Question about Bi-amping.. Please advise.

[Yamaheart]

I'm currently driving a pair of Soavo 1 with the Yamaha MX-1. I was thinking of either get another MX-1 or consider of getting the Yamaha MX-1000 to bi-amp. Since I heard all the good things about the MX-1000. I thought that u have to buy 2 of the same model amp to Bi-amp. Can i just use the MX-1 for High and Mid range of each speaker, and use the MX-1000 for Low on each speaker? Thank you.

 

[JCW]

You need a lot more power on the lows than on the highs when you biamp. Generally about 2-4 to 1 on power ratio (as in 200-400 watts on the lows for 100 watts on the highs. It also depends on which frequency you choose to split at).

Using 2 different model amps should be fine as far as the power concern goes. Hopefully, one of both of them will have volume controls so you can adjust the sound to your room and personal taste.

 

[Yamaheart]

Hi,

How do you do that high frequency to use and choose to split at? Is there another device or you can do that on the receiver?

 

[JCW]

Most of the systems I use have a separate crossover that is between the preamp and the power amps and it is selectable as far as the crossover frequency. I forgot that yours probably does not. You can check your manual and see where the crossover point is. I'm guessing it's somewhere between 80 and 150hz. Depending on your speakers, you might find that it sounds better to run the main speakers full range and then add the sub.

If your sub does not fill the room pretty well, you might notice that the main speakers really sound "thin" without the bass in them. That is when I would run the main speakers full range and add the sub. There are lots of options, but options allow you to get it exactly like you like it.

 

[AVRat]

The x-over to the bass drivers is at 500Hz. The power distributon across the frequency spectrum at 500 Hz is roughly a 60/40 split. The MX-1 doesn't have gain controls so adding a second one may/not work unless the speaker is designed to accept equal power at the terminals. Unless the MX-1000 has gain controls, adding it would definitely throw the speaker's sound balance off. The MX-1 should provide plenty of power for the Soavos, if not, go with the MX-1000 on its own. Most people don't see much performance difference when passively bi-amping speakers.