"Vertical" biamping

Phil: The best way to biamp is with an active cross-over and bi-pass the speaker's crossover. I have done this to great effect. I have Martin Logan's which benefit tremendously by separating the bass and panel demands on an amplifier. With the active cross-over, you don't have to worry about having only one pre-out. If you can't go with an active cross-over, your results will vary depending on the speakers. In most cases, it will improve things, but to a varying degree, and in some cases not worth the extra $$, which might be better spent on just upgrading the amplifier. Hard to tell which is best without knowing what speakers you are driving.

Hi all,

Just to clarify, I am using Proac 1.5's.

Phil

I have used vertical biamping a little. I did it because I bought two of the same amplifier. They sounded good and weren't real expensive. It was a way for me to get more power with out spending a lot of money. I found that I had less separation loss if I were to do horizontal biamping. I am using this configuration now. My preamp now has two sets of outputs. I am looking to upgrade to an older conrad johnson preamp. Some of them have to sets of outputs, and some do not. I have to have two, becase creating a "y" off one output is a pain, and won't sound as good as if I had two outputs.

FYI, I hear that some of the anthem preamps that have two sets of outputs is nothing more than a "y" off the main output for a second set of main outs. I am saying this because I would assume someone with some electrical knowledge could take their preamp and do the same thing. Happy listening!

I was going through similar issues with VT100s and my ProAcs, so for an extra data point, I asked the US dist. He recommended horizontal, passive bi-amping. Never got around to tho', since I ended up with a new pair of Martin Logans.