To bi-amp or not, that is the question

[alkizz]

AHHAHA.. great thread! Thank you everyone I really appreciate it. as they say "the proof is in the pudding"

I hope my pudding has proof in it!

[damacman]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

You’re a pop culture guru Ivan!!

[djwhog]

I like your 1st post, that is the way I would go too, or 2 601s for the bass and the tube amps for mids+highs yes.

[Masterlu]

Originally Posted by damacman

You’re a pop culture guru Ivan!!

I just believe you need a hearty dose of fun & humor with this crazy hobby of ours.

[W9TR]

Originally Posted by masterlu

i just believe you need a hearty dose of fun & humor with this crazy hobby of ours.

+1000 !

[Banter]

Originally Posted by alkizz

Thank you for the note. I’m satisfied with what I have but I’m not completely satisfied I’m getting the most from whats possible. From my anecdotal research I’ve come to the conclusion that half of the world thinks it’s a fools endeavor and half fully endorse the practice.

I’m also not convinced that my specific use case has been considered (except by Tom).

My speakers have 2 physically separated crossovers. So far, I haven’t heard an argument against bi-amping that explains how (bedsides the gain) this would not improve the performance of my system. This of course could just be my ignorance.

If this wouldn’t damage my system and I don’t mind spending money, the only downside would be that there’s no difference in sound or that it’s not as good bi-amped as it is today with 2 monoblocks.

I would like to enhance upon the "complicated" nature of this experiment. You are going to introduce a new AMP, IC, speaker cables and probably new power cord. All these will play a real roller coaster ride on you existing stable system. The MAC amp will take about 100 hours to begin sounding normal.

On top of that the Tube amp and the SS amp have electronics that will switch a few micro or nano seconds apart.

Once you have gone thru the burn in period, your system to you will sound very musical, but it is due to different electronic characteristics. After awhile you may not like it or you may.

[Formerly YB-2]

As an alternative or 'first step' to bi-amping, the OP might consider bi-wiring. If you decide to continue on to the bi-amp set-up, nothing used for bi-wire is unused. All you need is the second set of speaker cables. Remove the shorting bars from the low-to-mid speaker terminals on your 1Ks and run the 2nd set of wires from the same terminal on your amps as the other set. My Ref 9Ks responded very positively to such a bi-wire.

[alkizz]

Thanks!

[piolaxo]

I'm in the camp, that the potential return is worth it, with a high cost of course.
Yes, the gain is the main issue, but if you can master that, then you're off to enjoy
the best of both worlds. This is completely safe.

The OP said that is going to tune the gain by ear, but one can find tools to tune it.
You can get some sample CD with tones at different frequencies and if you have a DB
meter, then you can play the different frequency tunes before doing the bi-amping and
then afterwards. You can do this at different volumes as well.

A more sophisticated check with be with tools like REW, but you need a PC, microphone
and so on and there is a bit of a learning curve. What I'm trying to say is that the gain
can be matched and tested.

Sal

[prepress]

Originally Posted by Formerly YB-2

As an alternative or 'first step' to bi-amping, the OP might consider bi-wiring. If you decide to continue on to the bi-amp set-up, nothing used for bi-wire is unused. All you need is the second set of speaker cables. Remove the shorting bars from the low-to-mid speaker terminals on your 1Ks and run the 2nd set of wires from the same terminal on your amps as the other set. My Ref 9Ks responded very positively to such a bi-wire.

My setup isn't on the same level as many here, but I have done passive bi-amping and am bi-wiring currently. It made a difference for me.

When I bi-amped my Mirage M-3si speakers (which have separate terminals for mid/highs and lows) it was with 2 pair of B&K Sonata monoblocks. When one pair was removed for repair, I noticed the low end was thinner. These days I have MC501 monos, and use the same tap to bi-wire (4 ohm; the Mirages are 6 ohm). The sound is more balanced than when I used separate taps.