Monoblocks vs Bi-amping


I am considering buying 2 Spectron Musician 3s to drive my Revel Ultima Salon2s. Which is do you recommend 1) monoblock configuration or 2) both amps set up in stereo, one driving mid-ranges/tweteters of both speakers & the other driving the woofers? I would think bi-amping would be superior since the each amp would see a more stable impedance profile.

Thoughts?
brianyoon000

Showing 5 responses by richlane

Hi Brian,

Let me preface this by saying that I'm no expert on Bridging or Biamping, however, I'm not a fan of Bridging. I do agree with Blindjim though, that bi-amping is usually associated with SS on the bottom and tubes on the top, to better taylor the sound towards ones preferences.

I wouldn't go out and by an Amp for the sole purpose of Bridging as the Plan. Now, if someone needed to do this out of necessity than I'm all for it.

The way I understand it, is that if you Bridge the Amps, then you will basically be reducing the load that the Amps could drive by 1/2 so if it could drive 4 ohms previously unbridged, then it will only be able to drive 8 ohms bridged, and I don't think that's as a good thing, unless you have 8 ohm minimal speakers to start with. My experiences although limited, have revealed higher levels of distortion, compression, heat, and clipping in bridged modes. I see that the Revel Salon 2's have a minimum impedance down to 3.7 ohms, so if you bridge your amps, then you may clip them with your particular speakers.

From the Spectron Website:
"Balanced Design: Musician III Mk2 is capable to operate both in stereo and mono (fully balanced) modes. While not necessarily an advantage in every speaker, Spectron monoblocks configuration triples the power and doubles the head room. The major advantage of this mode of operation, however, is noticeable improvement is dynamics and resolution of details in the music."

They say it triples the power, but then, wouldn't the amp have a difficult time delivering this power into a minimal impedance of 3.7 ohm speakers, which your bridged Amps will be viewing as a minimal impedance of 1.85 ohms.

I would think that in this case, bi-amping would be better, for less power output, but, improved power transfer to the speakers.

Rich
Hey Brian,

Since you have to buy 2 of these Amps and they're not cheap, does it make any sense to look at other high-end Monoblocks, that don't require Bridging, or Bi-Amping?

Rich
Hey Dob,

That wasn't very nice! Let me explain further..., I wasn't suggesting that Spectron requires it.

I was referring to the concept that, he feels he requires bi-amping or bridging may be necessary for his particular application.

He didn't buy them yet, he said he's considering it, can't he consider other amps as well.

Rich
Dob, since my first post misled you, that's why I clarified my intent in my second post.

I'm familiar with the well deserved accolades of Spector.

Dude Chill Out!

Rich