Bridged NADs vs. Rotel Ra - 1062

I have owned a couple of NAD C356BEEs, still have one. I believe them to be a good budget integrated amplifier. The C356 was preceeded by the C355 so the 356 would have less years on it.

As others have indicated I would stay away from bridging amplifiers. Use stereo mode. Just stay away from hard to drive speakers. 

Pretty much what @mesch said. While bridging amps isn't necesarily bad in and of itself usually, it can be if the speaker load is unstable or hard to drive.

I had a pair of Hafler DH-220s that I ran in bridged mode to drive a pair of ESL speakers. Sure, great power but something sounded "off". When I decided to use just one channel of each amplifier for each channel the difference was quite audible! There was much more detail and clarity and dare I say even warmer sound.

Yes having extra power is nice (440 wpc bridged vs 120wpc non-bridged) but depending on the speaker it can be problematic. Of course buying speakers that are efficient and easy to drive helps a lot. 

Happy listening.

@mm1tt77  Agree with most of what you say, but the used prices that you mention are probably unrealistic. A quick check on EBay had one for around $350.  Other places might be cheaper?

@assetmgrsc you’re right, when I researched the units this morning, some used options came up but I didn’t look closely at them.  Some were old adds and others were for units that weren’t fully functional.  I was more focused on learning about the different options the OP referenced as they aren’t familiar units to me. 
 

Looks like refurbished units go for almost what they cost new on the NAD.  If they are selling for those types of prices I’d gather they were good units back in the day and still good units.  Rotel Units seem to be on the $400-800 range, what’s curious on the Rotel is some of the adds from 2-3 years ago had Units selling in the $ 150-300 range.  The pricing has taken quite a jump. 
 

Thank you very much for answering! Really helpful!

@mm1tt77 

Yes, I can snag those for 100€-150€. That was my first idea to buy an amp in this price range, but later I decided to invest little bit more to buy something better.

I thought that bridged amps are good with no "downsides". That the bridged power amp and amp would make sound even better, but now I see thats not always the case.

@mesch 

I never thought that bridging amps is mono in some way. Didnt know that. Now I will know!

@musicfan2349 

Got it! I thought that bridging improves music quality and quality sound volume. Thats why I take in bridged NADs in consideration.

@assetmgrsc 

Could you clarify what units do you have in mind that you checked on ebay for 350 dollars ? :)

All options (bridged Nads, Rotel) I listed are around 300 - 350euro. They are for sale at my local classified ads site.

I can buy Nad 2400 and Nad 3020a for 300euro. I checked ebay, other sites too, NAD 2400 alone costs 300€, 500€. Thats why I thought that Nad 2400 and 3020a is a good sounding option.

And, Im not 100% want or determined to buy nads or Rotel. Im always open to suggestions. Im a noob :) in this field, so I found these options after some research. But maybe you can offer completely different amp, that would be better.

Because you all have experience in this field, and have tried amps so your opinion would be really valuable!

Thank you again everyone for answers! Really grateful!