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Amps bridged to mono with 4 Ohm Magnepans?

Hi all,

My current amp is rated at 200/300 wpc @ 8/4 ohms and bridged mono at 600/850 w @ 8/4ohms.

I am considering getting a second amp as a mono block for my Maggie 3.6s,(at this time I am not considering active or passive bi-amping), and I have a 3-part question;

Most amp manufactures only list their 8 Ohm bridged output and not their 4 Ohm. I assume they don't recommend bridging to 4 ohms because;

1. The S/N spec would be through the roof. Correct?
2. The power draw from the wall would be too high (Energy Star and such). Correct?
3. Related to No 2. I suspect, the amp would get too hot and go into protection mode. Correct?

The bottom line is that I don't want to damage my Maggies or amp. Should I just stay away from bridging, or could I consider it for a manufacturer that lists their 4 Ohm specs?

Thanks!
mkh1099
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 

You can also say the damping factor is halved (output impedance is doubled) with a bridged amp, so your bass performace (control over the bass driver)is not as good, even though you have more watts available.

I've never been a fan of bridging, PA systems use it, that's where it should stay.

Cheers George
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slbenz
39 posts
 
I have a set of Magnepan IIIas and tried bridging my Carver amps with them. Though I liked the additional sound stage improvement, I didn't like the additional distortion I could hear. Instead, I went with an active crossover and currently use two Carver amps to power my IIIas. I would say this would be the best way to go with your 3.6s. Actively biamping your speakers like mine, gives a marked improvement to the sound stage and dynamics to the music without you worrying if you are going to fry the speakers. But as you know, Magnepans love power and I am using one Carver amp rated at 400 watts into 4 ohms while the other is rated at 550 watts into 4 ohms in my biamped system.
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