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Does bridging give you the monoblock sound??

I have a Parasound HCA 1500a which is rated at 205wpc @ 8 ohms. I'm considering buying a second one and running them in bridged mode which will give me 630 wpc @ 8 ohms. Will this have the same effect as using actual monoblocks? From what I've read is that the major plus that monoblocks offer is imaging. That's what I'm striving for,,,,,,,,,,,pinpoint imaging. I know that there are a lot of other things that contribute to good imaging but I'm just curious about this aspect of it.
meech33
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sean
6,231 posts
 
Viridian hit it on the head. I would try vertical bi-amping, horizontal bi-amping and then bridging as listed in that order. Vertical bi-amping offers several advantages IF the speakers are a more demanding load in only one of the frequency ranges. If both the top end are demanding i.e. highly reactive and / or low impedance, horizontal may be better. With your speakers, i would think that vertical might work best. Sean
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detlof
1,899 posts
 
Viridian and Sean are deadright. Basically I have nothing to add. I've used two Spectral 200 class A amps, one for each speaker-side , to drive two pairs of Stax F93 stators to this day. I suppose that is ( a subform of ) what Sean calls horizontal biamping. Also in my experience bridging amps can constrict the midrange and noticeable increase grain, the only exception I know of are the DMA50 Spectral amps, which retain their speed and pristine clarity also when bridged.
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marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
Whether you want it or not in bridged mode you have a case with cancellation of out of phase signals. If amps are dual-monos than more-likely you would want to vertically biamp.
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