Bi-Amping

[kve777 6,889]

 

 

I saw the system photo you posted in another thread. You should have mentioned you have 4 XLS-215's...

Does the owner's manual metion the approximate power split between the highs/mids and woofers?

Based on the published driver specs and 280Hz crossover point my guess is that it's NOT 50/50.

 

 

WOW! I can almost hear that set up from here!

 

Imaging tip- If you want better imaging, including with SH, try inverting one pair of speakers and stacking them on the other pair. Like this old stacked Advent arrangement:

 

It puts the higher frequency sources closer together on each side, making the source more cohesive. I think you will like the bass better, too. It should be tighter, less boomy. 

 

If you like the recordings on your R2R tapes, please store them NOT on your speakers or near your amps. Magnetic fields from magnets and transformers(and old CRT TV's) will erase them. So will direct sunlight. 

[zumbini 6,150]

 

 

Imaging tip- If you want better imaging, including with SH, try inverting one pair of speakers and stacking them on the other pair. Like this old stacked Advent arrangement:

 

It puts the higher frequency sources closer together on each side, making the source more cohesive. I think you will like the bass better, too. It should be tighter, less boomy.

 

True, but unfortunately the XLS-215's are 50" tall so he would need at least 8' 4" clearance to stack them.

[Charlie 16,430]

Double-stacking is out of the question as Z pointed out; they are very directional with regards to mid and tweets so I'm not sure inverting would work properly. Right now I'm just using 4 amps (M4.0t in mono) on 2 speakers for a passive bi-amp and it sounds extremely well feeding from the C-1 (BillD). I'm going to try 2 C-1s  (I have a matching pair of BillD C-1s) so I can use 8 amps (mono) on the 4 speakers; it's just an experiment to see if I can make it work properly and if the sound will be proper...

 

As for the RTR tapes, those are empty reels that needed a place for storage; thanks for the warning as that had not crossed my mind but I use a bulk tape eraser on all tapes before I record on them. Recorded tapes are stored in a separate area...

 

@Z, the 5A fuses protect the whole speaker according to Cerwin-Vega tech support... 

[zumbini 6,150]

....@Z, the 5A fuses protect the whole speaker according to Cerwin-Vega tech support... 

 

Thanks Charlie. Did you ask about the power split for the tweeters/mids vs the woofers when bi-amping?

 

FYI: My Legacy Super Satellites use a 5A slow blow for the dual 6.5" mids and a 2-1/4A fast acting for the tweeter.

[UncleMeat 1,173]

[Charlie 16,430]

 

 

 

Thanks Charlie. Did you ask about the power split for the tweeters/mids vs the woofers when bi-amping?

 

FYI: My Legacy Super Satellites use a 5A slow blow for the dual 6.5" mids and a 2-1/4A fast acting for the tweeter.

 

They couldn't give me an answer on that, Z.... 

[maytag 853]

 

 

 

Imaging tip- If you want better imaging, including with SH, try inverting one pair of speakers and stacking them on the other pair. Like this old stacked Advent arrangement:

 

It puts the higher frequency sources closer together on each side, making the source more cohesive. I think you will like the bass better, too. It should be tighter, less boomy.

 

 

True, but unfortunately the XLS-215's are 50" tall so he would need at least 8' 4" clearance to stack them.

 

How about stacking them on their sides?

would you get the same effect or would you have to tilt your head to the side?  

Not that it's a realistic set up but …. 

[massastan 50]

Take a look at my system under users systems Massastan's system. I selected my amps based on reputation and damping factor (see the damping factor link). The system was designed as a 6db studio quality (west coast) sound profile, and not a 2-4db east coast hi-fi or euro sounding system. I have old receivers and JBL S312's, and others (OCD) for hi-fi. I do not rely on snake oil filled mundorf capacitors in the enclosure crossovers to make up for a lack of an amps damping factor or driver profile. I find a RTA a must for system balancing and EQ. Stop by for a listen when you’re in my area. DSD music files sound amazing on my system.

 

I also like having two ten inch low mids which contribute about 80% of the audio sound spectrum, see online charts.

 

It's not for everyone, but I took care of what I need by putting more into design vs money, although it's not a low cost option, just reasonable. 

[maytag 853]

power steering

 

I was trying different set ups today and found that if I had both inputs connected but only one channel had speakers connected- both meters moved.

 

My question is, with only one channel connected to speakers - say the left channel, in stereo mode not mono- would I still have the benefit of "power steering" from the right channel?  (which is not connected to speakers)

 

 

 

Two amps should be more than enough to make your ears bleed. 

 

If you insist on using four I suggest running them in single channel mode as bridging tends to smear the soundstage.

(Feed one input channel of each amp and connect the corresponding binding posts to one freq. band of one speaker.)

The driven channel will be able to "borrow" power from the unused channel up to the capacity of the power supply.

 

The only drawback to that arrangement is that only the meters for driven channel will be active. 

[massastan 50]

I use one amp for the R & L tweeters, another amp the the R & L high mids, and so one. Each speaker has it's db level set independently with the RTA in db meter mode. The crossover allows all other speakers to be muted. When all drivers are set at an equal db level then the EQ is set, with the RTA in octave analysis mode, for each speaker, then each tower, then at money/single malt seat. Of course, this is all done while the wife is at work!!!

[RodH 4,866]

 

 

power steering

 

I was trying different set ups today and found that if I had both inputs connected but only one channel had speakers connected- both meters moved.

 

My question is, with only one channel connected to speakers - say the left channel, in stereo mode not mono- would I still have the benefit of "power steering" from the right channel?  (which is not connected to speakers)

 

 

 

 

Two amps should be more than enough to make your ears bleed. 

 

If you insist on using four I suggest running them in single channel mode as bridging tends to smear the soundstage.

(Feed one input channel of each amp and connect the corresponding binding posts to one freq. band of one speaker.)

The driven channel will be able to "borrow" power from the unused channel up to the capacity of the power supply.

 

The only drawback to that arrangement is that only the meters for driven channel will be active. 

 

If you have both inputs connected, both channels are amplifying voltage to the outputs. The meters indicate output voltage, calibrated to a nominal 8 ohm load and not actually the power delivered. With no speaker connected to that extra channel, no current is being used so no power is actually being put out. 

The power available is all available to the one output that is connected to a real world load.