Making Stereo amps into Mono


I have a Nakamichi PA-7, which is gathering dust. I am interested in either changing the power supply to a bigger, beefier one and or, getting another PA-7 and somehow have them both modified to make them MONOS. Is this a crazy idea or would I be better off getting real monoblocks for the price. I really like the sound of this old Pass designed amp, but I feel that there could be more power to be had. Has anyone done something like this?

PAUL
bemopti123
Bad idea to bridge a stereo into mono. The tonal balance of the amp will change and will result in inferior sound. I would suggest you find another PA7 and use them to Bi-amp your speakers. This way, you power the lows and highs saperately....way better than to bridge.

Bridging not properly done can result your amp to be "fried". Old Nelson Pass designs are famous to blow all outputs at once! (very costly repair bill).
Upgrading the power supply capacitors is another alternative. You could "bypass" (connect in parellel) the older supply caps eith newer and faster poly film caps. This will help make the older cap function more efficiently and will result a cleaner sound and faster dynamics.

Make sure you know how to do it. If unsure, please contact a local repairman.
There was an article in Glass Audio, on how to build, I think it was called, a phase inverter. It was a inverter of some kind. It looked really simple, to construct, and it turned any stereo amp into mono. Glass Audio routinely sells back issues, so it would not be hard to find.So if you're deadset on going mono, that would be one way. I agree, though, that vertical bi-amping would be better. Once you get another amp, all you would need, would be more speaker cables.
One correction to your post, Paul. Nelson Pass did not design the Nakamichi amps. Nak simply paid licensing fees to Pass for letting them use the Stasis design. While i've never heard the Nak versions, i've been told that they sound QUITE different from the Threshold versions. Sean
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