Hey all, I'm not very technically minded, but LOVE my music, and would really appreciate some input regarding a planned SQ installation...

Splits: Focal Utopia 165 W, 100W nominal, 3.7 ohms

Amp 1: Audiophile grade, conservatively rated at 75w x 2 @ 4 ohms

Amp 2: Same high-end brand, conservatively rated at 35W x 4 @ 4 ohms, or bridgeable to 105W x 2 @ 4 ohms

Scenarios:

a) Amp 1 in to splits

b) Amp 2 biamped in to splits, so effectively one channel per driver

c) Amp 2 bridged to 2 channels, in to splits

Questions:

i) Which scenario out of the above would you choose? Why?

ii) Ignoring the biamplification, is Scenario 'b' any different to Scenario 'c' in terms of powering the drivers? If so, why? After all it is the same amp powering the same drivers...?

Question i) None, i'd go amp 1 for tweeters and amp 2 bridged for woofers.

ii) scenario c is more power than b because your loading each channel down to 2 ohms instead of 4ohm so the power increases.

But i'd go one of each amp as question 1 or just 2 of amp 1's if you dont have enough for a 4 and a 2 channel.

regards

Antony

Thanks Antony;

Okay, but let's suppose I can only use 1 of the amps to run the splits.

Do you then think that Scenario c is preferable to a?

Yes, use the 4 channel if you can only get one amp. That way you can still upgrade later if you want more power. Also you can run the splits active if you choose and your headunit is able to.

Antony

Thanks again.

On to a related topic, for some reason I have always been under the impression that bridging channels on a multi-channel amp increases the amount of harmonic distortion, and therefore should be avoided for the front stage.

I think I read this somewhere once.

Is this just a misconception on my part?

I wonder whether you'd actually notice much difference between the two in the real world.
I changed from a bridged EA3422 2x120WRMS to a pair of channels from a PA5422 2x85WRMS and hardly noticed any level drop.

It does increase it, usually double again, but if your getting an audiophile brand it will be so low you wont notice either of them.