bi amping an cabling

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joblow88
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bi amping an cabling

#1 Post by joblow88 »

So i was reading online about bi amping and one of the advantage is the reduce interference from the low to affect the high. my question is does it will afect my sound if i have a single cable with 4 connector going to my tops? ?

Bruce Weldy
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Re: bi amping an cabling

#2 Post by Bruce Weldy »

joblow88 wrote: Tue Feb 14, 2023 12:09 pm So i was reading online about bi amping and one of the advantage is the reduce interference from the low to affect the high. my question is does it will afect my sound if i have a single cable with 4 connector going to my tops? ?
I've been running shows for over 40 years and have never felt the need to bi-amp. It requires additional amps, more expensive cable and unless you have a lot of practice at it and a good ear, you most likely won't get the PA sounding any better than with passive boxes.

Spend your time on learning frequencies and tuning your system EQ properly before each show and at each venue. Then learn how to build a mix - focusing on each instrument finding its sonic space in the mix....not trying to make each instrument sound really big and full all by itself.

That will do more to affect your sound than running your system bi-amped.

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Bill Fitzmaurice
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Re: bi amping an cabling

#3 Post by Bill Fitzmaurice »

joblow88 wrote: Tue Feb 14, 2023 12:09 pm So i was reading online about bi amping and one of the advantage is the reduce interference from the low to affect the high.
There are some valid reasons to bi-amp, but that's not one of them.

joblow88
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Re: bi amping an cabling

#4 Post by joblow88 »

There are my reasons to bi amp. I have all the amps that ill ever need so that is not a problem. Also mi roommate is an electrician entrepreneur so i can have acces to all his cheep deals for all the wire that I want. Being on a budget I would rather put the money on better quality component than on crossover (it adds up over 8 cabs and there the border fees to add)... As the gigs come in i would definitely like to add passive crossover to simplify the setup but that would be a few years down the line.
From my understanding off bill comment it probably a HIFI bs mith so i could go ahead and order the cable.

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Bill Fitzmaurice
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Re: bi amping an cabling

#5 Post by Bill Fitzmaurice »

Using four conductor cable is mentioned in some of the plans, for using a single cable from the amp rack to the speakers, two conductors for the subs and two for the mains.

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Seth
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Re: bi amping an cabling

#6 Post by Seth »

My thoughts in the matter...

There are two reasons that come to mind when I think about the value of bi-amping tops. 1) Being able to maximize the number of cabs on an amp channel by utilizing series parallel wiring schemes. 2) Just cos I wanna.

If you just wanna, there's no need to justify the choice. Go for it! I'm in complete support of that and will be happy to assist in setting it up. Just be aware, in most cases there's very little practical or sonic benefit in bi-amping.

Interesting point, though... The cost of 8+ passive crossovers does add up swiftly. And if you've got a sweet deal lined up on some four conductor cabling, you might be able to save a few bucks.
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J_Dunavin
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Re: bi amping an cabling

#7 Post by J_Dunavin »

For what's it's worth, I used to run all my BFM gear as bi-amped (DR200's) but have since downsized to a pair of OT8's which have a passive crossover in.
I can't tell a difference though bi amping was fun to mess around with and I got by with a very small amplifier too for the high freq section (50W per channel driving three DR200's per side)

To answer your original question, no the 4 conductor cable won't effect the sound quality. In fact I ran 4 conductor in my latest set up in case I decide I want to go upgrade the drivers and go back to bi-amp. The OT8's sound so nice though I can't imagine needing to change anything ;)
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joblow88
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Re: bi amping an cabling

#8 Post by joblow88 »

Thanks everyone!!

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