Bi-amping the Yamaha NS-1000M Crossover

[WGS57]

Hello everyone, I have refinished my Yamaha NS-1000M cabinets and am considering bi-amping the pair...keeping the original passive crossovers. The reason for bi-amping is I wish to use a type 45 tube amplifier for the midrange and high frequencies and a solid state amp for the low end. I would assume other owners have performed the same mods? Can someone offer some advice...is it worth it, are you happy with this setup? I would hate to not use my 45 tube amp but it won't have enough to drive the Yamaha's on its own as type 45 tube amps only produce a couple watts per channel. At this time I only have the Yamaha NS-1000M's and they are a nostalgic speaker choice for me as they were the very first pair of speakers I bought when I started to work as a teenager back in the late 1970's and I am now 68 years old. So, I have my heart set on keeping them. So my setup will be a DAC (preamp with two outputs on the way) feeding the two power amps then on to the speakers.

I realize some people might say to get more efficient speakers like some open baffle full-range, or Klipsch if I wish to keep the 45 tube amp, but I have owned Klipsch and other horn speakers that took a lot of space in my room. I owned Lascala's and Belle's and Tannoy's with single ended tube but I have decided on keeping the Yamaha's as they are a nostalgic piece for me and they sound really awesome.

I don't wish to cause a stir as to what speakers I should have but I just want to be able to create a bi-amp solution with the current, original Yamaha NS-1000M crossover. I don't know where in the crossover circuit I need to break the connection between the woofer and the midrange/tweeter but I think I have figured it out in the schematic diagram I have attached.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Bill

 

[Lux Man]

Welcome! HaHa I am older than you are!

I don't like "exactly" where your arrow is pointing but maybe you understand. The break is after that junction so that the woofer is completely separated both + and ground from the mid and tweeter. So 2 breaks not just one, is how I would do it. Also keep in mind that finding that exact point on the crossover might be straightforward or it may not be. Easy to see in a schematic but on the board can be different-a somewhat trained eye will be handy. You might even have to cut traces.

My bigger wonderment is how easy will it be to do this without bastardizing the board and speaker terminal area. (is bastardizing a naughty word). Then you need to get the extra leads out... Will it be worth it? Bi-amp or not to bi-amp? More than one thread has been closed discussing that question.

My 2 cents- I have had the NS-1000's. Procure for yourself a nice suitable amp and enjoy them as is.

 

[tadawson]

The easiest solution would be to not screw with the crossover, but rather to disconnect the leads from the crossover to the woofer, and then simply run new wire from the woofer to the extra input jacks that you will need to add.

Oh, and since the goal is to isolate the woofer, and run mid/high on the passive crossover, and active cross (IE biamp) between the woofer and the mid/high, that would be the wrong place. Just ahort of L1 would be best, but that would still leave the filters in the passive crossover fighting with the new active one.

(Or, if you really aren't wanting to truly "biamp" but rather just run two amps, breaking justnshortmof L1 would work for that.)

 

[WGS57]

Welcome! HaHa I am older than you are!

I don't like "exactly" where your arrow is pointing but maybe you understand. The break is after that junction so that the woofer is completely separated both + and ground from the mid and tweeter. So 2 breaks not just one, is how I would do it. Also keep in mind that finding that exact point on the crossover might be straightforward or it may not be. Easy to see in a schematic but on the board can be different-a somewhat trained eye will be handy. You might even have to cut traces.

My bigger wonderment is how easy will it be to do this without bastardizing the board and speaker terminal area. (is bastardizing a naughty word). Then you need to get the extra leads out... Will it be worth it? Bi-amp or not to bi-amp? More than one thread has been closed discussing that question.

My 2 cents- I have had the NS-1000's. Procure for yourself a nice suitable amp and enjoy them as is.

Hi Lux Man! Thanks for your thoughts. I thought by bi-amping would give me an option to switch things around a little bit as I am downsizing. Right at this moment I feel to just do as you say. Keep everything intact and enjoy the speakers the way they were designed to be run with a more powerful amp. If I want some of that tube magic I may just add a tube preamp, which was my plan anyway. I think that is what I will do. That's about all the energy I have left anyway today. Ha ha!

Have a great day sir! Any chance you like Luxman gear?

Bill