4350/ bryston

[KTG]

HI all, regarding the Bryston 10B crossover for the 4350's, does anyone think not having a low pass level control for the woofers is a problem? I noticed this unit only has a high pass level control. Do I need woofer amps with gain controls to adjust for this? I have an older Rane AC22S now which has more level controls on it. Any suggestions would be appreciated., Thanks

[RMC]

Hi KTG,

As a general rule, for me, maximum flexibility is the only way to fly. Even though I don't own the 4350 nor the Bryston 10B, I DO have a couple of Rane AC 22 crossovers (older than yours) plus an old Furman Sound crossover, all with full level controls on board and my amps all have gain controls. I wouldn't have it any other way.

The reason being the flexibility to connect whatever with whatever and being able to adjust levels as need be with no hassle, since I have many pairs of speakers and bass cabinets. Being logical with this, I never purchase an amp with no gain controls for example, which means my amps are Pro models because too many hi-fi amps don't have any gain controls. Upon any gear purchase, I look for quality, reliability and FLEXIBILITY (e.g. rack mount, gain or level controls and clip lights on the front, but also connection options on the back side such as TRS, XLR and barrier strip for inputs, as well as binding posts and speakon for the outputs, etc). Flexibility all around!

I assume Bryston's 10B does not have low pass level controls because they figured in a bi/tri-amp situation the mid and/or high levels would be more efficient/sensitive most of the time. Not always true though. If I run my 15" JBL 2205H bass cabinets along with a pair or two of small satellite speakers I made with European drivers, the JBLs are more efficient/sensitive, therefore too loud for the little guys, so I can easily adjust the levels on the crossover and/or the amp gain... Again, flexibility is the only way to fly for me. Regards,

Richard

[KTG]

Thanks Richard, I always had a flexibility in my system and you confirmed this is a good idea. Good info, Ken

[just4kinks]

You don't need both adjustments, the goal here is just to adjust for the sensitivity difference between low and high, so you only need one adjustment. You don't need any if you have gain controls on the amps.

Sure, it's nice to have gain adjustments throughout the signal chain, but every one is an extra pot and an op-amp which can introduce noise and distortion.

[KTG]

Thanks, what do you think of the Bryston 10b sub on the 4350? Newer amps with gain controls is kind of limited. Woofer amps with gain, upper tube amps no gain control ?,

[just4kinks]

I use Linkwitz-Riley alignment on my 4345's, but the other Bryston models are more flexible, which is nice.

The HF section of your 4350's is going to be more sensitive than the LF. Look up the sensitivity numbers, and look up the gain numbers for your amps. This will give you an idea of how much you'll need to attenuate the HF. It looks like the HF adjustment on the 10B is only +/- 5dB, which is probably enough but it depends on your amps.

[KTG]

Ok thanks for the direction, haven't bought amps yet but look in those numbers.

[speakerdave]

Since you'll have Lpads on your three upper drivers as well as treble level controls on your crossover (you'll want both), you'll be OK without input level control on your tube amp. Looking at the specs for the 2202 and the pair of 2235's realizing some acoustic coupling one might wonder whether gain control on the woofer amps will be necessary. I think the sensitivity numbers given for the 2235 may not be based on the frequency range for which they are used in the 4350, which will be less efficient. I think you'll be ok.

[KTG]

Hi speakerdave, On my 4350B I only have an L-pad for the 2405. The woofers are 2231H. Thanks for the input.