![]() Yet for some strange reason, very few products truly bridge this divide – never the twain shall meet, it often transpires.Ĭompanies like dCS and Chord Electronics spring to mind as exceptions to this rule, but perhaps it's an easier job for digital converters as they're not being asked to directly power banks of studio monitors or PA loudspeakers. True, they also demand greater reliability and ruggedness due to the rigours of continuous usage and often transportation. There's an interesting parallel universe to be discovered in the neighbouring domain of pro audio – after all, engineers should want the same as audiophiles, namely great sound. ![]() In my case that was clearly to bridge, doubling the output voltage, as the amps have ample current capability to hold those voltages at even the maximum volume levels I would ever want from my speakers.Benchmark Media Systems AHB2 Power Amplifier Engineering is the science of compromise, meaning you typically cannot optimize all parameters simultaneously, so one must decide what trade offs yield the largest overall improvements. If they are not, then they are performing within spec for ultra low noise and distortion. The amps also will let you know if they are clipping with the LED indicators. In bridged mode the voltage swing is double, which the quadruples the power, up to the current limits of the regulated power supply and protection circuits. This will also stiffen the current output. Also these amps have a regulated power supply, which is rare even in the most expensive audiophile products. There is more than enough current capacity. ![]() Regarding damping factors and current limiting, the output impedance on the ABH2 is low enough that doubling it by bridging the amps should make little or no difference in sound quality into almost any speaker. Some of done it and reported benefits in blind testing so I suppose it is possible. There is also the (valid) argument that bi-amping (even "AVR passive") isolates the upper and lower drivers so they do not modulate each other through the wires and amplifier's output impedance, but again I remain skeptical. It depends upon the speaker's impedance, amplifier's output impedance (both of which vary over frequency), and your perception as frequency response and other parameters change. Maybe, but that's a rabbit hole I don't feel like heading down. We are long past the days when 10 or 20 W was typical and a 100-W amp a rare and expensive thing. By and large my choice the past few years (10 or 20, who counts anymore? ) has been to get a single amplifier big enough to do the job and be done with it. I am not a believer in "passive bi-amping" as implemented by an AVR there are theoretical advantages, but in practice I suspect it is inaudible. I have bi-amped my system in the past, using an active or passive crossover network before the power amps, but for the past few years have not felt it worth the effort. Some have done it and reported benefits in blind testing so I suppose it is possible. ![]() ![]() ![]()
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