Bridged Perreaux Amp question.

[Bernard Wolf]

Just picked up a second Perreaux PMF 1150B, which is a 100 watt a channel Stereo Mosfet amplifier. The amp can be bridged with a switch in the back and according to the owners manual will thus put out 400 watts! Now, I know that my S/3100 will take most of the extra power, but, accoding to Perreaux I should "not operate this amplifier into loudspeakers whose nominal impedance is lower than 8 ohms when in the bridge mode." The S/3100 is rated as a 6 ohm speaker.

What would be my risk ? Would the amp or the speakers suffer ? Or, should I forget about it and run just one channel into each speaker, ala mono blocks ? Any comments would be much appreciated. I am really curious to hear what a difference either the extra wattage running in bridge mode, or running as mono blocks might make. I certainly don't need the extra power, but am always up for sonic improvements.

Thanks - Bernard

[mrbluster]

I don't think there is any risk to your amplifier or speakers. Try it at a reasonable volume. If you like it, turn it up a bit and monitor the temperature of your amp. As long as it is not over heating, then the load you are putting on it is acceptable.

[Bernard Wolf]

I don't think there is any risk to your amplifier or speakers. Try it at a reasonable volume. If you like it, turn it up a bit and monitor the temperature of your amp. As long as it is not over heating, then the load you are putting on it is acceptable.

I don't think volume level will be an issue as I know full well that I usually listen at under 1 watt as it is. 200 - 300 watts at 96db efficiency would be like some kind of death wish . I really bought the 2nd Perreaux as a back up. At the price these go for they are a real steal... sound really fine also. Kind of like the idea of trying mono/bridge just for the fun of it though. The one that I use now never even gets warmish at all.

[Bernard Wolf]

Actually... just reading further in the owners manual it says "Bridging any amplifier, including the Perreaux will cause phase shifts affecting half its waveform. Despite the superiority of Perreaux switchable bridging circutry, we recommend bridging only for sub-woofer use or to power the woofer section in a bi-amped system." Sooo.. I guess there goes that idea. I will try running just one channel from each amp per speaker though just to see if it makes a difference worth hearing.

[mrbluster]

I assume the S3100 is not bi-ampable. If it were, that would be the way to go. Bridging may or may not sound better, it has the downside of decreasing the dampening factor which can effect the quality of the bass. Running one channel only (per amp) will definitely work well because you have now doubled the power supply for each channel. I recommend you try all your options and see what sounds best .

[Bernard Wolf]

Actually it is bi-ampable... but this is where I get confused. I mean, if I were to do that then I lose the 1 power supply per channel, no ? would I not be better off using one amp per speaker ?