Thinking about Going with 2 Monoblocks and a Preamp

[NoxMorbis]

I was thinking about changing my system from a single amp with power wires going from the amp the the speakers with two monoblocks and a preamp.

Any help would be appreciated, such as what I need to look for and possible scenarios.

I'd also like to know about wire gauge from the preamp to the monoblocks. I'm assuming it could be REALLY small, like 22 gauge? I will be using Bluetooth so the preamp would need the latest version and Bluetooth HD capabilities, so it would have its own BT DAC, but what about a stand alone DAC built in for wired connections (The wired connections would be either from a computer or a phone and I know those have built in DACs, some very good, but still unsure of that aspect)? I also need a passive sub out. I want to keep it below $350.00.

 

[Chrispy]

Why the monoblocks? Little to be gained that way. Unless you just like additional boxes and space taken up....

 

[kemmler3D]

The main purpose of monoblocks is for when you have an odd number of channels, or you simply like the look of smaller amp boxes around the room. SOMETIMES it makes sense if you need a truly absurd amount of juice. In almost every case you can get a 2ch amp with the same power for slightly less money than 2x monoblocks.

In either case the wires that go from preamp to amp would usually be XLR or RCA, not particularly light gauge.

Topping has some pretty decent DAC / Pre-type products with recent BT that are not super expensive. DX3 or DX5 might fit the bill.

 

[GXAlan]

If you are trying to keep it below $350, monoblocks may not be the best idea since the enclosure costs are eating up into your budget unless you are going for something interesting.

In general, the teaching is to run long pre-amp to amp cables and short amp to speaker cables if possible.

 

[NoxMorbis]

In either case the wires that go from preamp to amp would usually be XLR or RCA, not particularly light gauge.

If hardly any power is going through the preamp to mono blocks, why would the wire need to be anything except what the signal requires? I'm assuming a good shielded thin gauge wire would do as well as s thicker wire?

 

[NoxMorbis]

In general, the teaching is to run long pre-amp to amp cables and short amp to speaker cables if possible.

That's my idea. I have a long speaker run. Not a big deal, really. It just seems like a cleaner approach since the wire from the mono to speakers could be less than a foot. It just seems kinda cool, something to try. My speakers are on stands and i could mount the monoblocks on the stand as well. Running thin gauge wire from the preamp is appealing to me. (My longest run is 30' one way.) And, yeah, something interesting.

 

[Doodski]

If hardly any power is going through the preamp to mono blocks, why would the wire need to be anything except what the signal requires? I'm assuming a good shielded thin gauge wire would do as well as s thicker wire?

With the way the output impedance and the input impedance work the wire does not need to be heavy gauge. A standard quality interconnect is more than ample.

 

[NoxMorbis]

Why the monoblocks? Little to be gained that way. Unless you just like additional boxes and space taken up....

Smaller gauge wire for my 30 foot one way run, and then only a foot or two from the mono to the speaker. I'm going to mount the monoblocks under the speaker stand speaker platform itself, so they will hardly be visible. And, just different to do while being able to use thin gauge (assumption) wire from the preamp to the blocks.

 

[NoxMorbis]

With the way the output impedance and the input impedance work the wire does not need to be heavy gauge. A standard quality interconnect is more than ample.

What guage are you calling 'standard?' Dood

 

[GXAlan]

That's my idea. I have a long speaker run. Not a big deal, really. It just seems like a cleaner approach since the wire from the mono to speakers could be less than a foot. It just seems kinda cool, something to try. My speakers are on stands and i could mount the monoblocks on the stand as well. Running thin gauge wire from the preamp is appealing to me. (My longest run is 30' one way.) And, yeah, something interesting.

The other recommendation, is to not buy Anything. Keep that $350 in the bank and work on increasing your budget.

If I had a magic wand, iterative upgrades cost a lot more than just doing one expensive purchase once.

The other problem with monoblocks and long cable runs is also running long 12V trigger cables. 30 feet is pretty long!

This may be a scenario where going with massive speaker cables makes sense.

What speakers do you use? The value of short cable runs is with damping factor, which is not as big of a deal nowadays.

 

[Doodski]

What guage are you calling 'standard?' Dood

Interconnect gauges varies from maybe ~22G up to a smaller 28G. As the source impedance and the load impedance setup makes heavy duty gauges unnecessary any of those sizes should be sufficient.

 

[kemmler3D]

If hardly any power is going through the preamp to mono blocks, why would the wire need to be anything except what the signal requires? I'm assuming a good shielded thin gauge wire would do as well as s thicker wire?

My point is just more that with XLR or RCA interconnects I usually don't worry about the gauge either way. The more important consideration is usually getting plugs that are of the quality you're after.

 

[kemmler3D]

That's my idea. I have a long speaker run. Not a big deal, really. It just seems like a cleaner approach since the wire from the mono to speakers could be less than a foot. It just seems kinda cool, something to try. My speakers are on stands and i could mount the monoblocks on the stand as well. Running thin gauge wire from the preamp is appealing to me. (My longest run is 30' one way.) And, yeah, something interesting.

This is a valid reason to do monoblocks, for sure. But 30' interconnects are a little iffy... if you have RF interference that's really bad, sometimes long interconnects can (audibly) pick that up where a speaker wire run wouldn't.

 

[NoxMorbis]

The main purpose of monoblocks is for when you have an odd number of channels, or you simply like the look of smaller amp boxes around the room. SOMETIMES it makes sense if you need a truly absurd amount of juice. In almost every case you can get a 2ch amp with the same power for slightly less money than 2x monoblocks.

In either case the wires that go from preamp to amp would usually be XLR or RCA, not particularly light gauge.

Topping has some pretty decent DAC / Pre-type products with recent BT that are not super expensive. DX3 or DX5 might fit the bill.

Interconnect gauges varies from maybe ~22G up to a smaller 28G. As the source impedance and the load impedance setup makes heavy duty gauges unnecessary any of those sizes should be sufficient.

That's what I was assuming. Thanks.

 

[NoxMorbis]

This is a valid reason to do monoblocks, for sure. But 30' interconnects are a little iffy... if you have RF interference that's really bad, sometimes long interconnects can (audibly) pick that up where a speaker wire run wouldn't.

Double shielded wire?

 

[NoxMorbis]

The other problem with monoblocks and long cable runs is also running long 12V trigger cables. 30 feet is pretty long!

Trigger cables?

 

[GXAlan]

Trigger cables?

Right now, turn on your setup, walk to your chair.

If you have monoblocks, and they are 30 feet away from the preamp and you have the monoblocks next to the speakers, its

Turn on your preamp, walk to one monoblock, then the other and then your seat.

What you need is for the preamp to power on your monoblocks, and 12V triggers are largely what ends up being used. Surprisingly hard to find minijack to minijack cables that are 30 feet!

 

[Speedskater]

a] The virtue of monoblocks is: the can be placed near their loudspeakers and attached with short speaker cables.
b] with any RCA interconnect, the central conductor can be very small, but mechanical breakage might be a problem.
c] long RCA interconnects should have a heavy braided shield. (to reduce power line related noises)

 

[antcollinet]

Double shielded wire?

No - if you have long line level interconnect, you need to make sure they are balanced (XLR). You typically need to go up the amp/preamp/DAC price range to get that. Highly likely to get problems with ground loops otherwise, and shielding doesn't help much with that.

 

[Speedskater]

a] Long balanced XLR interconnect systems (it's not just the cable) are often better than RCA interconnects.
b] with long RCA cables, the need for a heavy braided shield is not about interference. It's about power line related noises (Common Impedance Coupling noise). That is power line leakage currents going thru the interconnects from component to component. Bill Whitlock often writes about this problem.