Amp bridging.

[brendan_121212]

Is it normal for an amp to be already bridged, without putting a bridge wire to connect the 2 channels? My Clarion APX2120 seems to be already bridged internally somehow.

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[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

Is it normal for an amp to be already bridged, without putting a bridge wire to connect the 2 channels? My Clarion APX2120 seems to be already bridged internally somehow.

Please tell me you have never directly connected two terminals with a piece of wire.

Most of the time there is a switch/button to bridge the amp internally. A 2ch amp isn't magically bridged without you telling it to bridge.

 

[brendan_121212]

Well i tested one pair of terminals, then i tested both pairs, no wires, no switches, and the voltage was double, it seems as though the amp was already bridged somehow.

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

If by "tested one pair of terminals" you mean you tested one individual channel, and by "tested both pairs" you mean you measured the terminals used for bridged operation.....then measuring double the voltage [bridged] compared to a single channel is exactly what should have happened.

 

[brendan_121212]

If by "tested one pair of terminals" you mean you tested one individual channel, and by "tested both pairs" you mean you measured the terminals used for bridged operation.....then measuring double the voltage [bridged] compared to a single channel is exactly what should have happened.

Yeah, I know but I never did anything to bridge the amp, it has a mind of its own.

 

[Max_Power 10+ year member]

I have never flipped a switch on any of my amps before. I think that is what is supposed to happen when you combine two channels of amplification into one.

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

Yeah, I know but I never did anything to bridge the amp, it has a mind of its own.

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All you need to do to "bridge the amp" is to utilize the two terminals specified to be used for bridged operation.

That's it. Nothing else. If you connected the red DMM lead to the positive amplifier terminal to be used for bridging, and the black DMM lead to the negative terminal to be used for bridging....then that's it. Nothing else needs to be done. You measured the bridged voltage. If you were to connect speaker wire to a subwoofer at those terminals instead of DMM leads to a DMM, then you would have "bridged" the amplifier to the subwoofer.

 

[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

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All you need to do to "bridge the amp" is to utilize the two terminals specified to be used for bridged operation.

So amps that have a switch or button for bridging, what does that do internally?

My RF200.2 had a switch for bridged or 2ch.

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

Without being familiar with the amp and not atleast looking through the manual/etc, my guess would be that it's not so much as a "bridged/unbridged" switch as it is a stereo/mono switch.

 

[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

Without being familiar with the amp and not atleast looking through the manual/etc, my guess would be that it's not so much as a "bridged/unbridged" switch as it is a stereo/mono switch.

Ah I see. Makes sense. Makes a mono signal from the stereo inputs.

 

[brendan_121212]

Don't some amps need to be bridged with a wire though?