Running 4 ohm speaks on bridged amp...ok?


I am contemplating using a Classe CAV-75 to drive a pair of Magnaplanar 1.6 speakers. Since the Maggies need lots of power, I plan to bridge two of the amp's channels to 150w. However, since these speakers are already 4 ohm, does the bridging effectively make them 2 ohm, and can the amp handle it?
mzallen
I think you should bi-amp rather than bridge, if possible.
Remember, bridging cuts the damping factor (bass control) in half. I used a stereo amp on each of my MG3.3Rs & it worked great.

Daniel
I agree with Daniel. I used to own a pair of Acoustat 4 ohm speakers and my old Bryston 3B amp would run out of steam. I asked Bryston about bridging in another 3B and they advised against it saying that the 4ohm load on a typical elctrostat would be too hard on the bridged amps. They suggested getting a more powerful 2 channel amp which I did - 4B-ST. Then I sold that stats and replaced them with Maggie 1.5's - never had a problem yet. I know that the 1.6's are 4ohm and while they do have a relatively flat impedence curve rather than bridge I would either bi-amp or upgrade the amp to one with more power at the 4 ohm rating - Bryston 4B-ST, bigger Classe like CA-200 or 201, Aragon 8008, Marsh A400 to name a few...
Huh? Bridging the amp doesn't change the speaker's impedance. I would suggest contacting Classe and asking them if the amp can drive a 4 ohm load properly. However, if it's driving them now, it should still do so bridged.
Bridging an amp will not change the impedence of a speaker.
Whether or not an amp can handle a 4ohm load bridged is dependent on the amps power supply. The Classe' should be able to handle it.