As expected, we’ve seen technically competent remarks from the younger, faster, and better looking members of this group. From an old guy’s perspective, I will add that the additional economic impact of building 2 chassis is significant. Here’s an (incomplete?) list of what happens when you split and amp in half:
- 2 chassis
- 2 faceplates
- 2 on/off switches (maybe)
- 2 shipping cartons
- 2 sets of packing materials
- 2 items to ship, handle. insure against damage
- 2 sets of service literature
- 2 sets of marketing materials (if items sold separately)
- 2 invoices
- 2 items to warehouse, inventory.
- and, last, but not least, 2 items to find room for in a rack, floor, shelf, or doily hanging from the ceiling
From a technical perspective (which I am underqualified to contribute), when high power between components is exposed to the environment, more precautions are needed in the cabling/connections. Thus, more insulation. Some have found that insulators/dialetrics are a factor in sound quality. The cost of the connections/terminators will be higher than if handled internally. But, then there exists the possiblity that the added real estate can allow for larger, more robust components. "If we just had a little more spece, we could have ...."