Does biamping w/ SS + tubes work?


I have McIntosh MC240 and MC30s, and a Marantz 8b. I love the midrange. But lately I've been shopping speakers and hearing Classe and such gear and long for the tight bass. My solution was to get speakers that I can bi-amp with SS on the bottom and my tube amps on top. But I have been told this doesn't work well, as the sound from the two amps does not integrate well. Was wondering if people here have thoughts or experience with this.

Thanks...
river251
Biamping with two different technologies can work well but it's a great deal of work to get the right combination. Even if you do get it right, amps work at different speeds so you can usually detect a slight blurring.
I agree with the people that told you it doesn't work well...emphasis on "well" not "work". It will work well at the outside freqs and likely not so much where they cross over. If you do go this way, choose a ss amp based on how much you like the mid/upper range as well as the bass. That will give you the best chance of messing up the "least" in the important midrange area.

I'm not a fan of passive biamping. Give some thought to going the active x/o route. You have 3 really great amps. You may find out that when you direct couple one of them to a woofer the bass may surprise you.

Another point: Are your amps up to spec? They are pretty old and if their caps are weak, they will not do bass very well. Good luck.
It usually doesn't work well, but with some careful choices and work it sometimes can. Though there are exceptions, typically I wouldn't recommend it.
Thanks a lot guys. I live in the middle of nowhere so it's hard to try a lot of different combos.

I don't know what active crossovers are or how it will help?

Would I be better to just run a SS amp to a sub, instead of biamping full ranges? Seems like the upper bass would still be soft and I'd still have integration problems.

Thanks again, your help is invaluable esp. since I am in nowhere land and it's hard to listen.

Jim

PS - I've just pulled the system out after 6 years storage, glory! But I plan to take them all in for checkup at Soundquest in El Paso.
Your last posts suggests that you might be getting in over your head if you try bi-amping with different types of amps. Though it might appear to be in contradiction to the previous advice, using a ss amp on subs and tube amps on the main speakers (if they're tube appropriate), is actually the typical arrangement.