Owner`s manual

Viola Legacy Manual Rev 0 Page 7 of 14 14
th
February 2009
Bi-wireable speakers have separate inputs for the high frequency (HF) and low
frequency (LF) sections of their cross-overs. These are connected to the power
amplifier with separate speaker cables. Bi-wire connection is regarded as superior to
using a single cable, as it avoids interactions between the low and high frequencies
that may occur when a single speaker cable is used. You will require two sets of
speaker cables.
To use a bi-wire speaker with the Legacy follow the instructions below:
1. Connect the terminal marked +, or colored red on the speaker’s LF input to the
red (H) binding post on the rear of the Legacy.
2. Using a separate cable, connect the terminal marked +, or colored red on the
speaker’s HF input to the red (H) binding post on the rear of the Legacy.
3. Connect the terminal marked -, or colored black on the speaker’s LF input to the
black (L) binding post on the rear of the Legacy.
4. Using a separate cable, connect the terminal marked -, or colored black on the
speaker’s HF input to the black (L) binding post on the rear of the Legacy.
Note: Bi-wireable speakers are often shipped with links between the inputs to the
two sections of the cross-over. Ensure that these links are removed, or the benefits
of bi-wiring will not be realized.
MULTI-AMPLIFICATION
Multi-amplification (or multi-amping) uses separate power amplifiers to drive the
input to each section of the speaker. This reduces the interaction not only between
the upper and lower frequencies, but also between the left and right channels.
There are two types of multi-amped system. The most common type uses the
speaker’s internal cross-over. One amplifier is used to drive each section of the
speaker’s cross-over directly. A 2-way speaker will therefore use 2 Legacy amplifiers
and a 3-way speaker will use 3 Legacy amplifiers. All the amplifiers on one channel
must be driven by the same signal. This is easily arranged as the Legacy has two
XLR input connectors and these are wired in parallel. The pre-amplifier is connected
directly to one Legacy and then the second input on this unit is connected to one of
the inputs on next amplifier in that channel. Additional amplifiers are linked in the
same manner.
In the second type of multi-amped system, the speaker’s internal cross-over is not
used. Each driver is driven directly by its own dedicated Legacy amplifier. The input
signal is split into the bands appropriate for each driver using an electronic cross-
over such as the VIOLA Quartet or Duet and the outputs from this device are used to
drive each Legacy. Splitting the input signal into the necessary bands at low level
allows distortion levels to be reduced compared to when a conventional cross-over is
used.
BI-WIRE CONNECTION