Is bi amping worth it ?


New thinking ? 
 

the subwoofer world is quite confusing . so I have  left that decision alone for a bit.  I have recently read where bi amping the khorns could give me the little more bass punch I am looking for. ?    The 601 mono-blocks certainly have enough power but I have a tube pre amp C-2300 that does not separate bass and treble signals so would need to add an external crossover.  
 

anyone have any experience with this ? Is this worth the effort ?  And if so any recommendations on the external crossover ? 
 

thanks again everyone. I greatly appreciate all input from this forum.  

hardhattg

If you decide to keep your system as it is... One option is a  JL Audio CR-1 Crossover.  I recently purchased a used one and it has provided much improved transition between the mains and the active subs.  I am sure there are better ones (even digital).  The adjustments for the mains and subs are very helpful.  I was patient in looking for a used one and found it for $1850 recently.  Full box/looked brand new.  Just a thought.  Have fun! 

If I am not mistaken it seems that at the very least , that bi amping my khorns , using one mono block for both low frequency , woofers in both speakers and the other mono block for the midrange and tweeters in both speakers . That should give me the ability on certain music to increase power to the low frequency amp if I desire to ?  I believe this is correct and may be all I need.   Will find out this weekend hopefully.    I am not looking for a big change I am quite happy with the system and I love the sensitivity of the horns  , always have but just feel like could use a touch more low end from time to time.  

If your bass is lacking it's likely a component issue, not a "power" issue.  In my experience McIntosh is not known for their bass performance.  I'm not saying it's bad, but it doesn't have the reputation of say Krell for example.

So, you can solve this a few ways.

1. Add a quality subwoofer that can integrate with your speakers.  I've used JL Fathoms in the past and they were excellent.  There are lots of great subs out there but they do require effort to integrate them properly.  The automatic configuration SW the JL had was really good.  This is not a pitch for JL as many other offer the same type of auto setup.

2. Look at other components that have better bass performance.  I've found that the preamp is typically the one component that will make the biggest change.  Maybe you could audition one from a local dealer just to see if it helps.

3. The following is my preferred solution which is to use a source (DAC) that has some DSP.  Purists will hate this idea but that's ok.  The DSP allows you to tailor the sound to your liking.  Adding a few dB of gain in the low bass region can really make a difference.  Again, I'd recommend auditioning something and playing with it for a weekend to see if it solves your issue.

Good luck with your journey!  I'm curious to see how your experiment works out.

@hardhattg Wrote:

If I am not mistaken it seems that at the very least , that bi amping my khorns , using one mono block for both low frequency , woofers in both speakers and the other mono block for the midrange and tweeters in both speakers . That should give me the ability on certain music to increase power to the low frequency amp if I desire to ?  I believe this is correct and may be all I need.

You’re mistaken. Passive or active bi-amping a stereo pair of speakers, requires four channels of amplification. You can use four mono amps or two stereo amps I prefer four mono amps. smiley

Mike