2. speakers
  3. 1211480185

Which amp to Bi-amp my Maggie 20.1

I am considering bi-amping my Maggie 20.1s’ I have two amps, one has 1,000 watts into 4 Ohms and the other has 500 into 4 Ohms (both ICE amps). The Maggies are 4 Ohm speakers. I will be bypassing the low pass crossovers with an active crossover at 130 Hz. 15 dB/oct., but I will be sending a full range signal into the mid / upper crossovers to power the upper half. My question is should I use the 500 watt on the bass panel and the 1,000 to the upper so that I won’t risk clipping into the mids and tweeter? I don’t think clipping will damage the bass panels. Please don’t think I going to “blast” the sound at killer high volumes, the amps my never clip, it’s just that the Maggies are very inefficient. Also since I am bypassing the low crossovers doesn’t that make the bass panel easier to drive? So anyway please give me your opinions and reasoning over which amp goes where? Thanks.
koestner
Post removed 
audiokinesis
2,750 posts
 
With a 130 Hz crossover point, I'd put the big amps on the upper frequency section. Not only will the upper frequency panels require more power on most music, but also clipping up there will be more audible than clipping on the bass panels.

Duke
peter_s
1,348 posts
 
While I am in the process of selling my 20.1's due to a room too small, I tried a lot of amps, and my experience (and that of Bea at VTL) is to use the more powerful amp for the mids/highs. That is where you really want to get the sharpest dynamics and not have it poop out.
chadeffect
586 posts
 
I would be surprised if you got clipping from those kind of powerful amps with the maggie. Unless you are really punishing the maggies with very high SPLs and popping fuses all the time. I would have thought the bass panel would start rattling as it hits the magnets long before those amps give up.

My only reasoning for putting the 1000w on the highs and mids would be because the 1000w ICE board is a better sounding amp. Otherwise I would use more power on the bass.

Having said that, just plug them in a see which way you feel sounds better!

Good luck.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,457 posts
 
Agree with Chadaffect.

HAving owned Maggies and researched the Ice amp units, I seriously doubt clipping will be an issue. I believe they double in power pretty well from 8 to 4 to 2 ohms, so load should not be a problem.

If one sounds inherently cleaner or better for some reason listening at typical SPLs , I'd put that to the high end first most likely regardless of power.

I'm not certain more power makes as big a difference in the low end with maggies as with say equivalent dynamic box designs, so power to the bass may not be as much a factor in the Maggie case.

I wish I knew about the latest ICE power amps before I sold my Maggies a year or so back because my impression researching them is that their cost effectiveness and ability to deliver current to handle difficult loads may have been just what the doctor ordered.
More to discover