Bi amping my ML SL3 speakers


Few questions for the ones that know the answers :)

If I’d like to bi-amp my speakers how do I know how much power should I send to the woofer and how much to the rest of the speaker ? (for mids and highs)

Currently I am using a Rotel 1582MKII and if I really crank the volume woofers start to distort so I’m thinking this amp is too much power ?

Info on ML site is misleading one place says 80-200 but I also saw 20-400 WPC so which one is it. My rotel amp is rated for 200WPC at 8 Ohms and no 4 ohm rating.....my speakers are 4 Ohms rated

Also I am guessing that the amp dedicated for lows doesn’t have to be as high end as the one for the electrostatic panels ?

 

Last but not least I will need a pre amp that has two sets of pre outs so I can feed same signal into both amps correct ? I really don’t want to get RCA splitters because that defeats the purpose of having a nice set of RCA’s - this question has been resolved thanks to riley804. I will get some but amp cables :)

 

Lots of questions any answers or wisdom is much appreciated !

lehelke3

Personally I think you are overthinking it and mixing kind of OK amplifiers. Get 1 solid amp and you'll be happier.

The issue with ESL's is that they are low impedance at the worst place (high frequencies) where even solid state amps tend to be going the wrong way.

Consider instead getting a single Sanders amp which are specifically designed for this situation, and that way you can get whatever pre you like which sounds good to you.

I already have a rotel amp that is overpowering the wiofers so I really think I would benefit from bi amping. Just need to figure out how to devide power between bass and mids/tweets ....

 

Would be nice to be able to use a crossover and drive the lows with specific power as opposed to full range. For the electrostatic panels I would like to get something nice might even go with tube so I can get the best sound out of my speakers 

Your speakers are designed for passive bi-amping not active bi-amping. See articles below:

Mike

https://sound-au.com/biamp-vs-passive.htm

 

 

Interesting read I know I shouldn't have gone down that road this is not car audio where I use to ran active crossovers as opposed to the passive ones that came with my 6.5" component set all the time for precise control and SQ results. 

So to get back to what really matters....do you guys recommend I get one amp for the woofers and another maybe class A or tube amp for the mids and highs.

 

Speaker posts in back encourage that since there is a dedicated pair of inputs for woofers and another one for the panel ?

I usually go 4 times more power for the low end. Active crossover to get the most benefit. I also bypass the internal passive crossover. Yes tube or class A for high end.