Bridged amp with electrostatics..


Is there any problem to use bridged amplification power with electrostatics?
I've heard that bridge amplifiers are very powerful but they can't see an impedance load very well.
Are there any other problems with this match?
carloscotland
My speakers are Martin Logan SL3; I don't mean blow the speaker by too much power (altough it may occour).
I don't understand why it is not safe to have grounded tweeters or crossovers when using a pair of bridged amplifiers.
I think electrostatics are grounded speakers, yes?
So, what to do to use them both?
Thanks...
Actually the 'bridge' issues is similar for transistor amps. With *any* bridged amp, both speaker terminals should be kept from ground.

BTW, ESLs in general are best driven by tubes. If you plan to do it with transistors, you will need a much larger amp due to the impedances and impedance curve of the speaker- Sound Labs are an excellent example of this: a 200 watt tube amp will play every bit as loud as a 400 watt transistor amp because the transistor amp will only make 200 watts into the load. In some cases, the 400 watts may only be 50! That's why tubes are the traditional choice for ESLs.
"With *any* bridged amp, both speaker terminals should be kept from ground."

Hallo Atamasphere, by this you mean I should not ground the main for the speakers, yes?
I'm sorry but I find hard to understand what I should do exactly.
Thanks for the patience.
You can run the speakers with the normal AC ground connection. The concern with most bridged amplifiers is that neither speaker terminal is at ground, so if you connect into a setup that does have one terminal grounded, a potential (pun intended :) exists for damage to the amplifier. The AC ground of your ESLs should have nothing to do with this. I've not heard of an ESL where the AC ground is the same as the '-' speaker terminal, but I suppose it could exist. Check with the manufacturer to be sure.

What ESLs are you using?

All the Best!
Hallo Atamasphere, I own a pair of Martin Logan SL3's with fully re-worked crossovers and re-cabled with Kimber silver cables.
I am planning to have a listen with Musical fidelity gear, their high-range sports bridged amplifiers so before I even think to go for a demo I want to make sure that nothing is going to go to the moon...! Ha ha ha!
However, I don't know how it may sound with the SL3's as they already tend to be on the bright side and I know bridged amplifiers tend to sound very clean, it may be too much for me.
anyway, I suspect I should contact the manufacturer for peace of mind.
We'll see....
Seeya!