mark1101 Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 I wound up with Cigarbum's very nice DBBs with 2 Crites woofers in each cabinet. I am running a K402 horn on each one with a 2-way passive ALK ESN network. I am driving all that with just a MC-250, 50 wpc stereo McIntosh amp..........and it's plenty. My preamp is a Peach. Let's not forget that a DBB cabinet is actually pretty efficient, and they are bass cannons. You won't need all that wattage........but it will be better to have a QSC1802 drive the bass cabinets than what I have. I would just be cautious about how the HF will sound with that amp. I use the QSCs 1104 and 1804 on my MCM system for bass cabinets and subs but I was not satisfied with how they sounded up top. Just didn't have the detail of a good home audio amp on the mid and HFs (for me!). That's just me......YMMV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Good info Mark, thanks. Did you wire the woofers in series or parallel? I've always liked the Emotiva amps, but I seem to always see comments about how noisy they are with high efficiency speakers like Klipsch Heritage. I keep looking at the Yamaha A-S2000 .. based on the stated specs, is this anywhere in the ballpark of what I might need?Street price is about $1,600, which would put me in the same ballpark as the Emotiva XPR-2 (but minus a pre-amp) http://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio-visual/hifi-components/amps/a-s2000_black__u/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Some of the Emotiva amps are a little hissy with efficient speakers. You'll need to do a little research on which ones arent. Check whatever amp you buy and see what voltage it needs to be driven to it's full output. Check your potential preamps output voltage and see if it will drive your amp. I'll bet ATI makes an amp ot two that sound nice on the top and will drive the bass bins too[]. I think the one you have on loan will run down to a 2 amp load. (Edit, may NOT handle a 2 Ohm load, I'll need to check. it's bridgeable and can handle 4 Ohm loads for sure). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 If you plan on running the whole shooting match on an integrated (or at least toying with that idea) you're going to bust your budget. The only integrates I'm aware of that will handle that loat start with an M and end in to$h. There may be others out there but I'm not aware of any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1101 Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Emotiva amps do not have any gain controls, and the ones that exhibit "hiss" have a high gain spec as well. All that is exactly wrong for Klipsch high efficiency speakers. I have to be careful here because I know many on this forum seem to love that brand. You couldn't give me one. There is no way to control gain structure first of all. They are always on full tilt. To boot they have too much gain in the design. Just wrong for Klipsch. As for the DBB woofer question, I wire them in Parallel. So the impedance goes to about 3 ohms. Still, they make bass very easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 grrr, this hobby is "fun". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Good info Mark, thanks. Did you wire the woofers in series or parallel? I've always liked the Emotiva amps, but I seem to always see comments about how noisy they are with high efficiency speakers like Klipsch Heritage. I keep looking at the Yamaha A-S2000 .. based on the stated specs, is this anywhere in the ballpark of what I might need?Street price is about $1,600, which would put me in the same ballpark as the Emotiva XPR-2 (but minus a pre-amp) http://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio-visual/hifi-components/amps/a-s2000_black__u/ Only good down to 4 Ohms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Just get a fan amp for the bass bins and a glowey thing amp for the tops. Problem solved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Good info Mark, thanks. Did you wire the woofers in series or parallel? I've always liked the Emotiva amps, but I seem to always see comments about how noisy they are with high efficiency speakers like Klipsch Heritage. I keep looking at the Yamaha A-S2000 .. based on the stated specs, is this anywhere in the ballpark of what I might need?Street price is about $1,600, which would put me in the same ballpark as the Emotiva XPR-2 (but minus a pre-amp) http://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio-visual/hifi-components/amps/a-s2000_black__u/ Only good down to 4 Ohms. which seems to be the norm for most commercial offerings. how much of that is just marketing insurance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Just get a fan amp for the bass bins and a glowey thing amp for the tops. Problem solved. but then I have to deal with active crossovers for true bi-amping? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Good info Mark, thanks. Did you wire the woofers in series or parallel? I've always liked the Emotiva amps, but I seem to always see comments about how noisy they are with high efficiency speakers like Klipsch Heritage. I keep looking at the Yamaha A-S2000 .. based on the stated specs, is this anywhere in the ballpark of what I might need?Street price is about $1,600, which would put me in the same ballpark as the Emotiva XPR-2 (but minus a pre-amp) http://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio-visual/hifi-components/amps/a-s2000_black__u/ Only good down to 4 Ohms. which seems to be the norm for most commercial offerings. how much of that is just marketing insurance? If it could handle 2 Ohms, marketing would be all over it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Just get a fan amp for the bass bins and a glowey thing amp for the tops. Problem solved. but then I have to deal with active crossovers for true bi-amping? Or passive, whatever your flavor is. Edit: passive would be harder. What about a minidsp to split things up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Reviving this slightly older thread because I find myself stuck in the middle of two worlds. I'm building these Cornscala DBB's and struggling to find an appropriate consumer integrated amp that will deliver enough power to drive 2x15" woofers @ 3 ohms per channel. Something like the QSC PLX1802 will deliver more than enough power, but then I need to find a suitable pre-amp and deal with any of the potential issues already mentioned early when one tries to use pro gear in a 2-channel home setup. The PLX 1802 needs 1.28 V to drive it. Can your preamp handle that? http://www.qscaudio.com/products/amps/plx2/plx1802_specifications.htm There is a guy in Denver that can change the surface mount resistors to make it an easier load to drive. This is from several years a go but it is still an option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 The PLX 1802 needs 1.28 V to drive it. Can your preamp handle that? http://www.qscaudio.com/products/amps/plx2/plx1802_specifications.htm There is a guy in Denver that can change the surface mount resistors to make it an easier load to drive. This is from several years a go but it is still an option. I don't have any components for this 2-channel rig, so everything is theoretical at the moment. What would be some suitable pre-amps to drive it? There seems to be inconsistencies within the industry since I see any of the following for input/output voltage requirements: V, VRMS, V RMS, mV/k-ohms, etc.. I'm really trying not to be such a noob, but every time I think I'm getting it and ask some followup questions I end up feeling more and more stupid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 for example, the Emotiva XDA-2 appears to handle from 2-4VRMS on the balanced outputs. so wth does that mean? http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/processors/products/xda2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 for example, the Emotiva XDA-2 appears to handle from 2-4VRMS on the balanced outputs. so wth does that mean? http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/processors/products/xda2 It looks to be the same rating method used by amp makers. RMS music power and peak power. Specs given on the Emotiva were for the balanced (non RCA) outputs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 soooo, is there logic with this approach? start out a pro amp like the QSC and a suitable pre-amp (presumably the emotiva) and power the speakers as a full range amp to see if I like the sound. Plan ahead and have B.Crites make my crossovers bi-ampable so that if I hate the QSC on the HF I can keep it for the bass bins and add something like a small SET amp for the HF? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 soooo, is there logic with this approach? start out a pro amp like the QSC and a suitable pre-amp (presumably the emotiva) and power the speakers as a full range amp to see if I like the sound. Plan ahead and have B.Crites make my crossovers bi-ampable so that if I hate the QSC on the HF I can keep it for the bass bins and add something like a small SET amp for the HF? That would be a perfect low cost approach, yes. Great first step. You know the Emotiva has zero analog inputs correct? Didn't know if that mattered to you or not. Seems like it's a DAC primarily , pre-amp as a secondary use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 soooo, is there logic with this approach? start out a pro amp like the QSC and a suitable pre-amp (presumably the emotiva) and power the speakers as a full range amp to see if I like the sound. Plan ahead and have B.Crites make my crossovers bi-ampable so that if I hate the QSC on the HF I can keep it for the bass bins and add something like a small SET amp for the HF? That would be a perfect low cost approach, yes. Great first step. You know the Emotiva has zero analog inputs correct? Didn't know if that mattered to you or not. Seems like it's a DAC primarily , pre-amp as a secondary use. Correct. I have no plans for investing in turntables and vinyl, tapes, etc. I'll be streaming my hi-res music from my music server to the laptop and out to pre-amp via usb or optical toslink. I'll walk you through all of that when you're here on the 20th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Do you have a set of spare RCA's and an IEC power cord or do I need to remove mine and bring them with my DAC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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