here. That means load independency between the different driver sections, much easier amp load and better driver control.

Moreover, if you go outboard active with the subs to boot (that is, no built-in so-so plate amps and DSP), you’ll get to experience the importance the amplifier has in the lowest octaves as well, and it also means you can now use the same topology/brand amp over the subs as the ones used in the remaining frequency range above for even better coherency and overall sound quality. It’s what I do; active tri-amping with the same topology/brand amps top to bottom.

Who said anything about "easier" or "convenience"? It’s the results that matter, right? Fortunately active bi/tri/more amping equates into much more efficient use of an amplifier’s performance and power envelope, meaning you can do with less one way and the other and still get great results - effectively rendering the "infinite budget"-claim moot. Indeed on the contrary; active configuration can save you money eventually, and it’s not like audiophiles are necessarily money shy to begin with. 

I know I am clearly in over my head. But I knew that already with my Aussie friend anyway still want a listen!  

@phusis +10

@tlcocks Wrote:

I know I am clearly in over my head. But I knew that already with my Aussie friend anyway still want a listen!  

A bit of history for the fun of it, the first powered and active speakers from JBL 1959-64 Hartfield and Paragon see here. 😎

Mike