Recommended way to bi-amp Aerius i

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momotea

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Hello!

I want to bi-amp my Aerius i with two different power amps.
One amp for panel, one amp for woofer.

I can think about the following methods to bi-amp, and I know I cannot easily bypass the internal passive crossover. Which one will you recommend?

(1) Add a passive pre-amp between pre-amp and one power amp. Like this, http://www.marchandelec.com/pr141.html

(2) Add a passive crossover between pre-amp and two power amps. Like this, http://www.marchandelec.com/xm46.html

(3) Add a active crossover between pre-amp and two power amps. Like this, http://www.marchandelec.com/xm16.html

(4) Add a attenuator to one power amp. Like this, http://www.tweakaudio.com/Ultimate Attenuators.html
 
I'm bi-amping my system with option 4. The rationale being that I cannot bypass the ML passive crossover inside my ReQuests so I opted for using high quality attenuator to keep the signal path clean. The number of components the high frequencies go through is kept down to the minimum. Adding crossover between the preamp and amp will just increase the component count unecessarily. That is just my approach with the minimalist approach, there are others who firmly believe that bi-amping can only be achieved with active (electronic) crossover between the preamp and amp to direct the appropriate signals to the amps. Generally, I'd agree with this approach if the internal passive crossover can be bypassed, but that is not the case with my ML ReQuests nor the Aerius. Another approach is to add attenuation (volume control) to the active crossover and make it a preamp as well. Talk to Phil Marchand about adding a switch & volume control to the active crossover. I remember coming across a couple of fellow who had this done on the tubed-crossover making it a tubed preamp/crossover unit. Sweet.

Spike
 
Thanks for your reply. Just emailed Phil Marchand for bi-amping advice. :)
 
Another option is to vertically biamp, using a single multichannel amp. I am using a Sunfire Cinema Grand 200 with my Aerius i's, using the front "current" outs for the stats, and the rear "voltage" outs for the woofers. I first read about this approach here (albeit an older review)... http://www.vxm.com/21R.116.html

To my ears, this approach works very well, and you don't have to worry about impedance matching different amps. I believe others on the forum are doing the same thing.
 
sleepysurf said:
Another option is to vertically biamp, using a single multichannel amp. I am using a Sunfire Cinema Grand 200 with my Aerius i's, using the front "current" outs for the stats, and the rear "voltage" outs for the woofers. I first read about this approach here (albeit an older review)... http://www.vxm.com/21R.116.html

To my ears, this approach works very well, and you don't have to worry about impedance matching different amps. I believe others on the forum are doing the same thing.
Click to expand...
Hola Sleepysurf. You are right regarding the impedance. Most amplifiers on the today´s market have high impedance at their inputs, and the preamps outputs have low impedance, some very low. So, you are O.K. Vertical connection is the best for my ears too. Happy listening, and happy holydays!
Pura vida,
Roberto.
 
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