Could someone explain

keith allen
keith allen Posts: 734
edited September 2004 in 2 Channel Audio
When it comes to amps,what does bridgeable,and monoblocks mean exactly?
Post edited by keith allen on

Comments

  • Tour2ma
    Tour2ma Posts: 10,177
    edited September 2004
    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.
    More later,
    Tour...
    Vox Copuli
    Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. - Old English Proverb

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  • keith allen
    keith allen Posts: 734
    edited September 2004
    How do you bridge an amplifier?And will it still power two speakers?
  • danger boy
    danger boy Posts: 15,722
    edited September 2004
    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.
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  • Tour2ma
    Tour2ma Posts: 10,177
    edited September 2004
    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.
    More later,
    Tour...
    Vox Copuli
    Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. - Old English Proverb

    "Death doesn't come with a Uhaul." - Dennis Gardner

    "It's easy to get lost in price vs performance vs ego vs illusion." - doro
    "There is a certain entertainment value in ripping the occaisonal (sic) buttmunch..." - TroyD
  • keith allen
    keith allen Posts: 734
    edited September 2004
    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
    VR3 Posts: 27,970
    edited September 2004
    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
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
  • gatemplin
    gatemplin Posts: 1,595
    edited September 2004
    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.
    Graham
  • Tour2ma
    Tour2ma Posts: 10,177
    edited September 2004
    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...
    More later,
    Tour...
    Vox Copuli
    Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. - Old English Proverb

    "Death doesn't come with a Uhaul." - Dennis Gardner

    "It's easy to get lost in price vs performance vs ego vs illusion." - doro
    "There is a certain entertainment value in ripping the occaisonal (sic) buttmunch..." - TroyD
  • keith allen
    keith allen Posts: 734
    edited September 2004
    OH heck both my threads have turned into the same issue:rolleyes: my bad
  • keith allen
    keith allen Posts: 734
    edited September 2004
    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
    O'Shag Posts: 76
    edited September 2004
    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.
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  • O'Shag
    O'Shag Posts: 76
    edited September 2004
    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.
    Polk SRT HT System
    Polk CS1000p / FX1000
    Sony KDS-R70XBR2
    Yamaha RX-Z9 Processor
  • Tour2ma
    Tour2ma Posts: 10,177
    edited September 2004
    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... ;)
    More later,
    Tour...
    Vox Copuli
    Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. - Old English Proverb

    "Death doesn't come with a Uhaul." - Dennis Gardner

    "It's easy to get lost in price vs performance vs ego vs illusion." - doro
    "There is a certain entertainment value in ripping the occaisonal (sic) buttmunch..." - TroyD
  • keith allen
    keith allen Posts: 734
    edited September 2004
    Thank you fellas I truly appreciate your time!
  • Tour2ma
    Tour2ma Posts: 10,177
    edited September 2004
    You're welcome... We're always available to state what we think we know... ;)
    More later,
    Tour...
    Vox Copuli
    Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. - Old English Proverb

    "Death doesn't come with a Uhaul." - Dennis Gardner

    "It's easy to get lost in price vs performance vs ego vs illusion." - doro
    "There is a certain entertainment value in ripping the occaisonal (sic) buttmunch..." - TroyD