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To start,
Bi-amping is using two amplifiers to power your speaker enclosures
with the same signal. Some pro speaker cabinets offer you a choice of
bi-amping them or running them full range.
Do I need to do
this ?
What are the
advantages ?
What are the disadvantages?
What do I need to
Bi-Amp My system ?
In the following
text I will try to answer these questions for you.
Do I need to do
this ?
To answer this
question for you, we need to know your average crowd size at the
parties you play and the speakers you use to play music for them.
For crowds under
200 people and your speakers are one cabinet design without Bi-Amp
inputs.(speakers that are bi-ampable are clearly marked on the back
with a High/low input as well as a full range input) You also do not
use separate subwoofers. My opinion would be no.
The reason for
this is today you can buy amplifiers that will give you plenty of
amplifier headroom for a small DJ system. The main reason for
Bi-Amping your system is to provide headroom for the system. The idea
here is to be able to play music at the desired volume without
running the system wide open. The difference between the desired
volume level and the systems clipping point is called Headroom. If
you find your running your system wide open at your events, you need
more headroom to make the system sound better and more life like.(It
also increases the dynamic range.)
One way to
do this is by Bi-amping.
What are the
advantages ?
As stated above,
headroom is the main advantage. But there are others. Another
advantage is that you do not use the Speakers internal crossover
(Also called a passive crossover) to separate the high frequencies
from the low's. When you Bi-Amp the system you use a external
electronic crossover.
Why is this an
advantage ?
The speakers
internal passive crossover uses a resistor to lower the power going
to the high frequency speaker/driver. This wastes your amplifier
power by turning the excess power to heat inside the speaker cabinet.
An electronic crossover is used in-line before the amplifiers and all
the power made by the amplifiers are used to make sound.
If you are using
separate subwoofers with your system, Bi-amping is a must to insure
your system has the headroom needed to be clean sounding at the
volume it is designed to be played. The low frequencies are the ones
that are very hard for the amplifier to reproduce, and using one
amplifier with your top's and separate subwoofers will effect the
sound of the high and mid frequencies as well as the low's.
What are the disadvantages?
Hauling two
amplifiers with you in the rack. The added weight can be a problem.
But Today there are many lightweight amplifiers that help out with
this problem. Also you have just doubled the number of speaker wires
needed. One for the mid/high frequencies and one for the low's per
side. If you are using employees to set up the system some training
will be needed to insure that they do not cross the wires.(Color
coding the wires helps) It sounds bad when you mix up the speaker
wires and you can possably damage your gear.
What do I need to
BI-Amp my system?
Well, as the name
suggests you need two amplifiers. When Bi-amping your system I
recommend that your Subwoofer amplifier should be twice the size of
the Mid/high amplifier to insure you have the headroom needed. You
also need two speaker wires per side to run the different amplifier
outputs to the correct speaker cabinet inputs. Mid and high
frequencies to your top's(with a sub system) or high input on your bi-ampable
cabinets, and the lows to your sub's (or the low input of your
bi-ampable cabinets.
An electronic crossover.
This is put
in-line before the amplifiers and after the mixer and/or sonic
enhancer if you use one. Some of today's Amplifier manufactures
include a electronic crossover right in the Amplifier! This is an
advantage because this insures the crossover points are compatible
with the amplifier and is designed to be used with that brand of amplifier.
Some External
electronic crossovers (one rack space units) have user adjustable
crossover points to match them with the speaker manufacture
recommended crossover points. It is important that the crossover
points are matched to insure the best sound possible from your
system. They only need to be set once.
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