Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions Bi-amping M22 and VP150

Would it be possible to bi-amp M22 and VP150 if I have only 85 Watt per ch amplifier?

I am considering using 2 Parasounds HCA-855 (85x5) with four channels feeding four QS4 and six channels for bi-amped front stage.

Albee, the M22s have no provision for bi-amping and I believe that the only Axioms that do are the M60s and M80s. Even that may be a concession to fashion, since the alleged benefits of bi-amping,especially for home equipment using passive cross-overs, are slight to non-existent in practice.

85 wpc is more than enough for those speakers

I pump them to good levels with a 70wpc Denon 1602.

Hi Albee,

No, you can't bi-amp the M22ti's. Even in the case of the M60's and M80's, which do have separate terminals for the low- and high-frequency sections of the crossover, it's at best a quasi-biamping arrangement.

In true biamping, you bypass the speakers crossover entirely and use an outboard electronic crossover, selecting your preferred crossover frequencies, slopes, and balancing hi- and low-frequency levels with the outboard box's controls.

In my experience, it benefits only large professional control-room monitoring systems that are capable of very high sound pressure levels.

I disapprove of biamping for consumer speakers because it puts control of the spectral balance into the hands of the consumer, undoing the careful balancing of drivers and crossover components by the speaker engineer.

Regards,

Thank you. I'll follow your advice.

Alan,

One of the best, short and concise responses you have ever made about bi-amping. Great stuff! Thanks!



But... gee... can't the average joe speaker tinkerer do just as good a job with specteral balance using an old dbx equalizer as some dumb old speaker designer with high tech equipment and facilities at his disposal??? (btw - for you real serious folks - this was tongue-in-cheek)

Randyman