Is bi amping worth it ?

@ditusa

i now understand true bi amping should require four mono blocks or two stereo amplifiers.   I was going to run both sets of low frequency from one mono block and both mid and high from the other mono block .  
 

no chance of buying two more McIntosh 601s 

I was going to follow this direction ? 
 

To passively bi-amp Klipschorn speakers with two McIntosh 601 monoblocks, you must remove the jumpers on the speakers' binding posts and follow a "vertical" bi-amping configuration, where each speaker has its own dedicated amplifier

. 

This setup uses four separate speaker cables and requires a preamplifier with two sets of output jacks (Pre Out 1 and Pre Out 2) for the left and right channels. The Klipschorn's internal passive crossover remains in use to divide the signal frequency to the speaker drivers. 

Required equipment

• Klipschorn speakers: Ensure the terminal jumpers connecting the high and low frequency posts are removed.
• McIntosh 601 monoblock amplifiers:You will use two of these, with one monoblock per speaker.
• Preamplifier: Must have two sets of left and right pre-outputs (e.g., Pre Out 1 and Pre Out 2).
• Speaker cables: You will need two pairs (four total cables) of high-quality speaker cables.
• Interconnects: You will need two pairs (four total cables) of interconnects. 

Connection steps

Step 1: Connect the preamplifier outputs

1. Run the first pair of interconnects from the preamplifier's Left Pre Out 1 and Right Pre Out 1 to the input jacks of the two McIntosh 601 monoblocks.
2. Run the second pair of interconnects from the preamplifier's Left Pre Out 2and Right Pre Out 2 to the input jacks of the same two McIntosh 601 monoblocks.
   This will feed a full-range signal from your preamplifier to both amps for each channel, which is required for passive bi-amping. McIntosh recommends using balanced connections if possible for the best performance. 

Step 2: Connect the monoblocks to the speakers

1. For the Left Speaker:
   • Connect the positive output terminal (+ or red) of the first McIntosh 601 to the positive input terminal (+ or red) of the Klipschorn's High Frequency section.
   • Connect the negative output terminal (- or black) of the first McIntosh 601 to the negative input terminal (- or black) of the Klipschorn's High Frequencysection.
   • Connect the positive output terminal (+ or red) of the second McIntosh 601 to the positive input terminal (+ or red) of the Klipschorn's Low Frequencysection.
   • Connect the negative output terminal (- or black) of the second McIntosh 601 to the negative input terminal (- or black) of the Klipschorn's Low Frequency section.
2. For the Right Speaker:
   • Repeat the same process for the right speaker, using the other two McIntosh 601 monoblocks to power the high and low-frequency sections separately. 

Why this method works

• Vertical bi-amping: This configuration uses one McIntosh 601 per channel, with one amplifier channel dedicated to the high frequencies and the other to the low frequencies. This provides better channel separation since each amplifier works independently on a mono signal.
• Passive crossover: The Klipschorn's internal passive crossover remains in place to split the frequencies after the amplification stage. The jumpers must be removed to allow the different amplifier signals to go to the correct speaker driver.
• Signal path: The preamp outputs a full-range signal to all four monoblock inputs. The Klipschorn's terminals direct the amplified high and low-frequency signals to the corresponding drivers via the internal crossover. 
   
• this won’t work ? 

I like the Combination of tube and solid state for biamping. To me it's the only way to do it. Not sure why people biamp entirely with solid state. Unless The amplifiers don't have that much power to begin with and you need to supplement things.

Separation of amplification for tubes to the upper range drivers makes a great deal of sense.  Tubes are especially nice for upper range drivers which handle mostly vocals and the harmonic benefits tubes is really nice.  And then the focused power from the solid state amps focused on lower bass drivers is very nice.

The combination of 601 solid state and 2301 is very nice.  I say this because I have use the MC 901 for McIntosh which is basically this combination using a 611 and a 2301 join together with an internal crossover in one big giant box for each mono. Avoids all the external crossover device.  Youll always have the crossover stuff going on inside the speakers unless you strip it out which is challenging to address.

I have been puzzling through your bi-amp instructions as posted.  Bi-amping means using separate channels of amplification for the high and low frequencies on each speaker.  Inherently this requires four channels of amplification for a stereo pair of loudspeakers.

A monoblock contains only one channel of amplification.

In the connection steps listed, it says to run two interconnects into the input of each monoblock.  I don't know of any monoblock amplifiers that have two inputs, both balanced, that would accommodate this setup.  Monoblocks have one input and one output for their one channel of amplification.

Also, in the area on speaker connections, it states that for the right speaker, to use the other two McIntosh 601 monoblocks.  That implies that there is a second pair of monoblocks.

I don't know the origin of these instructions, but my interpretation is that they are in error.

Four channels of amplification are required, be they two stereo amps, four monoblocks, or one stereo amp and one pair of monoblocks (which is what I use).

Bill

FWIW, the big advantage to passive bi-amping is being able to match amplifiers to speaker requirements.  In other words, you can run a big honking amp to power your power hungry woofers to bring out their capabilities and use an amp that you love for it's midrange and high frequencies to power the mids and tweets.

If you vertically bi-amp you are using identical amplifiers on both highs and lows (oftimes a stereo amp).  This can work well if you are somewhat compromised in power requirements in the first place.  It also allows for short speaker cable runs and maybe more convenient placing of the amplifiers.

In your case, I wouldn't use a second pair of 601s for the mids and highs because your speakers are efficient and you would only be using a fraction of their power.  A much smaller amplifier would work just fine and possibly be much less $ than a second pair of 601s.

The biggest issue when using different amplifiers for the highs and lows is matching the outputs.  In my case I had to tame down the bass to match the highs, by using an attenuator between the preamp and the monoblocks.

As always, YMMV.

Bill