Running Components Bridged - Stereo/Mono

[chibahawk 10+ year member]

Just wondering one thing, is there any sort of way that running components on an amp in bridged mode is bad? I'm guessing not... but there's something that makes me think there is.

Some amps says like 300W @ 4 x 1 Mono. Some say Stereo.

Bridging power for components - always a good thing?

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[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

Just wondering one thing, is there any sort of way that running components on an amp in bridged mode is bad? I'm guessing not... but there's something that makes me think there is.
Some amps says like 300W @ 4 x 1 Mono. Some say Stereo.

Bridging power for components - always a good thing?

Absolutely never a good thing if it's going to result in mono sound.

You would never want to use a single mono amplifier for your frontstage, and you would never want to bridge a single 2 channel amplifier to your frontstage. You would lose stereo sound (the whole reason we call our systems "stereos").

You could bridge a 4-channel amplifier to your frontstage, using channels 1 & 2 bridged to the left speakers and channels 3 & 4 bridged to your right speakers.

Or you could run two mono (but not bandwidth limited) amps or two bridged 2 channel amps...one for the left side and one for the right side.

But you never want to lose the ability to maintain mono sound.

In order to maintain stereo sound...you MUST maintain independent channels for the left and right signals.

 

[dleccord 5,000+ posts]

but you're only getting one channel. thus, mono. if you bridge the 4 channels down to 2, i dont see problem in that.

 

[chibahawk 10+ year member]

so I would be looking for this - correct?

175 watts RMS x 2 in bridged mode

I'm guessing most 4 channel amps are bridgeable to two channels. So my best bet to save some money is get a 4 channel that will do - ___W x 2 Bridged @ 4 ohms?

 

[XTRProBoy 10+ year member]

LOL yeah mono FTL!

Also keep in mind that when bridging many amps the rated THD increases by tenfold. E.g. .08% THD becomes .8% THD. Not usually reality (many better amps keep their THD pretty low on the test bench) but you are usually increasing the THD when you bridge an amp. Might not be of any consequence (it certainly isn't when power subwoofers) but just a thought.

 

[WantedIsHere]

just make sure it will do whatever power you want in stero.... i have done a mono front stage before it isnt the end of the world and sounded great but the way music is mixed you will miss some things

 

[dleccord 5,000+ posts]

lol been there.