4430 question about proper amping in studio

[kallisto]

Hello ,
I admit Im a newbie when It comes to amping monitors and mains .. Ive always run powered nearfields and simple amplification of NS 10s ... Ive recently scored a pair of 4430 monitors and will be installing them into my recording studio. I need an amp to power them ??? cant figure out which direction to go?? I produce soul influenced hip hop and want them to " knock " !! My room is 14 x 13 x 11ft high , with another 4 x 8 vocal room ... I also have ns 10s adam a7 for my monitoring but these were purchased to hopefully piss off some studio tenants
Would any of you guys who have experience with these in a recording setting have any suggestions ?? Things to consider ........ I need the amp to be fairly quiet , about 600 $ cap on cost ... give or take a few hundred if it really makes that big of a difference ..... I dont care if its a tube or SS just as long as it doesnt color the sound to much ... I would prefer an amp that complement the speakers to have them be as clean as possible.... punchy , deep , clean bass rather than muddy ...
I hope this is enough info for anyone to help out. Your knowledge is greatly appreciated !!
cheers
Oh , another thing.... I hear people talking about Bi amping and using an external crossover . Could someone shed some light on how expensive, difference in sound, and what brands to consider if I decide to go that route ...thanks

[daveobieone]

I've owned 4430's for a good 20 years now, and still love them.

I've run them with a single amp (with a variety of amps), and also bi-amped. I can tell you, they sound MUCH better bi-amped. My set-up is a re-capped JBL 5235 cross-over, with the proper 4430/4435 cards.

The woofer amp is a Yamaha 2002m, and I run a Sonic Frontiers tube amp on the horns. The combination sounds really very sweet. It did take a little while to get the phasing and the levels just right, but they really sing this way.

The sound is considerably clearer at the high-end running bi-amped. I'm not sure why. The sound is a little mushy at the high end running single ended.

Just my 2 cents worth,
Dave O.

[screw_squirrel]

Go to bi-amp! You will never regret... The improvement is huge. Use the JBL set up => 5235 cross over with 52-5130 cards. As you want them for a work purpose you can choose BGW 750 serie amplifier for low end and the best is use the same amplifier for high end because the crossover frequency is at 1000Hz . This will bring you a whole lotta bass! And not only that...

[screw_squirrel]

I've owned 4430's for a good 20 years now, and still love them.

I've run them with a single amp (with a variety of amps), and also bi-amped. I can tell you, they sound MUCH better bi-amped. My set-up is a re-capped JBL 5235 cross-over, with the proper 4430/4435 cards.

The woofer amp is a Yamaha 2002m, and I run a Sonic Frontiers tube amp on the horns. The combination sounds really very sweet. It did take a little while to get the phasing and the levels just right, but they really sing this way.

The sound is considerably clearer at the high-end running bi-amped. I'm not sure why. The sound is a little mushy at the high end running single ended.

Just my 2 cents worth,
Dave O.

Hi Dave, the way you use your 4430 is very interesting for me and I would like to know how you achieve such an unusual way to supply the 4430...?
I have always heard that it is not easy to bi-amp the 4430 with two different sort of amplifier together (classic tube and solid state)!
I have the same deviding network as you and my question is: do you only use the level power control (knobs) of your amplifiers or do you also turn a little bit the "high frequency level" knobs on the 5235 to get the right sound?
In my case, when using the same amplifiers (MC2250 and MC2255) the 5235 knobs stay at "8" and I put nearly 25% more power on the low end than the high end and the result is good.
When I use the JBL 6260 for the low end I turn the knobs @-22dB and the McIntosh is at 3/4 full power. The sound level is good but the result has not the same coherence... What do you think about that?
Thank you for your help.
Eric

[stephane RAME]

Hello,
By the time I had the JBL 4430 and after much testing (CROWN DC300A S2, CROWN D150, CROWN D75), I find the best results listening with an amplifier BGW 750G for low and an amp in LECTRON JH50 the hight, the filter was a DBX Driverack PA.
Stéphane

[screw_squirrel]

Hello,
By the time I had the JBL 4430 and after much testing (CROWN DC300A S2, CROWN D150, CROWN D75), I find the best results listening with an amplifier BGW 750G for low and an amp in LECTRON JH50 the hight, the filter was a DBX Driverack PA.
Stéphane

Merci Stéphane!
As I wrote before I've got the dedicated active network with the correct cards and trying a JBL 6260 in the low end while using a MC2250 in the highs, but I am wondering if a MC 225, MC240, MC 275 or any good tube amp won't be better... Maybe the LECTRON JH50 is the choice...?
Was it difficult for you to tune correctly the bi-amped 4430 with the DBX?
Eric

[stephane RAME]

Hello,
The DBX was a very flexible set (frequency, slope).
A good value for money.
Stéphane