Don't do it! The GFA555 is already putting over 200 watts into each speaker! Bridging will make each amp "see" a constant load of 2 ohms or less! NO GOOD! Distortion will double, as will current. Too much stress (heat) on the output stage transistors! Stick with ONE amp! If you desire louder SPL's get a more efficient pair of speakers (hint: JBL 100's).
Adcom GFA 555 II
Any advice on running a pair of Adcom GFA 555 ii bridged with Magnepan MG/12QR i am currently using one and was considering picking up a 2nd one, are there any benefits? can they handle the 4 ohm load bridged as i’m sure when pushed they dip pretty low in ohm’s or is this a bad idea?
- ...
- 7 posts total
Thank you very much roberjerman1 for your advice I do have a few more set's of speakers that are more efficient to utilize for louder spl, but i'm kinda really liking the Maggie sound so maybe i'll step up to a larger model although i do like the set up as it is but got excited when i ran across a great offer on a 2nd GFA 555ii and decided to question the purchase as i am pretty new at this and have never ran any of my amplifiers bridged. |
daywalker702, As I understand it, the Adcom 555 II amps were designed by Nelson Pass and are stable down to 1 ohm. However, even Nelson Pass has stated on DIY Audio that the Adcom 555 was not a great bridged amp. https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/solid-state/53551-gfa-555-upgrade-substitutions.html?perpage=35&... I also understand that Magnepans in general present a relatively benign and stable impedance load to amps of about 4 ohms without big peaks or dips. Based on my experience driving my older 4 ohm Magnepan 2.7QR speakers with a stereo Adcom 555 MKII (200w @8 ohms and 400w @4 ohms) amp, I’d suggest a better solution would be a powerful class D amp. I’ve used 3 class D amps on my Magnepans with all of them outperforming the Adcom 555 MKII. I initially used a ClassD Audio SDS-440-CS stereo amp (440 w/ch at 4 ohms), then an Emerald Physics EP100.2SE stereo amp ( 150 w/ch at 4 ohms) and currently a pair of D-Sonic M3-600-M monos (1,200 w at 4 ohms). All 3 of these amps provided better bass response, a lower noise floor, a more detailed but still smoother mid-range/treble response and much improved dynamics than the Adcom.MKII in my system. All 3 were also capable of very high volume levels in my spkrs without clipping or distortion (at levels far beyond my normal listening level during testing). I’m fairly certain you’d notice similar performance improvements with a good class D amp driving your Magnepan MG-12QR speakers. I have no associations with any class D companies; I’m just a big fan. Tim |
- 7 posts total