2. amps-preamps
  3. 1301436727

Do Mono Block amps provide better sound ??

My question: do monoblock amps, that is, one amp per speaker, provide better sound than one box stereo amp?? I have read that a pair of mono amps provide the best stereo separation, imaging, soundstage depth.... Besides, taking up more floor space or rack space, and the necessity running a longer interconnect if each amp is behind the speaker, is it really worth it?? Thank you Jim
sunnyjim
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
all else equal, yes

but it never is


^^^^^This!!!! Hilarious, because: TRUE!!!
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 

They both have their pluses and minuses. (EG: monoblocks can have ground loop problems)

The big one for me is stereo amps with common power supply "can" have better "individual channel dynamics", because all the grunt from the powersupply (that is designed to run both channels) will be directed to that single channel if called for in a dynamic slam note, and hence have a better dynamic response in those instances.

Cheers George
vegasears
1,173 posts
 
No, they just look cool.
Post removed 
yyzsantabarbara
4,575 posts
 
In my case it was a huge improvement. My Thiel CS3.7 require a lot of power. I had a single Benchmark AHB2 in stereo and it provided around 250+ at 2 Ohm. It sounded under-powered. So I got a second AHB2 and switched to mono mode on both AHB2's to give around 500 at 2 Ohm range (though not officially rated for that). The sound improvement was easy to hear. More bass, more power in my hard rock music, just better.

I was also able to buy a real amazing, but expensive speaker wire, using the mono's because I could keep the amps right beside the speakers and use a lower cost length. I use 15 foot XLR interconnects that are not as important as the speaker wire. The XLR's cost about $200. So the monos made the speaker wire more affordable for me.
More to discover