Can I have 2 power amps driving a pair of speakers(one for each speaker w/o bi-wiring)?

[johnsen88]

Lads, this may or may not have been discussed here or elsewhere but I have shifted through a copious amount of write-ups to YT vids but still remain confused.

I have a pair of floorstanders and was thinking if I can connect one power amp(250w RMS/ch into 8 Ohms) to the left speaker and the other power amp to the right speaker. In other words, each speaker will be driven by one power amp in a setup which would see the 2 power amps connected(RCA) from the pre-out jacks of a stereo amp.

The speakers only take a single end connection. Bi-wiring is definitely out of the equation. The power amp allows bridging.

Speakers- Focal Chorus 816v
Power Amplifier - NAD 208
Stereo Amplifier/streamer DAC - Primare i15

I have attached a picture of the back panel of the amp.

Thanks a bunch lads!

 

[PloddyPastard]

Are you looking for monoblocks?

 

[Apesbrain]

If the two amps are identical, you can set them both to "Bridged" and use the designated input and speaker output to drive each speaker.

Keep volumes low until you confirm all is properly connected and behaving as you expect.

EDIT: In your attached picture:

• Balance (7) set to whichever interconnect type is coming from your pre-amp; I think you said RCA (UNBAL)
• Bridging (8) set to ON
• Input from pre-amp to (6)
• Output to speaker from R side of (2)

Confirm this with your amp's operating manual.

 

[Speedskater]

I don't know anything about those amplifiers or the impedance curves of those loudspeakers.
But many amplifiers don't take kindly to low impedance speakers in bridge mode.

 

[Old_School_Brad]

What are you hoping to achieve?

 

[Multicore]

Yes, you can switch the amps into bridged mode and use them as mono amps. But I wouldn't recommend it...

Speaker's max power is 200W. A NAD 208 amp is rated at 250 Wpc or 500 W bridged so I would stick with using one of them in stereo operation and save some energy. Keep the other as a spare, or for parts.

 

[LTig]

Yes, you can switch the amps into bridged mode and use them as mono amps. But I wouldn't recommend it...

Max power is 200W. A NAD 208 amp is rated at 250 Wpc or 500 W bridged so I would stick with using one of them in stereo operation and save some energy.

This, and power amps have higher distortion in bridged mode than in stereo mode.

 

[johnsen88]

If the two amps are identical, you can set them both to "Bridged" and use the designated input and speaker output to drive each speaker.

Keep volumes low until you confirm all is properly connected and behaving as you expect.

EDIT: In your attached picture:

• Balance (7) set to whichever interconnect type is coming from your pre-amp; I think you said RCA (UNBAL)
• Bridging (8) set to ON
• Input from pre-amp to (6)
• Output to speaker from R side of (2)

Confirm this with your amp's operating manual.

Yes, the are identical.

What are you hoping to achieve?

Good question. Actually, I would like to know what are the benefits and drawbacks to this. I have two identical amps lying around and only one is being used. Seen others have two amps in their setup, driving a set of speakers and thought if this could be something that I may be able to adopt for my setup as well.

Yes, you can switch the amps into bridged mode and use them as mono amps. But I wouldn't recommend it...

View attachment 423539

Speaker's max power is 200W. A NAD 208 amp is rated at 250 Wpc or 500 W bridged so I would stick with using one of them in stereo operation and save some energy. Keep the other as a spare, or for parts.

Makes sense. When would there be a need to use two? Any speakers out there that demand such a dual amp setup?

This, and power amps have higher distortion in bridged mode than in stereo mode.

That is another thing I want to avoid as much as possible.

Thank you to all those who responded to my concern.

 

[LTig]

I have two identical amps lying around and only one is being used.

Keep them both with one as spare. Exchange them in your system about once per year, so their caps stay "in shape".

When would there be a need to use two? Any speakers out there that demand such a dual amp setup?

If a speaker can handle more power than a single stereo channel can deliver and the amp clips at loud passages then bridging it into 1 channel mono makes sense. Make sure it's specified to handle the speakers impedance in bridged mode!

 

[kemmler3D]

Keep both, get a pair of used speakers secondhand for whatever you consider "not much $", get a couple WiiM minis, put the second amp somewhere and enjoy your multi room hi-fi setup.

 

[johnsen88]

Keep both, get a pair of used speakers secondhand for whatever you consider "not much $", get a couple WiiM minis, put the second amp somewhere and enjoy your multi room hi-fi setup.

Sounds like a idea.

 

[johnsen88]

Keep them both with one as soare. Exchange them in your system about once per year, so their caps stay "in shape".

If a speaker can handle more power than a single stereo channel can deliver and the amp clips at loud passages then bridging it into 1 channel mono makes sense. Make sure it's specified to handle the speakers impedance in bridged mode!

Yes, caps and all. The one that is being put to use now has been stored away for about 2 years. I got it tested and serviced recently just to make sure all is good in the gut before plugging them to my speakers. It was nerve wrecking tbh.

Thanks for the explanation. I will keep this in mind. I have them in my living room and listen anywhere between 60-70 dB, 2m out. Focals and NADs get along pretty well and I just want to keep this setup going for as long as possible.

I have attached a note from the manual below.

 

[Multicore]

Makes sense. When would there be a need to use two?

For quadraphonic.

Any speakers out there that demand such a dual amp setup?

It all depends on the application.

For example, for our purposes (i.e. me and family) 250 Wpc is way more than we use, but we got efficient speakers and live in an apartment.

But there are earthquake-simulating woofer systems that needs gobs of power to play loud enough to successfully activate local civil defense. Some people on this forum talk about whether or not this amp is really sufficient for their application.

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[Chrispy]

Another vote for simply using the amps for more speakers rather than bridging/monobloc (or even passive bi-amping) use.

 

[Old_School_Brad]

I have a bunch of redundant amplifiers in my hobby and repair room -actually, I have way more redundancy than I'll ever need, but that’s a topic I might want to discuss with my therapist rather than with strangers online...

Anyway, the point I’m trying to make is that the amplifier I’m currently using has a twin sitting on the shelf, ready to serve as a donor if the one in use ever needs a transplant to keep functioning.

 

[EJ3]

Lads, this may or may not have been discussed here or elsewhere but I have shifted through a copious amount of write-ups to YT vids but still remain confused.

I have a pair of floorstanders and was thinking if I can connect one power amp(250w RMS/ch into 8 Ohms) to the left speaker and the other power amp to the right speaker. In other words, each speaker will be driven by one power amp in a setup which would see the 2 power amps connected(RCA) from the pre-out jacks of a stereo amp.

The speakers only take a single end connection. Bi-wiring is definitely out of the equation. The power amp allows bridging.

Speakers- Focal Chorus 816v
Power Amplifier - NAD 208
Stereo Amplifier/streamer DAC - Primare i15

I have attached a picture of the back panel of the amp.

Thanks a bunch lads!

The NAD 208 is capable of doing that IF everything is in excellent condition inside the amp.
I am (and have been doing just that) with my NAD 2200's: one bridged mono for each of my (6 OHM nominal) Dahlquist M-905's (and a third NAD 2200 running in stereo for my pair of self made 4 OHM FR 20 HZ-80 HZ subwoofers) for many years.
It works well (& if you can hear the difference in distortion, you must have some super high end golden ears).
You can see Amirm's test of one of my 2200's here (both 8 OHM & 4 OHM [from 2020]).
Do not run bridged mono into 2 OHM!

NAD 2200 Vintage Amplifier Review​

 

[Brutus6844]

Lads, this may or may not have been discussed here or elsewhere but I have shifted through a copious amount of write-ups to YT vids but still remain confused.

I have a pair of floorstanders and was thinking if I can connect one power amp(250w RMS/ch into 8 Ohms) to the left speaker and the other power amp to the right speaker. In other words, each speaker will be driven by one power amp in a setup which would see the 2 power amps connected(RCA) from the pre-out jacks of a stereo amp.

The speakers only take a single end connection. Bi-wiring is definitely out of the equation. The power amp allows bridging.

Speakers- Focal Chorus 816v
Power Amplifier - NAD 208
Stereo Amplifier/streamer DAC - Primare i15

I have attached a picture of the back panel of the amp.

Thanks a bunch lads!

I'm unfamiliar with bridging amps so I have no comment either way, but you did mention something else in your comment that I wanted to comment on...simply because I recently had a question about it and learned the answer. "Bi-wiring" doesn't do anything more than create more cables for you to have to buy and physically deal with in your space. Please don't mistake that with active "bi-amping," which I haven't done myself, but learned could potentially make a difference (whether that difference is audible and worth the expense of more amplifiers is something to discover for yourself). This being a site with the word "science" in it, I hope I don't get jumped on for discrediting "bi-wiring," but it's complete snake oil. You're still sending a full range signal to the tweeter and a full range signal to the woofer...the speaker's internal high pass/low pass filters are what separate the the portions of the full range signal and send them to the appropriate drivers.

 

[rdenney]

Bridging amps shares the impedance with each channel, which effectively cuts it in half for each. An 8-ohm load in each channel in stereo mode will look like a 4-ohm load in each channel when bridged. If the speakers are already 4-ohm impedance (or if they dip down that low for part of their output spectrum), you could have 2-ohm loads. The amp's specs do allow for this and are rated for 2 ohms--in non-bridged mode. But it may not be happy with really low impedance in bridge mode.

Note that the speakers dip down to less than 4 ohms at around 160-170 Hz, which is mid-bass and usually where we are driving a lot of power when playing stuff loudly enough for this to be worth the effort. That spot in the spectrum will be at less than 2 ohms when bridged: Beware!

And that's separate from the issue of the total power handling of the speakers--it's easy to avoid problems with that. If it sounds bad, turn it down! When speakers are overdriven, the woofer voice coils will bottom out with a loud rattle, which requires an immediate emergency turn-down. When amps are overdriven, the waveforms clip and the music sounds distorted. Turn it down!

When faced with the same desire to use two amps, I went a different direction. My B&K amps were not bridgeable, so I used the two amps to each drive a separate stereo pair of speakers (Advents in this case--"stacked Advents" were a thing). Yes, that means tweeters that are separated with all sorts of combing effects. But it also meant the speakers were driven at half the power a single pair would be driven at the same loudness level, and they simply sounded better.

In the end, though, I replaced the two amps with a single Hypex amp that is more powerful, and the speakers with Revel towers. One pair of the Advents moved to my basement YouTube-watching and exercise room, and the other pair to the room in my (separate) shop that has my electronics bench.

Rick "beware" Denney

 

[Brutus6844]

Bridging amps shares the impedance with each channel, which effectively cuts it in half for each. An 8-ohm load in each channel in stereo mode will look like a 4-ohm load in each channel when bridged. If the speakers are already 4-ohm impedance (or if they dip down that low for part of their output spectrum), you could have 2-ohm loads. The amp's specs do allow for this and are rated for 2 ohms--in non-bridged mode. But it may not be happy with really low impedance in bridge mode.

Note that the speakers dip down to less than 4 ohms at around 160-170 Hz, which is mid-bass and usually where we are driving a lot of power when playing stuff loudly enough for this to be worth the effort. That spot in the spectrum will be at less than 2 ohms when bridged: Beware!

And that's separate from the issue of the total power handling of the speakers--it's easy to avoid problems with that. If it sounds bad, turn it down! When speakers are overdriven, the woofer voice coils will bottom out with a loud rattle, which requires an immediate emergency turn-down. When amps are overdriven, the waveforms clip and the music sounds distorted. Turn it down!

When faced with the same desire to use two amps, I went a different direction. My B&K amps were not bridgeable, so I used the two amps to each drive a separate stereo pair of speakers (Advents in this case--"stacked Advents" were a thing). Yes, that means tweeters that are separated with all sorts of combing effects. But it also meant the speakers were driven at half the power a single pair would be driven at the same loudness level, and they simply sounded better.

In the end, though, I replaced the two amps with a single Hypex amp that is more powerful, and the speakers with Revel towers. One pair of the Advents moved to my basement YouTube-watching and exercise room, and the other pair to the room in my (separate) shop that has my electronics bench.

Rick "beware" Denney

Thanks for the (uncommonly) easy to understand explanation!