which is better? monoblock vs bi-amp

[pyonc]

Hi,

Currently I listen to 4343 in a bi-amping mode, mainly jazz.
These days I feel more and more interested in monoblocks, which I've never used.
Can any of you who have had experiences of both worlds tell me how about their different sonoric characteristics? How do they sound different in terms of, say, treble or tonal balance? I'm thinking of Aleph 2 monoblocks at the moment.
Thanks for your advice.

[timc]

Hi,

Currently I listen to 4343 in a bi-amping mode, mainly jazz.
These days I feel more and more interested in monoblocks, which I've never used.
Can any of you who have had experiences of both worlds tell me how about their different sonoric characteristics? How do they sound different in terms of, say, treble or tonal balance? I'm thinking of Aleph 2 monoblocks at the moment.
Thanks for your advice.

Hi.

I have experience with Aleph 3 and 1.2. They sound extremely clean, and are very articulate. However they don't really cut it when it comes to woofer controll. Personally I would not use them on any large JBL. I tried the 1.2's on the L65 and it was rubbish. Very nice mid and treble, but the low end was terrible.

[pyonc]

Hi.

I have experience with Aleph 3 and 1.2. They sound extremely clean, and are very articulate. However they don't really cut it when it comes to woofer controll. Personally I would not use them on any large JBL. I tried the 1.2's on the L65 and it was rubbish. Very nice mid and treble, but the low end was terrible.

Thanks for your insight on this matter.
Given that bass sound in 4343 does really matter, I think I have to stay away from these monoblocks.

[timc]

If you can Bi-Amp with an Aleph on the mid/highs, and a Crown or similar on the woofer, i think you are in for a treat.

[pyonc]

If you can Bi-Amp with an Aleph on the mid/highs, and a Crown or similar on the woofer, i think you are in for a treat.

You're talking about a single Aleph on mid/high, not monoblocks here, right?
I'm using Crown DC300A for the woofer at the moment.

[richluvsound]

I use Pass Labs on my K2 and have no problems with the bass in general music listening situations. It is true the older Pass designs dont grip the large woofer as well as the new designs ,but for jazz at jazz volumes you will not regret it .

I would not put any signal through these amps from an inferior crossover , If you want to bi-amp then spend big .

However , for pure listening pleasure go for the PASS 1.2 ... they hold their value very well even in this economy .

I would probably use a new biased internal crossover as my first step though .

For Party duty , just use a large SS amp as I do .

Good luck and keep us posted on your journey , Rich

[Maron Horonzakz]

I triamp with six mono block Marantz Esotec MA-5 amps it gives alot of flexibility to balance the system.

[JeffW]

Bi-amping can be done with two stereo amps or a stereo amp and two monoblocks or four monoblocks. "Bi-amping" and "monoblocks" are basically unrelated terms. You can bi-amp with or without monoblocks.

Maybe "monoblocks vs stereo amps for bi-amping" would be a question, but a monoblock can be used on a fully passive speaker just as well as half a stereo amp.

[timc]

I use Pass Labs on my K2 and have no problems with the bass in general music listening situations. It is true the older Pass designs dont grip the large woofer as well as the new designs ,but for jazz at jazz volumes you will not regret it .

I would not put any signal through these amps from an inferior crossover , If you want to bi-amp then spend big .

However , for pure listening pleasure go for the PASS 1.2 ... they hold their value very well even in this economy .

I would probably use a new biased internal crossover as my first step though .

For Party duty , just use a large SS amp as I do .

Good luck and keep us posted on your journey , Rich

Agreed!

The newer X and XA designs are quite a step up from the Alephs, when it comes to woofer control. The rest I'm not really sure about........

[timc]

You're talking about a single Aleph on mid/high, not monoblocks here, right?
I'm using Crown DC300A for the woofer at the moment.


Doesn't really matter. Depends on how much power you need ;)

[Ruediger]

I just looked at the Pass Labs website.

A dampingfactor of 150 (smaller models) and 1% distortion at 1 kHz, mmhhh.

I would expect that from a karaoke set for 100 $ with 2 x 600 Watts ppscfbc (peak power short circuit fuse blow capability).

Ruediger

[Ian Mackenzie]

Control
I just looked at the Pass Labs website.

A dampingfactor of 150 (smaller models) and 1% distortion at 1 kHz, mmhhh.

I would expect that from a karaoke set for 100 $ with 2 x 600 Watts ppscfbc (peak power short circuit fuse blow capability).

Ruediger

I have used the aleph 1.2 but the aleph 2 had good control in the bass. Wait for the First Watt B4 crossover, buy or build a aleph J for the mid and highs.The 4343 has a bit of glare so yu want a sweet amp with high resolving power and a low noise floor. Rebuild the passive bi amp crossover and delete the mid L pad for another 6db moreA sensitivity.

[JeffW]

I just looked at the Pass Labs website.

A dampingfactor of 150 (smaller models) and 1% distortion at 1 kHz, mmhhh.

I would expect that from a karaoke set for 100 $ with 2 x 600 Watts ppscfbc (peak power short circuit fuse blow capability).

Ruediger

I think he does that to screw with people's minds. Here's a review with measurements (http://www.stereophile.com/content/pass-labs-xa305-power-amplifier-measurements) of a little 30 wpc class A amp, the XA30.5.


I therefore preconditioned the Pass amplifier by running it at 40Wpc into 8 ohms for an hour. The heatsinks were just over 60°C (140°F) at the end of that period; the distortion had dropped slightly, from 0.0192% to 0.0176%.

.0176% distortion at 130% of its rated output.

But they did run it up until 1% distortion


The amplifier doesn't actually clip (defined as the THD reaching 1%) until a much higher power level: 130Wpc into 8 ohms

So yep, 1% distortion all right. At 430% rated output power.

I own one of those little amps, but since I never run it at anywhere close to 430% of its rated output, I think it sounds pretty good. YMMV