Experimenting with Bi - amping

[olds1959special]

Today I hooked up my class D SMSL amp to my 2ci tweeters, and an Audiosource Amp 100 to the woofers. Working well so far. The high end is airy and open.

Edited April 11, 2023 by olds1959special

[olds1959special]

The SMSL amp is only 20 watts but it’s powering the tweeters. I turn it up all the way, then lower the 50 watt amp powering the woofers to get a balance. I guess it’s working as I don’t hear distortion yet. Is this safe to try?

Edited April 11, 2023 by olds1959special

[stratocaster]

1 hour ago, olds1959special said:

The SMSL amp is only 20 watts but it’s powering the tweeters. I turn it up all the way, then lower the 50 watt amp powering the woofers to get a balance. I guess it’s working as I don’t hear distortion yet. Is this safe to try?

It's certainly not an optimal/ideal way to power these speakers  but if nothing has blown up yet then you have answered your own question about whether it's safe to try..

[olds1959special]

Hmm. Well the SMSL amp is a very good amp in my experience and is working well to power the tweeters. Now I’m trying the Linn Klout for the lows and the SMSL for the highs - utilizing a passive preamp to control the volume of the Klout. 

[olds1959special]

Of all the things I’ve tried recently I think this is working the best. It’s possible because of the two outputs of the preamp. The SMSL amp is the SA-36A Pro with a 24V power supply.

Edited April 11, 2023 by olds1959special

[olds1959special]

I think it’s working so well because the tweeters must be more efficient than the woofers. The digital amp has a detailed airy sound and although is only 20 watts seems to be working as long as I attenuate the volume of the Klout a little. I honestly think it’s pretty good sounding and is a very unique sound to my ears, I’ve never heard my speakers in this way. The highs are very open and detailed I think. 

Edited April 11, 2023 by olds1959special

[olds1959special]

The Class D amp gave me listener fatigue so I switched to a Hafler DH-120 for the midrange / treble and kept the Linn Klout for bass but added a passive attenuator to reduce the volume so they can be matched. I’m happy with this sound and no listener fatigue.

[olds1959special]

So today I tried the class D SMSL A100 amp on the bass drivers and a Hafler DH-120 on the midrange / treble. Best combination so far, I think. 

[olds1959special]

I’m returning my SMSL A100 to Amazon! I found a Rotel RB-1050 and couldn’t be happier now. The search is over, for real this time! I’m using the Hafler DH-120 for the midrange/treble and the Rotel for the bass.

Edited April 18, 2023 by olds1959special