Good Amp Candidates for Passive Bi-Amping

[johnyb00ts]

Hi!

I want to passive bi-amp my PSB T-65s.
From the PSB specs:
Impedance: 6 ohms nominal, 4 minimum
Power: Recommended 10-200W
Program 150W

I want to use two stereo amps here. I'll be hooking them up with one amp connected to the "lows" and another to the "Highs" (even though they will be amplifying the full range).

I like the Emotiva XPA-2's but those would push over 330W into 6 ohms per channel, seems a little excessive.

Please, I don't want this thread to turn into a discussion about passive/active bi-amping or bi-wiring (there is plenty out there already), just some good amps to use in either case.

Thanks,

johny

 

[markw]

Without getting involved in the futility of passive bi-amping, I'll just suggest you use one stereo amp for each channel.

 

[Adam]

Welcome to the forum!

Professional amps give good power for the money, but they don't generally have as good of aesthetics (IMO) as home theater amps. Look at the amp threads on this forum and you'll see a few recommendations.

I'm guessing that you want to use one stereo amp per speaker. Cool. You could also get a multi-channel amp to drive both speakers. As long as you have four channels of amplification, then you'll be good to go. A multi-channel amp will likely take less room than would two stereo amps.

Regarding the power output of an amp, don't worry about having too much - worry about having too little. If the amp is rated higher than you need, then you have some to spare. If it's too low, then you risk damaging your speakers and/or find yourself wanting to upgrade sooner than you thought.

I have two Emotiva amps. One of them works fine (after being replaced), the other not so much. Long story short - the way the company handled it (by simply ignoring me until I went away) will lead me to never do business with them again or ever recommend them. Others here have been happy with them, though, so mine is just one input. There are a number of amp companies out there. I'd recommend also looking at Outlaw Audio.

 

[PENG]

Hi!

I want to passive bi-amp my PSB T-65s.
From the PSB specs:
Impedance: 6 ohms nominal, 4 minimum
Power: Recommended 10-200W
Program 150W

I want to use two stereo amps here. I'll be hooking them up with one amp connected to the "lows" and another to the "Highs" (even though they will be amplifying the full range).

I like the Emotiva XPA-2's but those would push over 330W into 6 ohms per channel, seems a little excessive.

Please, I don't want this thread to turn into a discussion about passive/active bi-amping or bi-wiring (there is plenty out there already), just some good amps to use in either case.

Thanks,

johny

I like your preamble, people should do it more often. 330W into 6 ohms is just about right for those speakers. Surely you can damage those speakers by over powering them, but you can also damage them with a lower power amp by cranking the volume up to the point (150W continuous according to PSB) that exceeds the recommended limit for a sustained period of time. For short durations, speakers as large as the T65 can take much more power than the specified limit. The more powerful amp will ensure you have enough dynamic output if and when needed.

 

[johnyb00ts]

Cool, so it sounds like its a good idea to have that much available power for headroom.

Thats surprising about Emotiva, Tom on the podcast seems to have such a man-crush on them.

What about the Anthem MCA-20, or the Rotel RB-1080. Any opinions?

Space isn't an problem, I've got a dedicated room so the more the merrier!

 

[AVRat]

Either would work nicely.

 

[PENG]

What about the Anthem MCA-20, or the Rotel RB-1080. Any opinions?

I prefer Rotel amps but the 1080 probably won't have enough power to satisfy you. In the same price range, Adcom also makes some nice two channel amps.