Can I bridge a parasound 5 channel amp ?

[righthookmike]

I was looking for an amp for some woofer boxes but am now wondering if I can bridge four channels into two on a HCA 2205 I have laying around

 

[Vasr]

No.

 

[righthookmike]

No.

\
that's no fun

 

[Kal Rubinson]

No.

Why?

 

[Vasr]

Why?

The HCA 2205 (unlike the HCA 1206) wasn't designed to be bridged. So no switch to invert polarity, match gains, etc., internally.

The HCA 2205 back panel:

The bridgeable HCA-1206 back panel in contrast:

If you want to hack it up from outside to make bridging work on the 2205, good luck.

 

[righthookmike]

yes , I was hoping to modify it. seems a shame to let it sit and though I have no experience with circuity it is something I want to start learning

 

[restorer-john]

It's 220W/ch. How much power do you need for your "woofer boxes"?

You could bridge it with an external bridging adaptor, but you'd need to be very careful with low impedance woofers- nothing under 8R.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

The HCA 2205 (unlike the HCA 1206) wasn't designed to be bridged. So no switch to invert polarity, match gains, etc., internally.

You could bridge it with an external bridging adaptor, but you'd need to be very careful with low impedance woofers- nothing under 8R.

Yup.

 

[righthookmike]

It's 220W/ch. How much power do you need for your "woofer boxes"?

You could bridge it with an external bridging adaptor, but you'd need to be very careful with low impedance woofers- nothing under 8R.

I was thinking 4-500w woofers are rcf 18/851kn says 1000w @ 4ohm but they are 8ohm at low frequency? Does that make sense?
nson, post: 710246, member: 67"]Yup.[/QUOTE]

 

[Vasr]

yes , I was hoping to modify it. seems a shame to let it sit and though I have no experience with circuity it is something I want to start learning

I wouldn't recommend it for just any amp. I tried looking at this a number of years ago for a spare amp I had and gave up because it was difficult to separate good advice and design from bad/dangerous advice at least for my low level of electronics expertise. It is also difficult to find a reputable brand making off-the-shelf adapters any more. Mostly, you will find them of dubious quality selling for car audio amps.

Here are some DIY ideas for educational purposes:
https://sound-au.com/project14.htm
https://sound-au.com/project20.htm

You can make it simpler by not trying to reverse phase but only polarity (with much debate on pros and cons)
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index...-bridging-adapter-a-tutorial-of-sorts.759289/

As John says, I don't really think you need to bridge it for more power if you are using dual (or more) subwoofers in the same room unless you plan on having a very loud party with dance music! Just use two of the channels and see what happens.

Or sell the amp and you can probably buy powerful (and even compact) mono-blocks to keep with each sub.

 

[bigguyca]

I was thinking 4-500w woofers are rcf 18/851kn says 1000w @ 4ohm but they are 8ohm at low frequency? Does that make sense?
nson, post: 710246, member: 67"]Yup.

[/QUOTE]


It's not quite clear what you want to do. That said...

If you will have two woofers (drivers) in one box with a total total of two boxes then use one amplifier channel for each woofer. Since the signals received by the two drivers in one box are in phase and the drivers are close together, you'll use twice the amplifier power, but get four times the output.

Linkwitz has a more complete explanation:

Frequently Asked Questions (linkwitzlab.com)

 

[righthookmike]

Yup.

Yup.

Mr Rubinson, I;ve read some of your reviews on

I wouldn't recommend it for just any amp. I tried looking at this a number of years ago for a spare amp I had and gave up because it was difficult to separate good advice and design from bad/dangerous advice at least for my low level of electronics expertise. It is also difficult to find a reputable brand making off-the-shelf adapters any more. Mostly, you will find them of dubious quality selling for car audio amps.

Here are some DIY ideas for educational purposes:
https://sound-au.com/project14.htm
https://sound-au.com/project20.htm

You can make it simpler by not trying to reverse phase but only polarity (with much debate on pros and cons)
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index...-bridging-adapter-a-tutorial-of-sorts.759289/

As John says, I don't really think you need to bridge it for more power if you are using dual (or more) subwoofers in the same room unless you plan on having a very loud party with dance music! Just use two of the channels and see what happens.

Or sell the amp and you can probably buy powerful (and even compact) mono-blocks to keep with each sub.

Two separate boxes and yes I can sell the amp. I have bought and sold many . I thought it would be fun to start tinkering around though I might be a danger to myself..
Every night is basically a loud party

 

[righthookmike]

Yup.

Never completed my sentence.... I got a kick out of You replying to the thread