"Bret Ludwig" wrote in message
Bi-amping, or biamplification, is used mainly in
professional sound reinforcement applications, where
extremely high levels of loudness are required. Here
big, separate amplifiers powering the low frequencies,
and smaller amps for the midrange will increase overall
output. Sometimes they will use a separate outboard
electronic crossover (the speaker's internal crossover
is disabled or bypassed entirely) so the operator can
vary and adjust individual crossover frequencies, tailor
the "slope" of the crossover to match the strengths of
each set of drivers, and also adjust the relative sonic
balance of bass, midrange and treble to suit the
environment. This is important for huge auditoriums or
outdoor events where separate arrays of treble and
midrange horns are operating with big "bass bins," but
such systems have no place in domestic home theater
systems in normal rooms. Additionally, it puts control
of the relative smoothness and tonal balance into the
hands of the sound system operator, a dangerous tool for
all but the most experienced sound reinforcement
experts. It also partly explains why the live sound at
so many concert events (not all, mind you) is so awful.
(i.e. and also why we blew so many diaphragms.)
http://www.axiomaudio.com/tips_biwir..._biamping.html
It's horse**** from a technical standpoint because
CORRECTLY DONE biamping, or tri-amping, or as needed (can
we say "multi-amping"?) can yield superior results to
passive crossovers. Additionally, it is the only kind of
multiple amplification that makes any technical sense
whatever.
Agreed, with the caveat given below.
Just yesterday I spoke of an excellent-sounding speaker system that did just
about everything wrong according to the reference, above. However, this
system worked as well as it did, because it was assembled and adjusted by
people with technical and artistic skills, not your average home audiophile.
The caveat is that it has to be done correctly and this
is not a simple task for the majority of users.
Right. The person who owned the system in question engineered the drivers,
crossovers, equalizers and amplifiers in several million audio systems that
are being listened to by consumers right now. OK, those audio systems are in
cars, but to a great degree, car audio is audio just like home audio.
Premium sound systems in modern cars are implemented as 2 and 3 way
multi-amped systems with active crossovers and precisely tuned equalization.
Technology done right simply works.