Bi-amping Pass X.5 matches X.8 / XA.8 / X.5 / XA.5


Dear all,

please advice me!

I own Passlabs X.5 monoblock and like it very much.

Now, I want to try bi-amping.

Is it a good idea to buy another X.5, XA.5, X.8 or XA.8?

Please explain your opinion or share your experience deeply.

Thank you so much!
believer
Bad idea. You'll never get it to sound right. The only way I would consider biamping is vertical, and you need 2 stereo amps. New speakers would be a much better upgrade.
hi Zd542,

would you please teach me what the major differences (in terms of sounding) between vertical biamping and horizontal biamping?

Thank you!
Regarding vertical vs. horizontal biamping, see this post, which is written by a noted amplifier designer.

Also, while it might be possible to obtain reasonable results using four identical monoblocks, I agree with ZD that it would most likely make more sense to upgrade your speakers instead.

Finally, while I suspect that your 801 speakers have completely separate crossover circuits for their high and low frequency sections, before even considering biamping them you should confirm that with the manufacturer or a knowledgeable dealer. I believe that some speakers which provide separate input terminals for the highs and the lows do not keep the two sections completely separate electrically. Biamping such a speaker, especially with amps having balanced outputs such as these Pass models, could cause problems including even the possibility of damage.

Regards,
-- Al
thank you all brothers' replies!!

If I don't add active crossover, then I don't need to bypass the built-in passive crossover in the speaker.

My present power amp is X1000.5, I think it is enough for many speaker.

Any more advice?