biamping duntech crown prince built in the 80s

[davidp]

<font color='#000000'>i have two duntech crown prince speakers manf in late 1980s..these speakers have four posts running from left to right in the horizontal plane..i have two dissimiliar amps..an ps audio 200cx and a classe 15...i have placed the ps audio 200cx on the first two binding posts..and the classe 15 on number three and four binding post for each channel..in the assumption that the first two posts are for the bass etc...and the third and fourth posts are responsible for the high mids and treble...ie..the ps audio for the lows..and the classe 15 more for the highs.....is my assumption on this matter correct?..ie..that the first two posts are for the low end..and the third and 4rth post for the high end?...i have written duntech but they have confused the matter...
 thanks......davidp  ,, sarasota, florida.</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>Hi David,

I'm not familiar with your speakers, so I can't tell you how the input terminals are arranged.  However, I can suggest a test that might remove any uncertainty.  Disconnect the speakers from the amp(s) (turn everything off first, of course).  Then get a small battery and apply the battery voltage to one pair of terminals.  The DC from the battery will produce a click.  You can listen to the speaker and see which driver(s) produce the sound.

What kind of active crossover are you using?  If the system is already connected and working, just mute or turn down the volume of the low or high frequency crossover output.  If you mute the HF output, and the lows go away, you know you have the amps in the wrong positions.

Good luck,

Chuck</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>chuck...thanks ever so much for the suggestion..ill try your technique and let you know...also..i am not using an external crossover...all crossovers are within the duntech speakers...and i dont know the crossover points...

dave</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>Hi David,

Are you planning to bi-amp the speakers through a built-in passive crossover?  Normally bi-amping involves using an active crossover between the pre and power amps, and connecting each amp directly to the driver(s) it must control.  The whole idea is to have each amp connected directly to the driver, so if you're going through a passive crossover inside the speaker, you're loosing much of the benefit.  Also, the active crossover allows steeper crossover slopes, which can be an advantage as well.  It may just be that I don't quite understand what it is that you're trying to accomplish, but I'm a little concerned about connecting dissimilar amps to two drivers through a passive crossover.  Might work, but might cause problems, depending on the xover design.

Be careful how you connect things.  To bi-amp in the conventional manner, get an active crossover, like the Behringer Super-X Pro (under $200), and bypass the crossover(s) inside the speaker itself.  Relaize though that this too can cause problems (rarely).  I wish I knew more about your speakers.  Sometimes loudspeaker designers include things like notch filters in their passive (or active) crossovers, to eleminate peaks in the output caused by such things as cone breakup (for example).  If you bypass the internal crossover you *might* be bypassing some needed equalization or filtering.

My system is currently tri-amped, but all the speakers are designed to be operated with active crossovers, and I really don't have any experience in converting loudspeakers with passive crossovers for bi/tri-amp operation.  I've done it the other way round, developing a passive xover for a speaker system that was bi-amped during the prototyping, but if I wanted to bi-amp, I'd just leave the passive xover out entirely.  Sorry I can't be more specific, but I just don't know enough about your speakers.  Have you gotten any response from the manufacrurer yet?

Take care,

Chuck</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>chuck..thanks again for your input and interest...i did use the battery technique you described...worked fine...
&nbsp; duntech speakers are made in australia by duntech ltd...they do have a nice website..mine are crown princes..bought used in 1988..they are quite large...almost 6 feet ..and each house..two ten inch woofers...a five mid..and a tweeter..john dunlavy.who founded duntech...left that company..and came to usa to found dunlay audio ..which made similar.although extremely expensive speakers..and that company ceased operations just several days ago...
&nbsp; with biamping..if i had two similar amps..i would have put one on each speaker..but since i didnt...i used the one..the ps audio for the &quot;low&quot; end.and the classe 15 for the &quot;high&quot; end..reversing the amps on the speaker posts gave inferior sound...and i dont use an external crossover...i am not particularly adept with understanding electronics...all the crossovers used are within the speakers....when it is repaired..i am going to use a velodyne uv 15 sub..servo controlled..and also about 14 yrs old..in the system..and will put it between the preamp and the ps audio amplifier...this worked for me before. so with that..i am assuming that the bass is taken care of with the velodyne...and the ps audio amp...giving more headroom to the classe 15 for the mids and highs...
&nbsp;thanks again....davidp</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>David,

I strongly encourage you to do a little research/homework before you proceed.  Bi-amping is well worth the effort, but only if it's done properly.  Here's a link to an article that will help get you started:

http://sound.westhost.com/bi-amp.htm

If the information isn't clear enough, feel free to ask any questions that come to mind, and I'll do my best to answer them.

BTW, once you add that powered sub, you will be bi-amping even if you use a single amp for the main speakers.  If you also bi-amp the mains, then the system is more properly refered to as a tri-amped system.

Good luck with your project.  Let me know if you have any questions I might be able to help you with.

Take care,

Chuck</font>