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Tubes Asylum Questions about tubes and gear that glows. FAQ |
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In Reply to: Re: This 2A3 stuff is getting out of hand, guys! posted by Phil Sieg on September 16, 1999 at 14:07:39:
Also check out:1. http://www.hare.net.au/~rode/bi-amp.htm
For an excellent explanation on why biamping is more advantageous than passive crossovers. Most importantly for tube amps, active crossovers appear to obviate the requirement for a flat impedance curve in speakers, most notably in the bass region. The downside is that you need more amps. But that's OK because we like amps. The more amps the better!
1. http://members.tripod.com/XSSpl/Audio/Sound.htm
For basic info on passive crossovers in general. I used this info to rewire my speakers to defeat the passive low pass on the woofer and to convert the bandpass on the midrange to a low pass filter. I left the tweeter hi pass as most of the power is apparently sucked up by the bass crossover and the hi pass filter also provides protection for the tweeter.
2. http://www.marchandelec.com/
These guys have apparently high quality crossovers available as kits or preassembled, including tube crossovers. I just ordered the XM-9 kit. Hopefully, the unit will give high quality output without distorting the signal. I'm rationallizing the use of the SS unit as there's already a lot of sand in my CD player that I use as my sole input source. Vinyl enthusiasts would certainly want to use a tube crossover as to not contaminate the sound with silicone ;-) While I'm waiting for the active unit, I'm using a passive crossover that I slapped together with polyester caps and metal film resistors. It consists of a simple 2-way 1st order RC crossover and works surprisingly well. The signal is very clean. Just for kicks, I also tried out a Radio Shack active crossover for car stereos as well as a DBX pro-audio crossover. These did impart some high frequency glare but overall resulted in a huge improvement in the speed and clarity of the bass response and immediacy and clarity in the mids/highs. This glare effect may be due to cheap op amps in these units. One advantage of the Marchand units is the ability to tweak various components. Of course, the most tweakable option would be to build a SS or tube crossover from scratch. Unfortunately, I don't really have the time or $$$ to devote to this route. Overall, the effect of bi-amping is not subtle. Certainly much more apparent than the very subtle effects of changing speaker cables or biwiring.
In the end, I think it is still a compromise as all high performance audio engineering is. The downstream complexity of the passive crossovers in the speakers have been relegated upstream to a less intrusive location. It seems that a lesser compromise that others have taken is to use high-efficiency full range horns. But, this option requires expensive drivers and large-complex cabinets. Although I've yet to hear such a set-up I'm sure it is wonderful.
Comments are welcome.
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Follow Ups
- Re: This 2A3 stuff is getting out of hand, guys! - bp 23:16:03 09/16/99 (0)
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