New Member - long time ML owner

[Brewnoser]

Just bought my second pair of MLs after over 30 years with Aerius i’s. ESL 9 Classic. Listened to the 11’s and loved them but budget and a desire to keep bi amping with my babies - restored McIntosh 240 and 275 - plus a killer deal on a low use demo pair got me here.

I do have a question I can’t find an answer to elsewhere. I’ve been bi amping the Aerius with the higher power to the panels and lower to the wooofer. Plus a Klipsch powered sub really throttled down to very low frequency.

It seems to sound better this way. The tech who last cleaned up the amps says the 275 is the better of them. So I’m going with that in the part of the sound that seems to demand quality.

Thoughts?

 

[Kermie]

Welcome!! Someone will be along with an answer for you shortly.

 

[Jazzman53]

Welcome to the forum, Brewnoser,

Just curious: What are you using for a crossover?

 

[Brewnoser]

Welcome to the forum, Brewnoser,

Just curious: What are you using for a crossover?

The speakers are designed to allow two kinds of bi amping. The crossover accommodates both.

 

[Jazzman53]

The speakers are designed to allow two kinds of bi amping. The crossover accommodates both.

OK I see; you are using the speaker's internal passive crossover.

My ESLs are DIY but I wasn't smart enough to design a passive crossover that works well with the ESL's radical impedance, so I took the easy but more expensive route and used a digital (DSP) crossover upstream of the power amps, which provides almost infinite tuning capability, in real time, and sounds wonderful.

I asked about your crossover because some ML owners are bypassing their speakers' internal passive crossovers in favor of bi-amping with an upstream DSP, and loving the results.

It's an option.

 

[Brewnoser]

OK I see; you are using the speaker's internal passive crossover.

My ESLs are DIY but I wasn't smart enough to design a passive crossover that works well with the ESL's radical impedance, so I took the easy but more expensive route and used a digital (DSP) crossover upstream of the power amps, which provides almost infinite tuning capability, in real time, and sounds wonderful.

I asked about your crossover because some ML owners are bypassing their speakers' internal passive crossovers in favor of bi-amping with an upstream DSP, and loving the results.

It's an option.

I can’t see myself doing this. The upstream to these is vintage McIntosh tube gear. Not one computer. Inserting something like that seems wrong. I’ve gotten to the point where stereo systems don’t get arguably better. Just different. Martin Logan owner for over 20 years and staying out of the boxes forever.

I’m more into room treatments now as my space is compromised until major renovations can happen.