I would agree with most of the posts. I have speakers that are designed to be run in a bewildering variety of consigurations that I won't list here, simply by changing the orientation of the connection panel on the back. I run mine active (x-overs are optional plugin modules inside the stereo power amps).
One of the many options is to run the mid+treble as vertical bi-amp and run the bass as a horizontal bi-amp. This addresses the crosstalk benefit but not the "mono bass needs more power" problem. In my old active system, the manufacturer reccomendation was to run left bass+right mid from one amp and right bass and left mid from another, with the treble from the third amp...(imagine the wiring nightmare that was! - especially with non standard XLR cabling). If I was tri-amping (not active) would run mid+bass vertical and treble horizontal. YMMV. For me personally I find active is a significant leap in quality from bi/tri-amping as the passive crossover is gone, gone, gone...and so is the small waste of electricity that is dumping power for no reason because of the insertion loss. Active seems to give much better control at the bass end in particular and has an overall "grip" on the rhythmic/dynamic aspects of the music that I find lacking in many non-active setups. Also of course it is much easier to design whatever x-over slopes you want to make the drivers+cabinet sound good when working at line level... That's not to say that "active" is a panacea of course. -- Phil Leigh You want to see the signal path BEFORE it gets onto a CD/vinyl...it ain't what you'd call minimal...SB3+Stontronics PSU - Altmann JISCO/UPCI - TACT RCS 2.2X with Good Vibrations S/W - MF X-DAC V3/X-PSU/X-10 buffer (Audiocomm full mods)- Linn 5103 - Linn Aktiv 5.1 system (6x LK140's, ESPEK/TRIKAN/KATAN/SEIZMIK 10.5), Townsend Supertweeters, Kimber & Chord cables ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Phil Leigh's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=85 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=46354 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
