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Post by themask on Jul 2, 2015 7:35:31 GMT -5
Hello Guys, I need advise for Bi-amping my Maggies 3.6 R which are 4 Ohms Just purchased a pair of Maggies 3.6 R with an active Bryston crossover. I already have a pair of XPA-1 gen 2. So I need another pair of amps for bi-amping. Should I go with another pair of XPA-1s or will a pair of XPA-1Ls for the Mid/Hi be enough? Sonically, will there be a noticeable difference? (4 XPA-1Ls vs 2 XPA-1 (Low) + 2 XPA-1Ls (Mid/Hi) Will the sonic difference beetwen the 2 models affect the final result? Will the XPA-1Ls on Hi match with the XPA-1s on the Low? Any experience with this type of setup? 4 XPA-1s will result in 2000W for each panel (is this necessary?) and the mix of XPA-1 and XPA-1L will be 1500W per panel. Considering also the space and the difference in price, not only the sonic aspect ;-) Thanks in advance  Serge |
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Post by linvincible on Jul 2, 2015 7:50:41 GMT -5
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Post by orthikon on Jul 2, 2015 15:03:09 GMT -5
Which model of the Bryston did you get? I actually got a different pair of speakers since and I have not had the chance to bi-amp the Magnepans. The power increase is always a plus as the Magnepans are horribly inefficient, I have clipped my XPA-1s and popped a fuse at around 115db at 8 feet listening distance which is already quite loud. I cannot speak for the sonic improvements since I have heard it myself. You might get more responses in the MUG forum. There is also a Magnepan Users Group in facebook. www.audioasylum.com/forums/MUG/bbs.html |
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Post by garbulky on Jul 2, 2015 15:08:09 GMT -5
Yeah 115 db at 8 feet mean those speakers were belting a good bit more from their planars!! I'm surprised they weren't flapping against the frame!
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Post by pedrocols on Jul 2, 2015 15:16:44 GMT -5
I would just get another pair of XPA-1s.
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Post by pedrocols on Jul 2, 2015 15:20:38 GMT -5
There is literature that supports the benefits of bi-amping with identical amps.
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Post by themask on Jul 2, 2015 17:22:26 GMT -5
Which model of the Bryston did you get? I actually got a different pair of speakers since and I have not had the chance to bi-amp the Magnepans. The power increase is always a plus as the Magnepans are horribly inefficient, I have clipped my XPA-1s and popped a fuse at around 115db at 8 feet listening distance which is already quite loud. I cannot speak for the sonic improvements since I have heard it myself. You might get more responses in the MUG forum. There is also a Magnepan Users Group in facebook. www.audioasylum.com/forums/MUG/bbs.htmlHi, I have the 10B STD. The SUB model would have been better, for the exact match of the Maggies Freq @ 250 Hz... |
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Post by creimes on Jul 2, 2015 19:06:13 GMT -5
What about XPR-1's for the low end and use the current XPA-1's for the high end, I'm just thinking you might as well take crazy to a whole new level of crazy muhahahaha  |
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novisnick
EmoPhile
CEO Secret Monoblock Society
Posts: 27,223 
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Post by novisnick on Jul 2, 2015 19:19:12 GMT -5
What about XPR-1's for the low end and use the current XPA-1's for the high end, I'm just thinking you might as well take crazy to a whole new level of crazy muhahahaha   |
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Post by leonski on Sept 26, 2015 1:46:57 GMT -5
More important than the total wattage is the CROSSOVER POINT.
If you cross over at a very high frequency, than you might need as little as 10% or 20% of the total power in that 'way'.
In general, and for a 'normal' distribution of power, the 50:50 point is about 350 hz.
If you want to 'redline' all amps at once, you should take that into consideration.
Low crossover is 200hz. Mid/tweet is INTERNAL to the panel and at 1.7Khz.
I estimate power needed at 200hz to be 35%LOW and 65% HIGH. References available upon request.
So, if you go with the 1L amps, which are of lower power than the XPA-1, than I'd put the 1L on the bass and the XPA-1 where the higher power is needed.
Congrats on the Active crossover. The previous owner MAY not have gone with Magnepan values for frequencies so take THAT into consideration, as well.
Removing the stock, external, crossover from the 'mix' and using the active BEFORE amplification will give you ABOUT another 3db of apparent amp power.
Sorry I didn't see this earlier and I suspect I'm now WAY late to the party:
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Post by AudioHTIT on Sept 26, 2015 11:51:40 GMT -5
I'd go with a second pair of XPA-1's, more Class A power, more peak power, more flexibility (albeit more money). With 4 identical monoblocks, you have the best of Horizontal and Vertical Bi-Amping.
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Post by highfihoney on Sept 26, 2015 21:05:53 GMT -5
With both amps specs being so close with the exception of wattage if it were me i'd go with the more powerfull XPA-1's , both amps your considering for the bottom end will do the job needed , ive found that for me & as much as i change gear & speakers it pays to buy larger amps than needed at that present time because i have more flexiblity when i bring in a new speaker system , unless the cost between the 2 models is a factor i'd get matching amps .
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Post by leonski on Sept 27, 2015 11:49:44 GMT -5
The Maggies are about the lowest sensivity speaker you can buy. Some might be lower, but in general, any amp good for Maggies will run any other speaker out there, with the possible exception of 'difficult load' speakers with high reactance.
The crossover at 250hz means you only need about 40% of the TOTAL power to be assigned to the low frequencies, the remainder going to the mid/tweet.
The OTHER exception to Maggie amps running anything would be IF you tried a noisy amp on very High Sensitivity speakers. Trying to run an amp at 2 or 3 watts which is capable of 300 might not work IF noise intrudes.
I don't know about the crossover, but all other things being equal, I'd go for amps with the SAME GAIN. If the crossover has some adjustment, than gain matching amps becomes somewhat less important.
If the OP insists on 'specs', GAIN would be first, followed by equal or slightly lesser power.
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Post by leonski on Sept 27, 2015 12:04:29 GMT -5
It gets somewhat MORE complicated.
First, it looks like ALL the amps in question are 29db gain. so that's a non-starter issue.
Second would be HOW you want to biamp? A stereo amp (x2) can be hooked up as one amp for the bass / the OTHER for the highs OR as one amp per speaker.
This is generally called 'horizontal' VS 'vertical'.
I personally LIKE the 1 stereo amp per speaker since speaker leads can now be 2 or 3 feet or sometimes even less. Good, and you can get the BEST speaker wire you can afford.
But for THAT route, you need a PAIR of identical amps. Or 4x monoblocs. I briefly considered a quad of the 1L for my panels. Problem? Well, everything looked OK untill I mentally tried to
PLUG IT ALL IN. OOOPS! I ran out of plugs so there goes another 500$ to an electrician to drop yet ANOTHER dedicated line! I'm runnin' out of wall, here!
If you ran a PAIR of XPA-2 (selling all current amps) you'd have ONE amp per speaker AND with the crossover keeping the amps from amplifying OUT OF BAND signals, you stand to net as much as 3db EXTRA available power.
Now your 500x2 amps LOOK like TWICE that with NO additional expense. The miracle of Active Biamping.
In THAT case, highfihoney's point about matching amps makes PERFECT sense.
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