Hello all. This is my first post, although i've been looking around for quite some time. For you stereo junkies, please help me out with some decisions in my system planning!
I have started looking into the possibility of bi-amping and it has raised some questions for me. Here’s my setup (well, I have the equipment, but it’s not installed yet).
-JL Audio 500/5 Amp
-Front Speakers: Focal Polyglass 165 V3E Slim 3-way components
-Rear Speakers (fill only): Focal Polyglass 100 V-slim 2-way components (same 4” speakers and tweeters as those included in the 3-way system).
-Infinity Kappa Perfect 10vq subwoofer (will be installed via infinite baffle)
-Audiocontrol EQS 6 channel EQ
-Nakamichi CD-400 HU
For those who are unfamiliar with the 500/5, here’s the break-down:
Front Channels: 2 x 100 watts
Sub Channel: 250 watts
Rear Channels: 2 x 25 watts
Since the 500/5 is so flexible with it's plethora of settings, somebody recommended that I bi-amp my fronts by using my rear channel to run only my front tweeters. He claims that it will sound very noticeably better. I'm an SQ guy (not too interested in SPL, as you can tell by my setup).
So I’m assuming this means I need to put splitters on the front channel RCA cables and plug one set into the front channel and the other into the rear channel. Seems obvious. Then, I carefully set the high-pass filter on the tweeter channel to coincide with the range of my tweeters. Then, I would run the speaker cable for my tweeter directly to the tweeter, and plug front-channel speaker cables into the crossover (i.e. leave the tweeter output on the crossover un-used). Somebody please correct me if I’m not thinking clearly on this. It seems obvious, but I want to make sure. I have spent a good chunk of change on this equipment, so I don’t want to mess it up!!!//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/eek.gif.771b7a90cf45cabdc554ff1121c21c4a.gif
Okay, so now to my questions. My tweeters’ nominal power is 15 watts (100 watts max). Since the rear channel of the 500/5 is 25 watts per channel, I’m worried that I will run the risk of (A) having the tweeters out of balance (i.e., too loud) with the rest of the 3-way component system, and (B) blowing the tweeter due to too much power.
So I would like to decrease the input sensitivity of the tweeter channel of the amp to reduce the power sent to the tweeters. I would like to essentially make it so that my tweeters only receive 15 watts average. I’m a pretty precise guy, so I was hoping to use a voltmeter to measure calculate the channels' wattage. Obviously that doesn’t make sense because a voltmeter measures volts. I need to know amps in order to complete the wattage equation (watts = volts x amps).
So would I do this by getting a second meter/measuring tool (ampmeter?), unplug the tweeters from the amp, and use both tools at the same time measure the amps and volts while the system is running? That will allow me to determine the rough wattage coming out of the amp, and allow me to tinker with the input sensitivity to bring it closer to 15 watts average. I know this would be a rough way of doing it, but is this possible?
Up to this point, I have excluded any conversation about what I plan on doing for the rear speakers in terms of powering them. I am considering getting the JL audio e2150 amp. It’s not as high-quality as the 500/5, but since I’m gonna be using it for rear fill only, I’m not too concerned. I figure this amp would be a good match for my speakers.
Anyway, I apologize for how long this post is. You hardcore installers surely have some answers for me! Thanks for your help.
-Pete
