Bi-amping
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Bi-amping is the practice of using two audio amplifier channels to power a loudspeaker with multiple drivers.
[edit] Description
Bi-amping is the act of using a single loud-speaker system, that is one channel of a speaker pair, with one channel handling only low frequency information and the other channel handling high frequency audio information.[1] The term derives from the prefix bi-, meaning 'two', and amp, a contraction of 'amplifier'. Bi-amping can be configured in two ways
- Horizontal bi-amping uses one amplifier to power bass drivers (woofers) and a different amplifier to power treble drivers (tweeter) or the midrange and treble drivers, depending on the speaker system.
- Vertical bi-amping uses a single amp per speaker, with a dedicated channel for the bass driver and a dedicated channel for the treble or the treble and the midrange. Vertical bi-amping has the advantage of not having to use a single amp to power both bass sections, which can be very taxing on the amplifier, especially at higher volume or if the bass driver has a particularly low impedance at certain frequencies.
A speaker system has to be wired to accommodate either configuration, typically with two sets of binding posts, one set for the bass and one set for the mid-highs. A single amplifier can usually power a woofer and a tweeter only through a crossover filter, which protects each driver from signals outside its frequency range. However, the crossovers themselves waste power; bi-amping along with active crossover components works around this problem by putting crossover networks before the amplifiers rather than between amplifiers and loudspeakers.
The technique is primarily used in large-scale audio applications such as sound amplification for concerts, in portable powered speakers and by hi-fi enthusiasts.
Most audible differences are subtle. If at all noticeable, benefits of bi-amping cannot be realized if passive crossover networks of a speaker system are not removed.[2] Benefits include transients are less likely to cause amplifier overload (clipping) and/or speaker damage, and reduced intermodulation distortion, elimination of errors introduced by low frequency passive crossover, reduction of load to the load presented to the power amplifier, better matching of power amplifier and speaker driver and others.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Annals of Australian Hi-Fi magazine, ,Bi-wiring vs Bi-amping
- ^ An article from Audioholics online A/V magazine, Aug 30th 2004 , The Difference Between Biamping vs. Biwiring
- ^ Article by Elliot Sound Products, ,Benefits of Bi-amping, not quite magic but close
[edit] See also
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