At present i run a 2 speaker stack, 1 bass bin, 1 top, 1 amp powering all using crossover in bass bin.

I'm after some more hump, I've considered adding the same again ie 2 bass, 2 top, 2 amps, but this would be rather a tall stack.

I've seen some 3 speaker stack systems, but they are 2 bass bins, 1 top.

What i want to know is best way to go about this to get correct balance of bass, mid, treble.

Would i use;
2 amps, amp 1 powers bass 1, amp 2 powers bass 2 and top using the crossover in bass 2 (ie mid and treble).

or

3 amps, amp 1 for bass 1, amp 2 for bass 2, amp 3 for top (full range).

There are a lot of ways to go about doing this. What exactly are you looking for? More SPL? More low end? More High-Mid?

Next, over powering something is going to be determined by what speakers you are using. I know I can use a CMS88 with one channel of a Marco Tech 3600 a side with 2 EVQRX115s with one channel of a Macro Tech 2400 a side in passive mode and sound great. Or I can use the same sub setup with a single SA422 amped with one channel of a Marco Tech 2400 for mids and one channel of a Macro Tech 600 for highs a side.

All this also depends on how hard you drive the system. If you push a lot of low end, you will need more top boxes to keep up. Likewise, subs are omni-directional, meaning they fire every where. Tops only cover a certain amount of area. So if you are in a wide room, you might need more tops for coverage reasons. Also, every room responds differently. Some are more bass heavy then others.

So as you can see, there are a lot of things you need to think through before you just off and start buying random amounts of gear and piecing it together.

There are even MORE ways to do it.

Let's look at the KV2 Audio way. Starting at our core, it is the Epack 2500, which is the power plant. The KV2 ES series is a 4-way active driven system. The Epack 2500 contains 1600 watts for subs, 600 for the mid-bass, 200 for the mids and 100 for the highs. Because the Epack 2500 contains all the cross-overs and driver specific amplifiers, everything is optimized around this system.

The next unit that is key to the core is the ES 1.0. This is the active-driven 3-way cabinet. 12", 6" and 1.75" compression driver.

This is where it can get a bit abstract. You dial-in the speaker configuration of the subs. You run either an ES 1.5(single 15), 2 ES 1.5's or 3 ES 1.5's, a single ES 2.5(double 15's), 2 ES 1.8's(single 18's) or ES 1.8 and an ES 1.5. This sets the load appropriately.

Not enough bass? There is a bass attentuator along with an overall system attentuation, as well as a bass loop insert, which can also be used if you want to drive the bass off an Aux, for example.

Now, KV2 Audio has a nifty, but not unique way of getting more throw and output, especially when you "start to double up": The mid/high assembly can be taken out and rotated so the mids can couple. Then this point source system becomes a hybrid line array. You hit the "2/side" button on the EPack 2500 and the appropriate adjustments are made. Bingo, perfect fit.

My rig consists of 4 EPack 2500, so it therefore has to have 4 ES 1.0s. I also have 4 ES 1.8's, and 2 ES 2.5's. I also have, for when I am running the full system, two EX 2.5's, which is the ES 2.5 with the amplification, cross-overs and other electronics crammed into the back.

Now, I don't totally agree with SerraAva says in regards to "more bass means more tops". It really comes down to what you're running and HOW you're running it. Fuller range tops means fewer necessary subs. Adjusting the cross-over higher on the subs means more subs needed and less tops. Subs, when arrayed properly are still SOMEWHAT omnidirectional, but you can steer them using delays and/or angling. It's an exact science. Seriously.

Now, as far as SerraAva's comments on the coverage patterns on highs, he's right within a certain degree. Tops need to be aimed more because they are directional, so you may need lots of tops to make it work.

And then there is what he says about "you need to think about a lot of things". It's true.

What, do you want more SPL? Maybe you have the wrong speakers and/or amps. Maybe you need to tweak your signal processing. It's not just "throw up more boxes and there ya go". When I was using my Mackie SRM450s, you'd think "well, throw up another on a stick on each side of the stage and bingo, more SPL." True, sort of. I got louder, but I didn't get better, but I knew this. They had to be splayed so they weren't running over each other. I was throwing up 2 to increase coverage area, not throw. The fact I got more SPL was a natural thing. What was critical is that I got more SPL where I needed it.

I like integration. Of course, that has its dowfalls too: an outage can take out multiple other items. But, the KV2 stuff has been solid, so I'm pleased.

What is the correct balance? To me: RTA the room, get it flat. Then, you have something to work with. To me, as close to flat is where I like to be. If I want more bass at that point, I'll bring up the attenuation on my EPack 2500.

You can't just say "what is the correct balance" because you can't get a straight answer because it's not possible. There are so many boxes and amps out there that what works for one guy may not work for someone else. Wattage and Q and efficiency help, but there's no rule of thumb. It's best to have measuring gear to get things as flat as you can. If you can achieve that, then you have the proper balance. STILL, that doesn't mean it IS the proper balance. If you want booty shaking bass, or do you want punchy bass, or do you want that motha Effin' boom-o-doom thing? Then you need different amps and bass cabs that respond properly. Your balance may vary. Starting flat gives you a starting point. After that, you can adjust from there.

I'm not going to go into the "passive vs powered vs active vs active-driven" issue here. Each has their strengths and weaknesses. Passive gives the most fail-over bail-out options and a proper run passive system can sound absolutely fantastic, so there's no reason to knock it in any way. For me, I have short times to do miracles, and KV2 makes it easy to set up and go. I don't need multiple systems to do what I need to do. 1 system can and will DO it all. And yes, I paid dearly for it. And no, I don't regret it. And yes, my back hurts right now. Seriously. I'm on muscle relaxers and pain meds again.

Check out my web site for some photos. Have fun.

This week I'll be doing two events. 1 is a solo act. 1 ES 1.0, 1 ES 2.5/side. Oh wait, I'll do that for both shows. I don't use the 18's much, takes less time to use the ES 2.5's. And for sealed boxes, these things kick serious butt! The whole rig all together covers 2500 people without breaking a sweat. 13,200 watts of active driven power. But numbers alone aren't convincing. It is how you use it. I can't get straight answers from KV2 Audio as far as what loading they use on the boxes, and I don't feel like taking them apart right now to find out. Next time I rotate horns, I'll poke around a bit more.

PLEASE PLEASE BE CAREFUL!!!! I just saw someone completely smoke an amp last night had four 4 ohm subs connected in series driven by a bridged amp. 4X4 in series equals less than 1 ohm which equaled an unplanned fireworks display... My advice is to consult your equipment dealer and make sure he knows what you have no so you dont let the smoke outta your amp.

I'm after more SPL, but as an "add on" to my current system as my current system is good enough most of the time, but i've started playing some bigger rooms and need to be able to add more volume on those ocassions.

Currently i run the Peavey Hisys 115xt bass bins (4ohms, 350rms cont, 700rms prog) with hisys 1xt tops (4ohms, 350rms cont, 700rms cont)

The Hisys 115xy have built in crossover so i run the Peavey Pv2600 amp (900rms a side 4ohms, 550rms a side 8ohms)in to the bass bins and out the crossover into the tops.

I've considered the same setup as I am using x 2. However a 4 speaker stack would e too tall.

or Bi amp what I have ie use the 2600 amp for bass and get a pv1500 (500rms side 40hms) for the tops (amps have active crossover at 150khz if needed).

I've come accross this idea:

http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product.asp?id=9263

I want to run this method, but keep my Peavey system so it would be hysis 115 bass x 2 plus hisys 1xt top. However my bass are 4ohms and my amp won't run 2ohms for long periods, so would i use 3 amps, 1 for bins 1, 1 for bins 2, 1 for tops?

What ratio would i run bass/mid treble?

Well, bi/tri amping things won't give you more SPL so much as more clarity at higher SPL levels. Like Chris said as well, simply stacking more speakers upon more speakers won't necessarily give you more SPL either.

Your bottom setup should work fine. If your amps can't handle a 2 ohm load, then getting another amp to drive another sub on each side is your only option unless you get a new amp that is 2 ohm stable. As for what the ratio would be, who knows until you try it out.

Intruder, you are right you have to be careful. However, there are amps out there that are 1 ohm stable. For example, I often have to run Macro Tech 5k's at 1.75 or 1.5 ohm load and they are fine. They hit the red easier, but can handle it. So know your equipment before you just go hooking it up and running full out.