2. amps-preamps
  3. 192242-74231

Moving from a stereo amp to a dual mono set up

I thought this would have been not much a change and easily accomplished.

Boy was I wrong.  I found a second Plinius SA102 on Audiogon a few months ago at a great price. I had it drop shipped to Ralph Abramo for a good going through.  A few weeks later and it was done so I drove to his shop to pick it up. I asked about how to set up the amp for dual mono. A easy thing to do. Change the position of a switch in the back and connect the speaker wires to both R / L positive leads and connect the input to the right channel.

My speaker wires are Straight Wire Cresendo 3's. The leads are not able to reach the 9" spread to the positive speaker connections of the amp.  I spoke with Straight Wire, they can alter the cables to a 12" long lead so they can reach.  OK, shipped them out yesterday.

Now considering my electrical plug issue.  One more plug is something I do not have. I have a older PS Audio AC filter that can receive up to 8 inputs.  But I do not like the idea of running 2 high power amps through it. I want to do directly into the wall for my power.

I called an electrician and he is coming over next week to do a Job Walk. to see what it will cost to add a new circuit to my power panel and run the wires for a new plug. 

Then there is the physical amp to deal with. I need a second stand to get the amp off the floor.

I will have to disconnect and move my existing equipment and stands around to make the system visually balance out.

Then there is still one question I am not sure of. Do my current XLR cables from Preamp reach across to the new positions of the amps. Are they long enough?

All this equipment is between the speakers. I like where the speakers are right now. 

128x128bill_peloquin
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jeffbij
11 posts
 

Bill,  you forgot a step.  Walking into the backyard at 2 in the morning, staring at the stars, and cursing the stereo gods for tempting you into this hobby!

I feel your pain.  I recently moved into a new house and was psyched that I could finally setup a dedicated listening room in a spare bedroom!  A year later, I'm to the point of starting over.  The room is too small, the seating position is too close, too many windows, the equipment rack is too big, I can't get the bass issues under control, and the electrical circuit is undersized and unstable.

So, now I'm going to build a dedicated listening room in the basement. (more $$$)  Damn those gods on Mount Audiophile!

Keep us appraised on how things go.  

- Jeff

tony1954's avatar
tony1954
1,051 posts
 

I feel your pain.

I would suggest you watch the original 1948 version of the movie, "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House", starring Cary Grant and Myra Loy.

Suffice to say, you will know exactly how Cary feels about how simple projects can turn into a nightmare of complications.

gano
154 posts
 

sometimes I ask my wife: do you want some music or silence is fine and more often than not she says silence is fine. Imagine the costs and setup needs of that options.

bassbuyer
119 posts
 

Thanks for sharing your experience.  We’ve probably all been there.  It’s why this hobby is a journey and not a destination.  Enjoy the journey.  If not it’s like taking the kids on a long car ride on vacation with shouts of, Are we there yet?  Are we there yet?  Please keep us updated on your progress and as Hans says, enjoy the music! 

itanibro
10 posts
 

Funny thing - I actually started this hobby years ago with dual mono blocks. After years of moving around the country and setting up the system, I finally decided to go stereo. Haven’t looked back! 

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