Mono Blocks / why are they not more prevalent? + Wyrded4Sound SX1000R


I am just learning about mono-blocks, and if they provide the benefits claimed why are they not used by more  audiophiles? I  am looking for a used Wyred4Dound Sx1000R- any  thoughts? 

mendef

Dear @mendef   :I think that some way or the other almost all posts are good to read about that subject.

As some of you I walk from " here to there " several times: stereo vs monobloks.

I learned almost all what almost of the audiophiles experienced.

For the last 5-7 years I use Levinson Reference 20.6  monobloks ( a 20 years ago Curl design . Yesmy amps are second hand ) mainly because its electronics and protection ( bullet proof. Even a short circuit can't make a damage to the amp. ) are till today unsurpassed.Two years ago I changed all the power supply electrolyt capacitors ( important up-date/grade. ).

As is should be my monobloks are at les than 1m. of the speakers external crossovers and hard wired directly not to a circuiot board ( crossover ) but to the  crossover passive parts ( caps and resistors ).

Due that I have all the circuit diagrams I learned that even its very high quality of the 20.6 the best improves is to be certain that both amps measured the same including its bias ( those circuits/bipolar transistors runs in pure class A starting at 100 watts under 8 ohms and doubling that power ( watts ) down to 0.5ohms ( 1,600 watts ) and can run at an impedance as low as 0.1 ohm.

Well, it was worth of rewards been matched my monobloks. Yes you need a toom/system with very high resolution to listen that kind of improvent.

@mendef  at the end all depends of your main system MUSIC/Sound targets and money.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,

R.

I guess I’ll never know unless I can get an amp that comes in stereo and has a mono option , like Odyssey. You might email them and ask. For me I have 3 rigs, the large on has Rogue M-180’s which are about 45 lbs each and pretty bulky. If I remember correctly Ralph had a post where they were driving big Maggie’s with OTL tube mono blocks. The thread talked about using heavy gauge speaker cables the were only 18 inches long. Under the circumstances the heavy gauge and short length made a big difference. In this case mono’s were a must for close placement. If my memory of this is incorrect, please put me in blast. Cheers, Mike B. 

There's no objective evidence that monoblocks provide better sound than stereo amps, integrateds, receivers, etc, especially with the higher quality parts that are available today. A lot of people in this hobby are older and aren't able to move on from long held beliefs regardless of what specs and objective testing tells them.

Dual Mono designs seem to bridge the divide. One power cord, but two separate power supplies and amplifier circuits. Just housed in one chassis. Am I missing something? 

@mashif - Often the transformer is shared, even in dual mono stereo amps, but not always (e.g., BAT). When the transformer is shared, there are greater chances of inter-channel modulation, crosstalk, and noise.  Whether any of that matters, or is audible, and how good the amplifier sounds is likely based on many other design choices, as well as the system it is being played in. While housing the amplification components for each channel in their own individual chassis reduces the likelihood of certain undesirable effects, it doesn’t guarantee success since there are good and crappy sounding amplifiers, both stereo and monoblocks.