How to bridge an amplifier

[imbeaujp]

Hello,

Is it a way to bridge a stereo amplifier to on channel ? The amplifier that I would bridge does not have that feature (switch) ?

Thanks !

[Hakka]

I'm pretty sure the amp needs to support bridging.

Hakka.

[F1 fan]

imbeaujp wrote:

Hello,

Is it a way to bridge a stereo amplifier to on channel ? The amplifier that I would bridge does not have that feature (switch) ?

Thanks !

Assuming the amp is not a high powered unit using a balanced(bridged) output configuration for each channel already( as some do),you would need an external circuit incorperating an inverter that would invert the phase of one channel.Im not aware of any such commercial unit so it would likely need to be done DIY.

[jerome]

The amplifier you're going to bridge definitely needs to support this feature. Which amplifier is it?
Ask the amp. manufacturer first, as you could damage it if bridging is not supported

Also take a look at you user guide. If bridging is supported then it will probably be described there.

[drf]

it can be done, however you need to know:

What impeadence is the amp rated down to? once bridged you must double the minimum rated impeadence of the amp.
And what style of amp it is? you will be hard pushed to properly bridge an amp if its output circuitry has unusual topologies that require modification.

If it is a run of the mill Class AB and it can handle a low speaker impeadence then in order to bridge it you only need to make a small inverting preamp for one of the channels.



Hope this makes sense.

[tonyvdb]

bridgeing an amp that is not designed to do so can cause many problems,
1) a total failure
.....causing damage to the internal components of the amp
2) Heat overload
.....running less than the minimum ohm's it can handle
3) damage to speakers
.....in some cases it can damage a speaker if there is some sort of failure in the amp causing clipping.
If the amp doesn't have a bridge switch or at the very least a bridge label under two of the four speaker terminals I dont recommend it.

[imbeaujp]

Thanks for your input guys.

I think that I will need an external device to do that.