Setting up monoblocks

I say hook them up and try it. You can turn the rears off with a simple push of a button if you don't always want them on. I would put the best pair in front unless there is a large discrepancy in volume. A small difference can be compensated for by moving the rears further away from the listening position.

Wow this got interesting. Thanks. While I can understand not normally running each amp into two same side speakers all four speakers are the same. Paradigm studio montitors version2.

I had a small budget to stick to( not like some of you lol ) and picked up an Audio research LS3 preamp and a Cambridge Audio DAC Magic which I needed. This is all for this year. That is why I wanted to use all 4 speakers, I am stuck regardless with the monoblocks till next year.

As for getting the all "all channel stereo sound" I understand your point, that was why I wondered if crossing the amps like front right to rear left etc might have improved the sound; again primarily music and not really concerned for TV or movies.

Just trying to do the best and get the best sound with what I have at the moment.

Regardless I do appreciate the feedback,and comments. It has directed my researching a little more specific than just random Google searching.

Wouldn't using a pair of these amplifiers to drive a pair of front and rear speakers be the equilavent of putting a surround receiver on the "all channels stereo" setting? It's can be nice for room filling sound but is certainly not for critical listening. Your additional research gave the OP more information to work with and that's always a benefit.

mceljo -- I have little patience for the mountain of opinion and speculation one finds masquerading as "answers" in these pages -- much less the reasons some feel compelled to always add their "two cents" ;--))

As for the question at hand, I avoid connecting speakers of different electrical characteristics in series (usually) or parallel, to a single amplifier and here's why: an amp "sees" or "looks at" a load made up of the speaker's driver(s), its passive crossover network, and (very important to remember and include) the connecting cables. The speaker designer has anticipated the speaker's performance based on how a typical driving amplifier will drive the load that speaker presents. When different speakers (with different load characteristics) are combined and presented to an amplifier, you are now in uncharted territory in terms of how each speaker will deliver a music signal into the air. You can only be sure that it WON'T be what the designers of those speakers had in mind!

Of course if the user intends to run only one speaker at a time (and not combine them,) it's very convenient to be able to switch from one to the other; and it also allows for the use of different (kinds of) cables for each speaker, if appropriate. For example an electrostat on 'A' and a bookshelf/monitor on 'B'.

Having two sets of binding posts is a feature that makes bi-wiring a lot easier and more economical too; and many amp makers now provide two pairs of binding posts, even without the switching function. You won't have to spend money just for a dedicated bi-wire speaker cable, AND (even more important when bi-wiring) you can try using all those different 'regular' pairs of cables you have laying around to drive the high and low frequency sections of the speaker.
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Nsgarch - I appreciate you taking the time to actually look up the amplifiers and getting to the bottom of the story.

I made the assumption that a monoblock amplifier would be intended to only run a single channel and the use of a rear channel set of speakers would be better using a second amplifier. The ability of the amplifier to run two sets of speakers in an A/B configuration would be perfect for people with two sets of main speakers, but it didn't occur to me that anyone would want to run identical signals to both front and rear speakers.

Wouldn't using a pair of these amplifiers to drive a pair of front and rear speakers be the equilavent of putting a surround receiver on the "all channels stereo" setting? It's can be nice for room filling sound but is certainly not for critical listening.

Your additional research gave the OP more information to work with and that's always a benefit.

Eagle . . . . before you start having anxiety attacks over mixing speaker impedances, etc, first consult your owner's manual. Most amps that have include multiple speaker switching, like yours, will automaticall insert some additional resistance in the output circuit when you choose the "A+B" option, to protect the amp from too small a load impedance.

Thanks Montejay, I have a bad habit of over complicating things. I figured that was the setup, but it was also nice to hear from someone whom actually used the amps.
I still need to figure out the amp impedance to the speaker etc. theory but I should be able to Google that to find out what is going on there.

Thanks again everyone for your help.

Hi Eagleflyerfan,
I had those amps and they satisfied me almost twenty years. They were very good.Enjoy them.
I had them hooked up right mono amp handling front and rear right, and left amp handle left side.
I didn't use a pre.Ran them directly from cdp.The 'A' controlled the front speakers and the 'B' took care of the rear.

Regards,

Thanks, I am not a huge movie fan so surround is not an issue . Bringing up the ohms is now confusing so I guess I have more reading to do this afternoon. I do know that my speakers are ,

Frequency Response: 43Hz – 20KHz

Suitable Amplifier Power Range: 15-200watts

Impedance: 6 ohms

Sensitivity - Room / Anechoic: 91.5dB/88.5dB

and the amps are .

Rated power: 250 watts into 8 ohms, 20Hz-20kHz, <0.02% THD, 450 watts into 4 ohms, DIN 1 kHz

Dynamic power: 650 watts into 4 ohms, 1100 watts into 1 ohm

Well, you can do whatever you want, it will work either way. However, you will not get "surround" sound if that is what you are looking unless you feed one amp w front signal from an AV processor/pre and one amp w the rear. Also make sure that your amps can handle the lower impedance that you get from running two sets of speakers in parallel if you have the A and b speakers selected simultaneously. IOW, if your "front" and "rear" speakers are 4 ohm nominal and 2 ohm minimum, then the amp would need to be stable into a 2 ohm nominal and 1 ohm minimum load.

I guess i could have described the amps a little better for clarity, especially the a/b button which is important.

I am still a little unsure on the rear speaker setup. Do i keep the left front and left rear on one amp etc, or do I crossover the rears and do front right left rear etc. on one amp.
I figured I would ask and look foolish then not ask and do everything twice. Thanks

Nsgarch is on the ball :-)

I did take the time to look up a picture of the amps and my assessment is the same.

Dear Eagleflyerfan:

Twenty seconds ago, I was utterly unfamiliar with your amplifier -- and judging from their responses, so are Mssrs. Rmwear, Tom6897, and Mceljo.

However, twenty seconds is all it took for me to go from this AudiogoN page, to Google, and to this picture:
http://www.vintagehifipgh.com/index.php?main_page=popup_image_additional&pID=671&pic=0&products_image_large_additional=images/large/DenonPOA-6600Aa_01_LRG.JPG
for me to become at least familiar enough to answer your question accurately:

Your amps each have a single input. You do have two input connection OPTIONS (single ended or balanced) which is a nice feature.

Your amps each have TWO sets of speaker outputs, and an Output Selector Switch. This allows you to hook up two speakers to each amp; and the Output Selector Switch allows you to play either speaker by itself, or both speakers at the same time.
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If it's a monoblock and not a stereo amp then your setup should be the following:

Preamp to left and right monoblocks to left and right speakers. You'll need additional amplifiers for rear channel speakers.

If you are referring to the speaker binding posts and there are four speaker outputs, I believe they are for Bi-amping your main L and R speaker if so appointed. Not front and rear.

First of all, the amps have inputs from the preamp. The outputs go to the speakers, one for the left and one for the right. Each amp will only power one speaker unless they have an A/B switch and then only one channel.