Dual Binding Posts a Marketing Gimmick?

[gusaudio]

Amplifier distortion and speaker distortion are 2 different things right?
Over driving tweeters (basically what clipping is) can and will damage them.
Nobody I know has ever blown a tweeter with a single amp (or bi-amped), with low or high power.
Stories about blown tweeters are because of lack of (applied) knowledge and/or alcohol (or similar).
If something doesn't sound right, turn it down. If you think you need it louder, get a system that can go louder.

Not quite sure what point you are trying to make.
Clipping would be when you run out of amplifier power.
overdriving would be you run a speaker to the end of its travel and keep pouring power into it, just creating heat
I am pretty sure you can melt a voice coil with a giant amp going into a speaker that was not designed for it
But that is not really what the discussion is about.

 

[opnly bafld]

Not quite sure what point you are trying to make.
Clipping would be when you run out of amplifier power.
overdriving would be you run a speaker to the end of its travel and keep pouring power into it, just creating heat
I am pretty sure you can melt a voice coil with a giant amp going into a speaker that was not designed for it
But that is not really what the discussion is about.

Better read up on what happens to the voltage the amplifier is sending to the drivers when clipping.
Why would tweeters blow if they are getting less power?
How much power does it take to blow a tweeter?

The discussion became bi-amping and saving tweeters by bi-amping, common sense and turning the volume down when any part of the system shows signs of distress (usually by how it sounds) will accomplish the same thing.

Who exactly are all these people blowing tweeters?
A friend used to own a home (HT/stereo) and car stereo shop, he had one customer that kept blowing tweeters in his Energy speakers, it wasn't the AVR's fault, it wasn't the speaker's fault, it was plain and simple operator error.

 

[runnin']

Wow, a lot of different things involved in this topic. Claims and counter claims, denials and assertions like any good audio theory and topic!

I’ll simply say this. I usually remove the shorting bars on my speakers with this configuration, and use speakers cables on each pair of binding posts(only one stereo amp). This takes the shorting bars out of the circuit, and removing these connection points out of a circuit is never a bad thing.

Whether one hears a difference I’ll leave to others, but with good speaker designs and quality electronics(I’ve compared with quality AND budget), gains can be achieved.
If one has low budget equipment with many design compromises, it’s not worth pursuing. Putting such binding posts on entry level speakers is for marketing purposes only.

 

[C Hart]

When I posted, I did not intend to stir up controversy. I thought Electro-Voice's point of view might be helpful for the forum since I have always found their research to be credible and their products to be high quality. They recommend bi-amping and tweeter protection for high volumes.

I don't listen loud enough now to stress any components and my amp is much bigger/less likely to clip than back in the day. I am not bi-amping but I would do it if I was going to drive any component to the limit.

With that said, is the idea that tweeters blow really up for debate? If so, unfortunately I do have some solid experience with tweeter failure. I have blown tweeters myself and I know many others who also have, and my former employer replaced many tweeters under warranty.

To add to @gusaudio : Ordinary amp output is AC voltage and current. Overdriving is more clean AC voltage/current than a speaker can handle mechanically or thermally. Clipping is DC voltage/current caused by output settings that exceed amp capacity. DC is bad.

In my opinion there is value to the manufacturer's recommendation in any system. The EV recommendation is congruent with my personal experience, further confidence that it's good advice. Everyone is free to follow their own course and keep their own counsel. But if your speakers have the capability, the manufacturer recommends it, you have multiple amps, and your use case is appropriate (loud), to bi-amp your system provides extra protection.

 

[opnly bafld]

@C Hart

"They sold a tweeter protector box that provided 4 outputs from 2 inputs, with wiring instructions for the biamp terminals....... In my opinion there is value to the manufacturer's recommendation in any system. The EV recommendation is congruent with my personal experience, further confidence that it's good advice."

The speaker already had a crossover the same as any other speaker, simply removing the jumper and bi-amping is not the same as installing a "tweeter protector box".

"Ordinary amp output is AC voltage and current. Overdriving is more clean AC voltage/current than a speaker can handle mechanically or thermally. Clipping is DC voltage/current caused by output settings that exceed amp capacity. DC is bad."

When something doesn't sound right, turn it down, the tweeter will be fine. There are many obvious signs of clipping long before damage occurs.

https://sound-au.com/tweeters.htm
"Tweeters can (and do) fail in biamped or multi-amped systems with electronic crossovers - even if the tweeter amplifier never clips. If the tweeter amp has enough power and the level is increased too far, the tweeter or compression horn driver will fail, even though there are no additional harmonics present. The issue is (and always was) excessive power and the increase in level below the nominal crossover frequency."

 

[Sgt Shultz]

Not quite sure what point you are trying to make.
Clipping would be when you run out of amplifier power.
overdriving would be you run a speaker to the end of its travel and keep pouring power into it, just creating heat
I am pretty sure you can melt a voice coil with a giant amp going into a speaker that was not designed for it
But that is not really what the discussion is about.

After blowing a pair of Polk's, then setting fire to an Infinity, I replaced the pair with Kickers in the dash of the 88 Yota 4X4, they took everything the Rockford Fosgate could give them.

They were only fill speakers for the door components along with twin subs so their distress went unnoticed. Sure noticed the flames in the right speaker that night though lol.

That was many moons ago, still have the little Kickers and all the Rockford amps from the Yota and later trucks, and the TOTL Kenny head unit of the time

If I ever get another older truck I'll have a jump start on the sound system.

 

[JoeESP9]

I would think clipping is not the 'only' source of speaker distortion
I would think that relieved of the burden of producing sounds below, what say 300 hz[or whatever], the amplifier channel driving the tweeters would not be prone to clipping

I can only speak for the speakers I use (Magnepan or ESL), IME removing the bass from ~65Hz down allows them to play louder with less power.

 

[opnly bafld]

If you are passively bi-amping (dual binding posts with posts removed), it doesn't matter if the tweeter amp is clipping or not, if the woofer amp is clipping it still sounds bad and should be turned down*.

*at least that's what I would do with my high fidelity sound system