Bi-amping Polk/Momo components

[bkeller3]

I am thinking about bi-amping my 6.5 Polk/Momo components. Question 1, would 80 watts to each speaker be to much or not enough power? Question 2since I won't be using the supplied crossover what would be a good point to set the crossovers on the amp that I use?

[dirthog]

I am thinking about bi-amping my 6.5 Polk/Momo components. Question 1, would 80 watts to each speaker be to much or not enough power? Question 2since I won't be using the supplied crossover what would be a good point to set the crossovers on the amp that I use?

If you aren't using the passive crossovers then it will be an active setup. 80 watts won't be too much for the mid and you could use more if you want to. 80 is too much for the tweeter.

I would start with the same crossover point as the passive crossovers.


Be careful with the high pass setting for your tweeter when using the amp. Most amps aren't that accurate.

[bkeller3]

If you aren't using the passive crossovers then it will be an active setup. 80 watts won't be too much for the mid and you could use more if you want to. 80 is too much for the tweeter.

I would start with the same crossover point as the passive crossovers.


Be careful with the high pass setting for your tweeter when using the amp. Most amps aren't that accurate.

Would it be better to still use the passive crossovers? I just assumed I wouldn't need or use them if I bi-amp. Also how much wattage would you recommend then for the mids and tweets?

[dirthog]

Would it be better to still use the passive crossovers? I just assumed I wouldn't need or use them if I bi-amp. Also how much wattage would you recommend then for the mids and tweets?

When you bi-amp you still use the supplied crossover but you use a separate amp channel for each driver. If you have a four channel amp two of channels will run your mids and the other two will be used for the tweeters. The two channels running the tweeters will need to have the gains turned down.

If your running front and rear bi-amped then you will need two four channel amps.

As for watts to use send Polk an email. There was a thread awhile back about watts for the SR, I think it was 150 mids and 50 or 75 for tweeters. I would think you'd be safe with these numbers. Remember you can always get a bigger amp with more watts but that doesn't mean you have to use all of them. Headroom is a good thing.

If you start to hear distortion or you think one of the speakers is working too hard then you'll need to back off a little.


Active still needs to have a separate channels but an active capable Hu, amp or separate device has more flexibilty to choose crossover points, slopes etc.

[bkeller3]

When you bi-amp you still use the supplied crossover but you use a separate amp channel for each driver. If you have a four channel amp two of channels will run your mids and the other two will be used for the tweeters. The two channels running the tweeters will need to have the gains turned down.

If your running front and rear bi-amped then you will need two four channel amps.

As for watts to use send Polk an email. There was a thread awhile back about watts for the SR, I think it was 150 mids and 50 or 75 for tweeters. I would think you'd be safe with these numbers. Remember you can always get a bigger amp with more watts but that doesn't mean you have to use all of them. Headroom is a good thing.

If you start to hear distortion or you think one of the speakers is working too hard then you'll need to back off a little.

Cool thanks man. Yeah I'll email Polk right now. I have another question though. Right now I am pushing them with a Pioneer amp rated at 125x2 RMS. Would there be a benefit to using a 4 channel amp instead of my 2 channel? Would there be a big difference in the sound?

[dirthog]

If you want to bi-amp you'll need another two channel amp or one four channel amp. I don't think you'll notice that much but it's all the little improvements added up that make a difference.

[MacLeod]

If you want to do a lot of tuning then skip the supplied crossover and use the active one so you can try different levels. If you just want a plug and play setup then use the passive x-over.

80 watts per driver will be fine for those speakers.

[jeffry1970]

how low do you guys actively cross over the tweeters?

[MacLeod]

Id stay above 3.5 KHz. You could probably dip down to 2.5 with a very steep cutoff slope but Im a big believer in having as many octaves as possible coming from a single driver.