Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.high-end
sahil sahil is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 5
Default Bridge Amplifier

Hi friends . I am using 3055 amp in bridge configuration i.e. using two
channels amp to drive one woofer..Can anybody tell me what r the merits
and demerits of bridge configuration?
  #2   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.high-end
isw isw is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 182
Default Bridge Amplifier

In article ,
"sahil" wrote:

Hi friends . I am using 3055 amp in bridge configuration i.e. using two
channels amp to drive one woofer..Can anybody tell me what r the merits
and demerits of bridge configuration?


Using two identical amps in a bridge will deliver four times the power
into the same speaker (compared to one of the amps).

That's about it...

Isaac
  #3   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.high-end
Serge Auckland Serge Auckland is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 68
Default Bridge Amplifier

isw wrote:
In article ,
"sahil" wrote:

Hi friends . I am using 3055 amp in bridge configuration i.e. using two
channels amp to drive one woofer..Can anybody tell me what r the merits
and demerits of bridge configuration?


Using two identical amps in a bridge will deliver four times the power
into the same speaker (compared to one of the amps).

That's about it...

Isaac


I would add that as the combination delivers four times the power, each
half sees half the impedance, so an 8 ohm 'speaker will look like 4 ohms
to each half of the bridge.

So, provided the two amps are happy driving the load, there's no problem.

Note also that you can't ground one side of the load. Although that's
obvious, you'd be surprised how many times people have done that and
wondered why their amp shut down or blew up..........

Bridging is a very useful technique, I've used it myself for the same
application in a single subwoofer, with complete success.

S.
  #4   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.high-end
[email protected] victim_of_hype@yahoo.com is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 6
Default Bridge Amplifier

On 10 Jan 2007 00:12:27 GMT, "sahil" wrote:

Hi friends . I am using 3055 amp in bridge configuration i.e. using two
channels amp to drive one woofer..Can anybody tell me what r the merits
and demerits of bridge configuration?


In most cases, and clearly this one, you're doubling the signal path
by using a stereo amp in bridged mono mode.

My McIntosh amps never sounded as good in bridged mono as they did in
discreet stereo. Additional power notwithstanding.

VoH

  #5   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.high-end
 
Posts: n/a
Default Bridge Amplifier

"sahil" wrote in message
...
Hi friends . I am using 3055 amp in bridge configuration i.e. using two
channels amp to drive one woofer..Can anybody tell me what r the merits
and demerits of bridge configuration?


If an amplifier is capable of almost twice the power into a 4 ohm load as it
is into an 8 ohm load--and your load is actually 8 ohms--then connecting 2
such amplifiers in a bridge configuration will result in 4 times the power
output of a single amp.

Unless your amplifiers are designed for bridge operation, I wouldn't
recommend connecting them that way.

Norm Strong



  #6   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.high-end
isw isw is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 182
Default Bridge Amplifier

In article ,
Serge Auckland wrote:

isw wrote:
In article ,
"sahil" wrote:

Hi friends . I am using 3055 amp in bridge configuration i.e. using two
channels amp to drive one woofer..Can anybody tell me what r the merits
and demerits of bridge configuration?


Using two identical amps in a bridge will deliver four times the power
into the same speaker (compared to one of the amps).

That's about it...

Isaac


I would add that as the combination delivers four times the power, each
half sees half the impedance, so an 8 ohm 'speaker will look like 4 ohms
to each half of the bridge.


And that is exactly *why* it delivers four times the power.

Isaac
  #10   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.high-end
zekor zekor is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3
Default Bridge Amplifier

sahil wrote:
Hi friends . I am using 3055 amp in bridge configuration i.e. using two
channels amp to drive one woofer..Can anybody tell me what r the merits
and demerits of bridge configuration?


Bridging two channels with cheap devices has monetary merit. I used to
do it just for that reason. It used to be the HV devices were much more
expensive than the low voltage devices. Bridging has the ability to
provide more output at less distortion if done right. Everything can be
balanced, including the power supply. When you build a bridged amp, you
can design for 4 times the power, but rarely is this possible with
using typical stereo amps, because of limitations on current and heat
removal. I claim it possible to get less distortion by bridging, but I
have not been able to convince anyone except myself. When you bridge,
it best to take the OUTPUT of one side, reverse it, and form the
difference channel from that.

greg


  #11   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.high-end
[email protected] jjnunes@sonic.net is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 25
Default Bridge Amplifier

isw wrote:
In article ,
Serge Auckland wrote:


isw wrote:
In article ,
"sahil" wrote:

Hi friends . I am using 3055 amp in bridge configuration i.e. using two
channels amp to drive one woofer..Can anybody tell me what r the merits
and demerits of bridge configuration?

Using two identical amps in a bridge will deliver four times the power
into the same speaker (compared to one of the amps).

That's about it...

Isaac


I would add that as the combination delivers four times the power, each
half sees half the impedance, so an 8 ohm 'speaker will look like 4 ohms
to each half of the bridge.


And that is exactly *why* it delivers four times the power.


No, it's because bridging doubles the avilable voltage swing and
mathematically, doubling the voltage quadruples the power. That is theory.
The fact that each amplifier sees half the load impedance actually drags
down the power supply a bit, so the voltage swing is actually somewhat less
than double, the amount depending on the load regulation of the particular supply.

P=VI (now, algebraically rewrite that in all the possible ways)
  #12   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.high-end
Serge Auckland Serge Auckland is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 68
Default Bridge Amplifier

zekor wrote:
sahil wrote:
Hi friends . I am using 3055 amp in bridge configuration i.e. using two
channels amp to drive one woofer..Can anybody tell me what r the merits
and demerits of bridge configuration?


Bridging two channels with cheap devices has monetary merit. I used to
do it just for that reason. It used to be the HV devices were much more
expensive than the low voltage devices. Bridging has the ability to
provide more output at less distortion if done right. Everything can be
balanced, including the power supply. When you build a bridged amp, you
can design for 4 times the power, but rarely is this possible with
using typical stereo amps, because of limitations on current and heat
removal. I claim it possible to get less distortion by bridging, but I
have not been able to convince anyone except myself. When you bridge,
it best to take the OUTPUT of one side, reverse it, and form the
difference channel from that.

greg


I think the best way of deriving a difference channel for bridging is to
use a balanced output driver, or transformer. Taking the output of one
side as suggested *can* of course work, and probably will perfectly well
for modern Solid State amplifiers, but could be more risky with valve
amplifiers if the phase shift at high frequencies becomes significant.

S.
  #13   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.high-end
Serge Auckland Serge Auckland is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 68
Default Bridge Amplifier

isw wrote:
In article ,
Serge Auckland wrote:

isw wrote:
In article ,
"sahil" wrote:

Hi friends . I am using 3055 amp in bridge configuration i.e. using two
channels amp to drive one woofer..Can anybody tell me what r the merits
and demerits of bridge configuration?
Using two identical amps in a bridge will deliver four times the power
into the same speaker (compared to one of the amps).

That's about it...

Isaac

I would add that as the combination delivers four times the power, each
half sees half the impedance, so an 8 ohm 'speaker will look like 4 ohms
to each half of the bridge.


And that is exactly *why* it delivers four times the power.

Isaac


Of course it is, but my point was that it delivers four times the power
as each amplifier is driving into half the load impedance. Some amps may
be unhappy driving four ohms, or even two ohms if the 'speaker load is 4
ohms. Bridging is an extremely useful technique, provided you know what
load you're driving.

S.
  #14   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.high-end
sahil sahil is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 5
Default Bridge Amplifier

Serge Auckland wrote:
isw wrote:
In article ,
Serge Auckland wrote:

isw wrote:
In article ,
"sahil" wrote:

Hi friends . I am using 3055 amp in bridge configuration i.e. using two
channels amp to drive one woofer..Can anybody tell me what r the merits
and demerits of bridge configuration?
Using two identical amps in a bridge will deliver four times the power
into the same speaker (compared to one of the amps).

That's about it...

Isaac
I would add that as the combination delivers four times the power, each
half sees half the impedance, so an 8 ohm 'speaker will look like 4 ohms
to each half of the bridge.


And that is exactly *why* it delivers four times the power.

Isaac


Of course it is, but my point was that it delivers four times the power
as each amplifier is driving into half the load impedance. Some amps may
be unhappy driving four ohms, or even two ohms if the 'speaker load is 4
ohms. Bridging is an extremely useful technique, provided you know what
load you're driving.

S.


Thanks a lot to everyone for providing me this valuable information.
thanks again.
  #15   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.high-end
Walt Walt is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 145
Default Bridge Amplifier

sahil wrote:

Hi friends . I am using 3055 amp in bridge configuration i.e. using two
channels amp to drive one woofer..Can anybody tell me what r the merits
and demerits of bridge configuration?


merit: more power
demerit: more complicated to set up, you can blow things up if you do it
wrong, more expensive, mostly unnecessary

Back in the day when owning a 15 watt amp meant you were a somebody,
bridging was one of the few options to get more power. It still is a
way to get more power, but given the availability of high power amps
it's more trouble than it's worth. If you're running stereo, it cheaper
to buy a larger stero amp than it is to buy two lower-powered units and
bridge them.

The main application I would see is if you are running a mono subwoofer
and using a stereo amp, you might as well bridge it for more power.
Other than that, it's probably tweaking for tweaking sake.

//Walt



  #16   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.high-end
isw isw is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 182
Default Bridge Amplifier

In article ,
Walt wrote:

sahil wrote:

Hi friends . I am using 3055 amp in bridge configuration i.e. using two
channels amp to drive one woofer..Can anybody tell me what r the merits
and demerits of bridge configuration?


merit: more power
demerit: more complicated to set up, you can blow things up if you do it
wrong, more expensive, mostly unnecessary

Back in the day when owning a 15 watt amp meant you were a somebody,
bridging was one of the few options to get more power. It still is a
way to get more power, but given the availability of high power amps
it's more trouble than it's worth. If you're running stereo, it cheaper
to buy a larger stero amp than it is to buy two lower-powered units and
bridge them.

The main application I would see is if you are running a mono subwoofer
and using a stereo amp, you might as well bridge it for more power.
Other than that, it's probably tweaking for tweaking sake.


Actually, the main application is when you need more power than your
(fixed) voltage source is capable of delivering into the load impedance
you're stuck with. Consider running a high(er)-powered audio system from
a 12-volt auto battery, for example. The other alternative, a
switch-mode up-converting power supply, is probably considerably more
expensive.

Isaac
  #17   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.high-end
Walt Walt is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 145
Default Bridge Amplifier

isw wrote:
Walt wrote:
sahil wrote:

.Can anybody tell me what r the merits
and demerits of bridge configuration?


The main application I would see is if you are running a mono subwoofer
and using a stereo amp, you might as well bridge it for more power.
Other than that, it's probably tweaking for tweaking sake.


Actually, the main application is when you need more power than your
(fixed) voltage source is capable of delivering into the load impedance
you're stuck with. Consider running a high(er)-powered audio system from
a 12-volt auto battery, for example. The other alternative, a
switch-mode up-converting power supply, is probably considerably more
expensive.


I wasn't thinking about car stereo, but you are correct that when you've
got 12 volts DC as a power source, bridging the amps starts to look
mighty attractive. But with car stereos this is usually done for you
by the unit itself - at least it is in my car. No futzing with two amps
and inverting the polarity of one and hooking the speaker leads to the
two red outputs, just connect the speaker to the output.

//Walt
  #18   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.high-end
Karl Ludwig Bonitz Karl Ludwig Bonitz is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1
Default Bridge Amplifier

sahil schrieb:
Hi friends . I am using 3055 amp in bridge configuration i.e. using two
channels amp to drive one woofer..Can anybody tell me what r the merits
and demerits of bridge configuration?


What is a 3055 amp?
Have you got two of them?

I used to run my Proac 3.5 with two Jeff Rowland Model 1. After
comparison I chose just one unbridged channel per amp and not the
bridged variety. To my ears, it sounded cleaner, therefore better (more
bass control).

Is it true that besides quadrupling the power you get a better slew rate
but have to trade in half the damping factor?

Anyway, what will really get you somewhere is biamping instead of
bridging (your speakers must have 4 binding posts and your preamp output
must be configured appropriately.

Even better still would be an active crossover between preamp and amps,
but this takes good knowledge of your speaker´s passive crossover
measurements which might or might not be provided by the manufacturer.
And you would have to throw out the passive crossover.

Charlie
(pardon my English)
Reply
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules

Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
rec.audio.car FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (caution, this is HUGE) MOSFET Car Audio 0 June 18th 06 05:27 AM
James Randi gets clarified on audio biz [email protected] High End Audio 170 October 13th 04 12:52 AM
FS: PHEONIX GOLD AMPS AND WOOFERS ON SPECIAL NEXXON Car Audio 1 August 26th 04 05:44 PM
FS: PHEONIX GOLD AMPS AND WOOFERS ON SPECIAL NEXXON Audio Opinions 0 August 21st 04 04:44 AM
rec.audio.car FAQ (Part 1/5) Ian D. Bjorhovde Car Audio 0 March 6th 04 07:54 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 07:46 AM.

Powered by: vBulletin
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 AudioBanter.com.
The comments are property of their posters.
 

About Us

"It's about Audio and hi-fi"