Is equal gain OK for bi-amping?


My speakers are bi-ampable. Can I use my W4S ICE amp for the lower portion (28db gain) and then find another amp like a small tube amp with equal gain to run the upper portion? My pre-amp has multiple outs and I want to do this without another volume control between the pre and one of the amps. So my question really is: Will equal gain amps alow me to bi-amp without the need of input volume adjustments? Also is 1 db of difference in gain going to make a big difference?
koestner

Showing 1 response by amfibius

Hi Koestner, I would second what Minorl said. I am running a Marchand active crossover and bi-amping with a valve amp on top and a SS Class A/B amp on the bottom. The advantage of doing this is that the valve amp does not "see" any bass frequencies, so its apparent power is higher.

The downside of using an active crossover is that the slope of the crossover will sum with the internal passive crossover of your speaker, resulting in a steeper slope and possibly introducing phase issues. Ultimately the best solution is to go fully active - bypass your speaker's internal crossover and connect the amp directly to the drivers with an external active crossover in place.

You can do this upgrade in stages (which is what I did). Start off by bi-amping, then add the active crossover later.