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Mono Bridged Setup - cable ends not long enough?

Hello,

I am looking to set up a bridge with 2x McIntosh MC252's connected to a pair of B&W 802s. I'm not prepared for a bi-amp setup just yet - taking baby steps... (Feel free to flame and tell me how stupid I am - but taking advantage of the extra power is the exclusive objective right now)

For cables, I'm looking at a pair of AQ Comet single bi-wire speaker cables (these claim to be a good solution for bi-wiring since "When the halves are separated at the speaker end, the Double Star-Quad Geometry turns Comet into a true Double-BiWire set thanks to the magnetic autonomy of each Quad-conductor section."

Down to the actual question. In order to run in bridged mode, the McIntosh manual requires that the Loudspeaker (-) is connected to the left output (+) and the Loudspeaker (+) is connected to the right output (+).

The problem is that the L and R posts are on opposite sides of the amp, almost a foot apart. I don't know of any 'jacketed' audio cable that has the (-) and (+) connections that extend far enough beyond the jacket to reach those two posts.

What am I doing wrong here?

thanks!

Andrew
andrewdanapoole
almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
I don't think you are doing anything wrong, but that cable is unsuitable for the reason you stated. What I would suggest is that you contact a cable supplier of your choice and ask them if they would customize a cable which allows enough separation between + and - at the amp end.

Also, keep in mind that in bridged mode the amp will "see" a load impedance equal to half of the speaker's impedance, so you will probably want to connect to an output tap that is one value lower than you would use in stereo mode (for example, the 2 ohm tap instead of the 4 ohm tap).

Regards,
-- Al
mceljo
1,357 posts
 
Blue Jeans Cable would be a perfect source for a custom cable like this that would be affordable. Get their 10 awg, it is good quality stff.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
You may want to get some basic cables just to test the 2 amps in your system first. When you bridge amps, it has an effect on sound quality that most people don't like. I'm not saying that will definitely be the case in your system, but its something to consider.
andrewdanapoole OP
1 posts
 
Thanks all, appreciate the input! What causes the impact on sound quality with bridging?
zd542
5,339 posts
 
"10-11-14: Andrewdanapoole
Thanks all, appreciate the input! What causes the impact on sound quality with bridging?"

Its one of those things that you have to try for yourself. Even if we both bridged the same amps, its likely we would get different results depending on the rest of the components in out systems. Its also worth noting, that there are some amps that are known to sound very good when bridged. In my experience, I liked both BEL and Bryston when bridged. Actually, I thought the BEL sounded better bridged.
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