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[stefansmith]

Hi there,
My current system is like this:

MC -> USB DAC -> Passive volume control -> Active crossover -> Amp -> left tweeter
                                                                                        -> Amp -> left woofer
                                                                                        -> Amp -> right tweeter
                                                                                        -> Amp -> right woofer

What I'd like to do is:

MC -> internal volume -> Crossover/correction processing -> USB DAC 1 -> Amp -> left tweeter
                                                                                                    -> Amp -> left woofer
                                                                                 -> USB DAC 2 -> Amp -> right tweeter
                                                                                                    -> Amp -> right woofer

I've been looking at processing and software crossovers but I'm a bit lost -- so was wondering if any audiophiles out there are using their PC to do the crossover work and that integrates nicely with MC?

thanks in advance for any tips!

[Vincent Kars]

Maybe a VST plugin like this one: http://www.thuneau.com/allocator.htm

[Matt]

I think it will be hard to use two DACs unless they can present themselves as a single device to Media Center.  Can they be hardware linked somehow?  Otherwise, you might have better luck with a single DAC that can do many channels.

Audiolense has told us they have customers in the field pushing over 12 channels using Media Center to do this sort of thing.

[Vincent Kars]

Audiolense works pretty much like Thuneau.
The concept is mediaplayer > output routed to a program doing the X-over > multi channel sound card, 1 DAC per channel> amp per speaker

Don't know if this is possible with USB DAC's

[Vincent Kars]

stefansmith,

A little detail: what you want to obtain is probably not bi-amping.
If a passive speaker has a bi-wired option, you can use 2 amps to drive the woofer and the tweeter.
However the filter (x-over) inside the box remains in place as both amps deliver the full audio signal so has to be filtered. This is called bi-amping

In a true active speaker setup, the x-over is done before the signal enters the power amp.
Now the amp delivers only the signal the driver can handle. In this scenario the x-over inside the box is removed (and should be to have the full benefit of a active setup)

You might try this one, a couple of guys are running the setup you want: http://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/etv.mpl?forum=pcaudio

[stefansmith]

stefansmith,

A little detail: what you want to obtain is probably not bi-amping.
If a passive speaker has a bi-wired option, you can use 2 amps to drive the woofer and the tweeter.
However the filter (x-over) inside the box remains in place as both amps deliver the full audio signal so has to be filtered. This is called bi-amping

In a true active speaker setup, the x-over is done before the signal enters the power amp.
Now the amp delivers only the signal the driver can handle. In this scenario the x-over inside the box is removed (and should be to have the full benefit of a active setup)

You might try this one, a couple of guys are running the setup you want: http://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/etv.mpl?forum=pcaudio

Thanks vincent for the thuneau link, I'll check that out.

What I'm doing at the moment and what I'd like to do is true biamping. At the moment I'm using an active crossover between the Dac and the amps, and I can assure that there is not a single crossover component between my amp and speakers (except a just-in-case DC blocking capacitor for each tweeter)....

[stefansmith]

If a passive speaker has a bi-wired option, you can use 2 amps to drive the woofer and the tweeter.
However the filter (x-over) inside the box remains in place as both amps deliver the full audio signal so has to be filtered. This is called bi-amping

actually I consider that to be biwiring and not biamping. What is widely understood to be biamping is the use of active crossovers, as outlined here... http://sound.westhost.com/bi-amp.htm

Anyway I think what I'd like to do is not possible with two USB dacs... I'd have to go for a single multichannel dac.

[Vincent Kars]

Bi-wiring is connecting the single output of the amp with 2 speaker cables to the (double) binding post of the speakers.
http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~jcgl/Scots_Guide/audio/biwire/Page1.html