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In Reply to: RE: Bass panels one after the other? posted by AkuAnkka on June 22, 2014 at 00:52:22
"Does it really matter if both bass drivers use the same amp or different amps?"
I have found that it really matters but that may depend on your setup. For me it is very important to control the volume on the bass panel, which I accomplish by using a separate passive preamp or volume control. I would want to increase the bass levels of the second pair of DWMs to be just below any audible hints of distortion.
The first pair of DWMs are connected to the main speakers and both are controlled by the primary preamp. The volume of the second pair of DWMs is controlled by the passive preamp, which allows me to tailor the bass to the room and my taste. The placement of the DWMs is used to achieve smoother, and if necessary lower, bass response.
This would not be easy to achieve with one amp, which is one of the reasons that many audiophiles prefer the older Maggies that can be biamped. For me it's all about tailoring the panels to your room and tastes.
Follow Ups:
But for what I have understood, DWM's go only down to 40hz? If 2.5R's are already able to go down to 37hz, how could DWM's help them to go lower?
Or on the other hand; if DWM's really could help, wouldn't it still be better to add another 2.x bass panel instead of the DWM's? Larger driver, lower frequency range, and maybe also cheaper as second hand.
"If DWM's really could help, wouldn't it still be better to add another 2.x bass panel instead of the DWM's? Larger driver, lower frequency range, and maybe also cheaper as second hand."
If you can get the Tympani bass panels that would be better. I was more comfortable with new speakers that would be under warranty and in my choice of colors. The only other benefit for the DWMs over the Tympani bass panels might be they may be less obtrusive and multiple DWMs might allow for greater flexibility in placement. But you have to add a lot of DWMs to provide the same surface area of the Tympani bass panels. If Magnepan would offer a modern version of the Tympani IVa I would buy them in a heartbeat.
Zorro and Aku,
I have no thoughts on using a separate full speaker as a bass panel. I do have experience with DWMs though.
I have a single pair driven by my main amp as suggested by Magnepan. In my room with my main speakers well out in the room eight to ten feet, the DWM's (set up about a foot closer to listening position) go down to 80hz max. They cover 80 to about 250. Based upon exact placement relative to side walls and relative to the mains and with the use of resistors to attenuate output, I can tune the bass to be perfectly flat (or as desired.)
The aha! Moment for me with DWMs was when I realized I could use the tuning freedom to optimize the placement of mains for low bass and imaging. So the answer to the question of how can DWMs help us to lower the bass on main speakers is that it gives us the freedom to position the main speaker in the place which optimizes low bass. In my case, the place with the best bass for 30 hz had a major suckout in the crucial mid and upper bass. I optimized the mains for bass in the upper twenties and low thirties and optimized the DWMs to fill in the holes.
This is one guys experience (in two rooms), so take it for what it is worth.
Zorro, am I reading you right that you have four DWMs? Way cool. I do not have an extra amp or preamp, but if I did it would be interesting to further dial them in. Do you get bass to 40 or 50 out of yours? How close to the FW are they?
No I don't have four DWMs. My experience to date was to experiment with the Mini Maggie system with two DWMs.
When I had the Mini Maggies in the basement, I had one DWM on a speaker stand and centered between the midrange/tweeter satellites. The 2nd DWM was located on the floor below the other DWM and powered by a separate amp.
When I moved the Mini Maggies upstairs to the living room I had the typical L/R stereo pairing of the DWM and midrange/tweeter panels. The Maggies are all on stands and I have subs on the floor.
My goal was to someday either have a multi-channel system using two Mini Maggie systems for the front and rear speakers in the living room upstairs or a multi-channel system using the Mini Maggie system with 2 DWMs as the rear speakers to my full range electrostatic speakers in the basement.
The Martin Logan CLX full range electrostatic uses three stators / two diaphragms like this- they call it "dual force transducer" see the link
I assume they drive the diaphragms 180 degrees apart. I assume but I'm not CERTAIN, though, that they do....
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