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Will this amp trick work for increasing bass performance?

I'm considering matching Focal Utopia Scala Evo with two amps for bi-amping, to separate bass and mid/high. 

I'm considering the Pass Labs XP-32 pre-amp, which has individual volume controls for each channel/amp. By slightly increasing bass amp volume over mid/high amp volume, I get to feel more punch from the 11" woofers. The crossover in the Focals cuts off at 220Hz, so only bass and sub bass are affected.

Which two power amps would you consider? Power amp budget is about $30K. Was told Focals like power, so >250W for bass amp seems the minimum. Pre amp will likely be Pass Labs XP-32.
Maybe Pass Labs X250.8 + X150.8 or X250.8 + XA60.8?

Your thoughts please? Any other ideas to get more bass performance from the 11" woofers in the Focals? Subwoofer is not an option. I know McIntosh has a pre-amp with equalizer, which would solve the problem too. But I always thought EQs are a no-no.
robert1976

Showing 1 response by twoleftears

twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,313 posts
 

Just to be clear, there are two versions of bi-amping, vertical and horizontal.

Horizontal, you use one amp on the bass inputs of both speakers, and one on the upper frequencies. In this arrangement, if certain requirements are met, you can use a more powerful amp on the lower.

Vertical bi-amping uses two identical amps, using the L and R channels of one amp to power the upper and lower inputs of one speaker.

I presume that this is what mkdm11 is doing.

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