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Bi-amping Rules

I wasn't sure if this question belongs in the amp or the speaker section but I figured I'll post it here. Those of you who have bi-amped your speakers, what's the general rule for deciding which amplifiers are better for low frequency vs. the high frequency drivers. I recognize an accurate answer will depend on the particular speakers and amp combinations but I'm looking for general rules of thumb from personal experiences and not application specific recommendations. For the sake of the argument, let's assume the amps are different but the gains on both amps can be adjusted if that matters. Thanks.
128x128kalali
joysjane's avatar
joysjane
165 posts
 
Vertical bi-amping with identical amps.
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,913 posts
 
Yep identical transfer function otherwise you are just flavor shopping aka chasing your tail

i bet the guy w two Aesthetix Atlas system kicks some major jams out !!!!!!!
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
Vertical bi-amping with identical amps.
👍 Yes vertical bi-amping is the way if the amps are identical.

Or horizontal bi-amp a good class-A or A/B or tube on the mids and highs and a class-d on the bass.
 
Cheers George
jcipale's avatar
jcipale
63 posts
 
I currently have a Hafler DH200 feeding my Infinity 6 Kappas With an infinity BU-1 subwoofer. I am considering adding a 2nd BU-1. This distributes 50 wpc with each sub and 100 wpc into the 6 Kappas crossing over @ 150 Hz.
erik_squires
16,118 posts
 
Since 80% of the power/voltage is in the bass, AND speakers tend to have an impedance dip in the 100-150 Hz range you want the bigger, stiffer amp in the bass.

However, since most amps are fixed gain (26 dB) if you mismatch by a lot, say, 200 W bass, 10 W tweeter/midrange, you can still overload the top end amp with too much required voltage swing, you'll have clipping anyway.

So try to keep your amp power ratio at most 2:1


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