Dual mono integrated amps


I’m curious about dual mono integrated amps and if they can approximate the benefits of monoblocks. I had the good fortune of trying a friend’s electronics which included a dual mono preamp driving a pair of monoblocks and the result was not subtle. There was an expanded soundstage with more solid imaging. Is this an effect that most of you experience when each channel has dedicated circuitry? Are there particular examples of integrated amps utilizing a dual mono design that do a particularly good job in this respect? Ones that don’t?

Thanks for the help

128x128voodoochillin

Showing 3 responses by petaluman

I applaud the dual mono concept in integrateds, but it's not the same as mono blocks.  Separate chassis, separate power cords, even separate circuit breakers if you can arrange it.

That said, you can get fine sound from an integrated amp, and dual mono is one of the many techniques available to amp designers to improve sound quality.

To return to the original question, have you checked out the Parasound Hint 6?  Extremely versatile, with built-in phono & DAC sections, crossovers for subwoofing, Home Theater bypass...  A bit of a kitchen sink, but a great one box solution for many pieces in building a system.  You can always upgrade section-by-section.

The dual mono power amp was designed by John Curl.  A single power transformer is used.  I suspect that is the case(!) with most integrated amps - there's just not enough space for 2 of them.

@voodoochillin

In that case(!), to find out the best practice for dual mono-ism in that form factor/price range, just lift the cover on your integrated. I have full faith in Nelson Pass.