Am I wasting money on the theory of Bi-amping?

@lonemoutain, I think we are seeing the same thing from a different angle. The OP seeemed to suggest that he was considering biamping his speakers that have passive cross-overs already included, not active loudspeakers, as that would probably be moot.

 Acitve loudspeakers have existed for some time now, though they seem to be more prevalent in the pro sound market than in the home audiophile market. Though there has been more recent growth in available active speakers geared towards the home market, What you have stated regarding active speakers and true DIY projects are certainly true. But I think that for the home market, speakers with passive crossovers have traditionally domiinated the market place.

Passive speakers can be designed with equaization and/or with compensation for driver irregularities, impedance smoothing, containment rolloff, time and phase corrections with traditional passive parts. I'm not suggesting that this built in compensation is typically user adjustable. Most traditional off the shelf active crossovers only give a number frequency bands for drivers and slope options. Newer digital crossovers offer much more customization.

@elliottbnewcombjr , I had the courtsey of reading the other posts, including yours before jumping in with mine.

Experience has led many away from mixing amplifiers as the passive crossovers will still allow bleed from the amplifers into the other side of the crossover region. The effect of which will vary with the slope of the crossovers used. I think most have concluded that using identical amps advantageous. Most of the modern active loudspeakers are not using tubes in the mix.

Though biwiring typically shouldn't be confused with biamping, mixing cables might have similar effects.

Erratum :  …”containment rolloff,…” would be most typically done with equalization rather than the suggested …”with passive parts.”… 

unsound

my words were dumb, I had 3 dr appts, wife was waiting, usually I have too much time, read all responses to learn stuff. This time, I wanted to send a quickie idea.

I don't understand the crossover stuff, however, MANY add self-powered sub-woofers to their existing systems. Existing system might be tubes, self-powered sub probably class D, that was what I was thinking about.

OP (explain to a 3rd grader) some of these responses are for physics majors)

I was ASSUMING your speakers had a removable jumper, AND their internal crossover was designed for OPTIONAL Bi-Amping (or bi-wiring).

EITHER

leave jumper installed: internal crossover performs as standard: full division of the signal input: resulting, after internal crossover: separate signals for each driver in the system (2 way/3 way)

OR, remove the Jumper, which then uses the internal wiring of the crossover differently: part of the crossover drives only the woofer; the other part drives only the mids and highs.

My AR-2ax crossover is designed for either bi-wire or biamp.

common ground: remove jumper, now crossover portion for the woofer becomes separate from the crossover parts for the mids and highs

NOTE: the circuit includes subsequent in-line connections for level controls to balance the volume of the mid and tweet relative to each driver. This allows you to adjust for a dead space or a live space, or your personal tastes. Many vintage speakers provided level controls, which is separate from removable jumpers.

Jumper removed, bi-wire is possible: choose a cable construction you believe is best for mid/high signals from the amp; and use a separate cable, it’s construction you believe is best for bass notes.

Jumper removed: bi-amp is also possible: one amp in/out of internal crossover feeds the woofer only. other amp in/out of the crossover feeds mid/high drivers only.

Using an external crossover is relative to the removable jumper/internal crossover design.

Bi-Amp ASSUMES, because the bass needs much more power than the mids/highs: use one amp (less power needed) for the mid/high side of the speakers to the external terminals that feed the mid/high side of the internal crossover

and

use a separate amp, more powerful for the bass hungry notes.

Thus, using 2 identical amps is providing the same max power to the crossover, which is why I said no real advantage.

..............................

thus my example: one amp (tube amp perhaps), less powerful for the mids/highs which need less power; and a separate more powerful amp for the power hungry bass, perhaps SS to get more power/less heat/smaller body than a big hot tube amp.

Affordability is also involved, large powerful tube amp for woofer is much more expensive than an equal powered SS amp.