bi-amping and xover questions - please help

[Holty 10+ year member]

what does bi-amping mean and how does it work? what are it's advanatages and disadvantages?

what is the difference between active xovers and passive? what are the advantages/disadvantages of each?

will either of these two techniques benefit me? i'm currently running TWO sets of components up front. JL XR series in the doors, and Diamond d6 comps in the kicks. both sets running off of ther supplied xovers and powered by a JL 300/4.

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[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

what does bi-amping mean and how does it work? what are it's advanatages and disadvantages?

http://forums.caraudio.com/vb/showpost.php?p=1047869&postcount=2

what is the difference between active xovers and passive? what are the advantages/disadvantages of each?

http://forums.caraudio.com/vb/showpost.php?p=1099792&postcount=2

http://forums.caraudio.com/vb/showpost.php?p=697698&postcount=4

currently running TWO sets of components up front. JL XR series in the doors, and Diamond d6 comps in the kicks.

Why?!?!

both sets running off of ther supplied xovers and powered by a JL 300/4.

Well, you presently don't have enough channels of amplification to do either.

 

[Holty 10+ year member]

thanks for the reply. i guess when i started this project, i wanted a system that is very "powerful" upfront. I wanted a loud and high impact system. I already owned the JL XR's from a previous installation, and got a good deal on the diamonds. In my thinking, two sets of comps are better than one for the loudness factor.

basically i'm looking for ways to improve the sound quality of my system. seeing if there are things i've done wrong, or things that i could do over that will be better.

OK, so after spending an hour or so reading the forums here and else where, i'm stil not sure i grasp the concept of bi-amping? It seems all of the posts are discussing the topic in great detail, but even the links within the posts that go to bi-amping tutorials i'm having trouble understanding.

tell me if i'm wrong, but is the basic concept to use one amp for the highs, one amp for the mids, and one amp for the lows? then trash the passive xovers that came with the comp's and use a active eq such as the Alpine HXAP701?

FYI, my current system:

Boss 200amp alternator

"BIG 3" wiring

Alpine IVA-D310 DVD/MP3/CD/XM Head unit

Alpine TUE-T151 TV tuner

JL Audio XR650CSi components w/ xovers in front doors

Diamond Audio D661s components w/ xovers in kick panels

Kicker 05DS46 4X6 speakers in rear doors

JL Audio 300/4 amp running all mids and highs

(2) JL Audio 10W7's

JL Audio 1000/1 amp running subs

Stinger and Tsunami wiring

Viper 791XV alarm/remote start

 

[Holty 10+ year member]

http://forums.caraudio.com/vb/showpost.php?p=1047869&postcount=2


http://forums.caraudio.com/vb/showpost.php?p=1099792&postcount=2

http://forums.caraudio.com/vb/showpost.php?p=697698&postcount=4

OK, after reading these two posts put into terms i completely understand. thank you.

Well, you presently don't have enough channels of amplification to do either.

Why?!?!

why you ask...at the time, i was thinking, more speakers=louder. now that i have them and are not completely happy with the sound, i'm looking at possibly "re-evaluating" my system. i'm looking for suggestions on possibly re-wiring my front stage. i wasn't sure if there were other ways to do it other than running them stereo like i currently am.

i'm more than willing to get another amp and/or EQ if need be. i think though, at this time, doing the "active" setup might be a little over my head.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

If it is SQ that you are after, the best thing you can do is get rid of one set of the components. The differing responses of the two sets are causing phasing issues and cancellation problems leading to really ragged response.

Most reputable speaker manufaturers build passive crossovers that smooth the impedance curve of the respective drivers in the system which is something the active crossover can't do. As a result the output of the passively crossed system is better balanced across the frequency range of the system and reduces the need for a lot of equalization to get a decent sound.

My suggestion would be to ditch one set of the comps and either replace the 300/4 with a 300/2 or bridge each set of channels of the 300/4 to run each side of the comps set of your choice. The result will be better sound AND you won't lose any noticable output.

 

[Holty 10+ year member]

hey man, thanks for the response.

i really like having the "impact" of having two comp sets up front....do you think that if i went with 2 sets of comp's that are exactly the same that would sound better? i'm willing to upgrade amps, or components or what ever it takes to get this thing sounding good. is it possible to keep two sets of comps in the front and still have excellent SQ and be very LOUD as well? if so, then thats what i'm looking for.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Trust me, run more power to a single set and you won't lack for "impact". Barring very good use of phase correction to account for different path lengths from the different mounting locations to eliminate cancellation, you can get the same output from single comp set. I have only a single set in my car and volume is not an issue at all--they can actually overpower the sub without too much trouble-- and the sound quality is better than you can get with multiple drivers without the extensive use of time correction.