Any experience bi-amping Monitor 10s?

kestrickl
kestrickl Posts: 3
edited July 2013 in Vintage Speakers
I have a pair of Monitor 10Bs that I bought a few years ago. I replaced the SL-2000 tweeters with the RDO-194s and am quite happy with the Monitor 10s, especially after setting them up with a subwoofer driven by a two-way stereo active crossover and power amp. However, I am never one to leave well enough alone, and I am looking at doing a crossover upgrade by putting some sort of film capacitors in the crossovers. Before doing that, it came to me that I already have an extra stereo power amplifier and a 3-way stereo active crossover that are begging to be used. Instead of upgrading the crossovers in the 10Bs, I could power the tweeters separately from the 6503s, crossing them over at about 3-4 kHz with an 18 dB/octave roll-off rate rather than the 12 dB/octave of the existing crossover. Has anyone on this forum done this before? What kind of problems do folks think I will run into doing this? It would actually be less additional expense for me to go the electronic crossover route than to go buy some nice film caps.
Post edited by kestrickl on
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Comments

  • StantonZ
    StantonZ Posts: 444
    edited July 2013
    No, but I just rebuilt my XO's and am very pleased with the results. My recommendation would be to NOT bi-amp and rebuild the XO: less trouble in the long run.
    Yamaha RX-A2050 AVR (5.0.2); LG OLED77C2 4K TV
    (4) Polk Monitor 10B's w/SoniCaps, Mills, and RDO-194 tweets (R/L F/R)
    (2) Polk RC80i (Top Middle)
    Polk CS300 center channel
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  • kestrickl
    kestrickl Posts: 3
    edited July 2013
    Replacing the caps and resistors would be more predictable. Looking at the crossover schematic for the 10 models, it looks like there is a filter in the tweeter XO section that provides a mild equalization ramp to correct for the tweeter response. I would have to do something like that with an equalizer if I went the biamp route. Not a big deal, but it would tie up some equipment that I could put to some other project. I will probably decide after I replace the caps in a pair of Monitor 4.6s that I am using in my basement system.
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  • TennMan
    TennMan Posts: 1,266
    edited July 2013
    Welcome to the forum! Be very careful with your choice of words. Just the mention of an equalizer on this forum could get you burned at the stake and your ashes thrown into a septic tank. :lol:
    • SDA 2BTL · Sonicaps · Mills resistors · RDO-198s · New gaskets · H-nuts · Erse inductors · BH5 · Dynamat
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  • kestrickl
    kestrickl Posts: 3
    edited July 2013
    If you only knew the kind of project I have in mind for the power amp and active crossover if I don't use them on the Monitor 10s. Probably would get me burned at the stake around here. Pay no attention to the fact that some of the elements in good crossover designs are used in an attempt to correct speaker driver frequency responses.
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  • cristo
    cristo Posts: 231
    edited July 2013
    TennMan wrote: »
    Welcome to the forum! Be very careful with your choice of words. Just the mention of an equalizer on this forum could get you burned at the stake and your ashes thrown into a septic tank. :lol:

    "Equalizer"

    Catch me if you can!
    cristo

    NAD C 545BEE cd player, Philips AF877 turntable / Shure V15V-MR with JICO SAS stylus,
    Tascam 122 mkIII cassette deck, Harman Kardon 3480 receiver, Terk FM-50 antenna in the attic,
    Soundcraftsmen SE550 stereo equalizer, Polk Monitor 10a speakers
    (with Sonicraft/Solen/Mills crossover rebuild)
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  • gp4jesus
    gp4jesus Posts: 1,987
    edited July 2013
    If this "experiment" is at no $, go for it!

    if I read your first post correctly, your EXO is 3rd order, passive-2nd order. XO your tweets fractionally below the passive frequency and listen, listen, listen.

    If you don't like, buy the film caps & be happy.

    Tony
    Samsung 60" UN60ES6100 LED Outlaw Audio 976 Pre/Pro Samsung BDP, Amazon Firestick, Phillips CD Changer Canare 14 ga - LCR tweeters inside*; Ctr Ch outside BJC 10 ga - LCR mids, inside* & out 8 ga Powerline: LR woofers, inside* & out *soldered LR: Tri-amped RTi A7 w/Rotels. Woofers - 980BX; Tweets & “Plugged*” Mids - 981, connected w/MP Premiere ICs Ctr Ch: Rotel RB981 -> Bi-amped CSi A6 Surrounds: Premiere ICs ->Rotel 981 -> AR 12 ga -> RTi A3. 5 Subs: Sunfire True SW Signature -> LFE & Ctr Ch; 4 Audio Pro Evidence @ the “Corners”. Power Conditioning & Distribution: 4 dedicated 20A feeds; APC H15; 5 Furman Miniport 20s *Xschop's handy work
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