I have a spare pair of 1290s. I have bi-wired and bi-amped them without an external crossover. I used the internal bi-amp switch and I thought they sounded great. Maybe they could sound better with an external crossover but I never felt the need to try one. Even though I have the 1290s as a spare set, I will probably never get rid of these speakers. I would maybe trade them in for a nice pair of 1590s.
