Well I gave it a whirl, and it just didn't float my boat. Seem to lose a lot of detail and imaging. I used the 5235.
Rich
Well I gave it a whirl, and it just didn't float my boat. Seem to lose a lot of detail and imaging. I used the 5235.
Rich
You might try swapping the polarity on only one of the amps HF -or- LF
(both speaker leads +/-) before giving up on this. I seem to recall this
having an effect with mine, using the 4430/4435 cards in a 5235. It was
a long time back (for me to remember clearly), but simple enough to try.
I -do- clearly recall that setting the levels on the 5235 was very critical,
and that the normal/bi-amp switch was a bit fussy (could use a bit of
cleaning and lubrication... or outright replacement).
Which amps did you use? Where they similar? thinking of sensitivity and gain.
A difference of only >0.5dB will make everything go bad.
2213 + 2435HPL w/aquaplas + H9800 (Matsj edition)
Personally, I have never heard a passive system not be surpassed by a active one. I'd suspect something was wrong in your setup.
I used a couple of Marantz 250M's.
I didn't play with the settings much at all because I don't know how to attack that. Is there a way to go thru a set up. All I seemed to hear was the speaker getting more power.
Rich
Do you have the 5235 manual? Also it is not trivial to do by ear (without
test equipment). I assume you have the proper 5235 cards for this system
and that you've noticed that the output connector pin-out of the 5235 is
non-standard.
I'm in no way challenging that you may very well have a preference for the
non-biamped system, or that higher quality electronic crossovers could
further improve the sound of a properly biamped 4430, ... it was just not
my experience that biamping 4430's with a 5235 resulted in drastically
less enjoyable speakers (it was just a hassle turning all of that junk on
and off).
(I should also mention that I was feeding the 5235 input from a balanced-out
preamp).
I don't agree with that blanket statment.
About the only blanket statement I can think of at the moment that would be true, is "the system will be quietest with the power disconnected."
How about this: "The system should improve if you are bi-amping it correctly."
Widget
If you place the SPL meter on a stool or rig some sort of repeatable stand, set it up 4 feet away from the speaker on axis with the horn, play pink noise through the system (one channel at a time) and set it so that it is say 75dB with only the horn playing, then disconnect that amp and run the woofers and dial it in until you get the same reading... repeat on the other channel and you should be really pretty close.
Widget
Yes, thats more to the point, the key word there being correctly. From my own experience I definitely noticed a much "livelier" sound when I bi-amped them, by how much did it improve is hard to hard for me to put into words, but it was certainly noticeable. If I had the extra gear I would have keept the bi-amp configuration but they are now in passive mode and sound fine to me and I'm happy with them.
RichK keep working on it and try out Mr. Widgets advice with the pink noise spl meter since you have it. Let us know how you make out.
Just Play Music.
... you now have a pair of stools.If you place the SPL meter on a stool...
Seriously, I'd have to choose a curve for the specific-brand SPL meter and run
a comparison test vs. a swept sine plot before I'd step out on that limb.
IIRC, the unity gain setting on the 5235 was "8" and was difficult to set
within a 1/2dB... something I'd rather not depend on a pink noise source
to accomplish... but better than nothing I suppose.
A $50 mic (or the SPL
meter voltage output) and some free software would likely produce both a
better answer if done correctly, and initiate a barrage of problems and
questions in the process of getting there ... so, ah, nevermind, an RS SPL
meter -is- a handy tool to have, and is a smidgen better than just guessing.
I've actually done it with a Rat Shack meter... it does work.
In the mid band, where most of the energy is in a test like this, they are remarkably accurate. At 1KHz, my Rat Shack meter is within 1dB of my calibrated CLIO rig.
Now, I personally wouldn't use a Rat Shack SPL meter to set an EQ, but many have while using a chart to "calibrate" their meter.
Widget
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