2. amps-preamps
  3. 142680-120168

Can I run 2 stereo amps in bridge mono?

I found this awesome little amp (Vista Spark) that I really want to incorporate into my system, the only problem is that it’s only 20 wpc. My speakers (KEF Q350) are not super efficient at 87db, and I’m a little concerned wether or not 20wpc is going to be enough.

So I was wondering, if I could split the rca RL signals from my source into RR and LL, and feed the RR into one Vista Spark amp, the LL into the other, would that theoretically work as a dual mono system? Or would that damage some of the components?

Any suggestions, advice, or critique would be happily appreciated 🍻
jpierre
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,803 posts
 
In a word, no.

If you were able to invert the phase to one of the channels, then it would be possible. But the hookup you describe would lead to smoke, not just 'sparks' if you can pardon the expression.
jpierre OP
5 posts
 
@atmasphere To invert the phase I'd just have to plug left into right and vice versa right?
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,803 posts
 
No. You would need a buffer that has no gain but inverts phase, plugged into one channel of each stereo amp you're trying to monostrap.
So you will need two such buffers, one for each speaker.
The signal for one channel then goes into a Y adapter; from there to one channel of the amp and also the buffer, the latter of which goes to the other channel of the stereo amp. Then the hot connections of the output are what are used to drive the speaker.

This is tricky and has to be done right, else the smoke is let out of the amp!
So that is the technique but the buffer itself is a bit tricky. I didn't find one on several Google searches.
jpierre OP
5 posts
 
@atmasphere  Thanks a lot for clearing that up! ;)
More to discover