Could someone explain

keith allen

When it comes to amps,what does bridgeable,and monoblocks mean exactly?

Tour2ma

Bridgable refers to an amp where a pair of channels can be coupled (or "Bridged") to deliver twice the voltage differencial than either channel would deliver alone. Many 2 ch amps have this capability. Some multi-channel amps do as well.

Mono block is what is sounds like, a single channel (or Monaural) amp.

keith allen

How do you bridge an amplifier?And will it still power two speakers?

danger boy

i think if you bridge a stereo amp.. it would only be for one speaker. not both of them..

I think some amps have a switch on the rear that will allow you to do this. i could be wrong. none of my amps are bridgeable.

I do use.. mono block amps.. with a mono block amp.. one (mono block) is for each speaker.. unlike a stereo amp. would be for two speakers.

there are also.. mulitchannel amps..
3, 4, 5, 7 channels.. or you can use 5 mono blocks and get the same amperage as (1) 5 channel amp.. assuming they are the same wpc. but you get the idea.

Tour2ma

Originally posted by keith allen
How do you bridge an amplifier?And will it still power two speakers?

As db said, some have a switch. Others come with instructions on installing jumpers on their terminal posts. If yours does not have either, don't try it.

keith allen

OK,mine has a switch on the rear for stereo and mono,in mono I assume that would be considered bridgeable,how would I hook two amps to my receiver?It only has one set of preouts

VR3

Well if you bridge them, they would only use one of their inputs (since bridging makes them mono...)

if it dosn't for some reason, y splitters...

Amp end - 2 males, 1 female

or

Preamp end - 1 male, 2 females

That is, if you have to use 2 inputs, 1 amp per channel - etc

But I doubt you will

gatemplin

Originally posted by keith allen
OK,mine has a switch on the rear for stereo and mono,in mono I assume that would be considered bridgeable,how would I hook two amps to my receiver?It only has one set of preouts

No, mono is not the same as bridgeable. Just the same signal to all channels.

Tour2ma

He's got a Carver TFM 22. In this case mono means bridged.

Usually with the Carvers you use the Left Channel input for bridged operation.

Keith,
Do us a favor. Pick a thread. Getting jumbled up here...

keith allen

OH heck both my threads have turned into the same issue:rolleyes: my bad

keith allen

Also my speaker wire has to run to my sub first,both left and right channel,then to my speakers because I dont have a subout line on the receiver,this may be a new can of warms.

O'Shag

The TFM-22 has a switch on the back that allows the amp to be run in monoaural mode. What this means is that one part of the signal is going to one amplifier, and the other part of the signal going to the other amplifier, thus doubling the amplifier power rating to drive the speakers.

When the TFM-22 is run in normal mode, both the right and left interconnects are plugged into one amp. When two TFM-22s are running in Mono mode making the two TFM-22 amplifiers into 'monoblocs', then the right interconnect (almost always red) carrying the right speaker signal is plugged into the monobloc that will drive the right speaker, and the the left interconnect (usually white) carrying the left speaker signal is plugged into the monobloc that will drive the left speaker.

Running amps in mono mode has its advantages especially with difficult speaker loads, where the added power can really help open the speakers up to perform better. If the impedence of your speakers is 8ohms, they are probably very efficient, and will not really benefit greatly from this approach. If on the other hand your speakers' impedence is 4 ohms, then this load can be challenging for an amplifier to drive effectively, and this approach can make a significant difference.

O'Shag

One other point,

I responded to your question with the understanding that your receiver was multi-channel. There is no point getting a preamp for a two-channel receiver. But you will greatly improve the performance of your system with a preamp and amp combo run seperate from the receiver.

I have the Yamaha RX-Z9 Receiver. To improve performance both in two-channel stereo and in multi-channel, I have integrated one of my ARC (Audio Research) preamps and my ARC Classic 120 tube monoblocs with the receiver. I only did this to integrate the excellent DSP/DAC processing power for multi-channel with my state of the art audio components. The end result is that the Yamahas internal amplifiers (of which there are nine, seven being rated at 170watts RMS all channels driven) drive the surround speakers and one set of front channels, while the external preamp and monoblocs drive my other front channle speakers.

Tour2ma

Agree, O'Shag. A good pre might be the next best move. There are a ton of quality, used, 2 ch pre's out there.

Keith, what receiver are you running? Could have some resale value to fund the addition of the second Carver amp.

EDIT#1: On your sub connection question, I don't see an issue, but consult your sub's mfg.

EDIT #2: ... and thanks for picking a thread...

keith allen

Thank you fellas I truly appreciate your time!

Tour2ma

You're welcome... We're always available to state what we think we know...