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Last week my amp went flash-poof. So I took the amp back to the shop where I bought it hoping that it just needed new fusses but it's on the way back to Canada. The positive side to this story is that I still have my stereo amp so at least I have some sound. I am enjoying 2-channel music again as well. My amp configuration is a CA-300 for the fronts and a CAV-150 bridge 300x3 for the rears and center.I guess I need to be patient and see if the CAV-150 comes back and functions like it should but this episode started me thinking about my system. I am glade that I don't have all channels in one box for just this situation. When I bought the CAV-150 I did not know that in general it is not a good idea to bridge amps. I am wondering if bridging the amp has caused the problem to occur or at least is pushing the amp harder than it should be. I am thinking that it would be advantageous to have mono-blocks amps. I know the more boxes you have the bigger the chance of ground-loop-hum.
Like I said I am probably not going to do anything right now but would like to plan out some options and gather data so that I can make some intelligent decisions if needed. So here are the questions.
Does bridging an amp cause it to work harder? My speakers are normally 6 ohms (Apogee Slant 8).
I know about the Bryston 7B-ST mono-blocks, but are there any other SS amps I should check out. ($5000 a pair minus discounts)
Is considering 3 stereo amps a dumb idea. If not, is the 4B-ST a good choice. (A side note Classe' only has silver and blank amps any more and I would like an all black faceplate to match the rest of my equipment).
I will have a minimum of three weeks before the amp is return (I hope it is not a lot longer than that before the amp gets fixed) so 2 channel listening will be all I have for a while.
Thanks fore any info,
Mark
I have read several technical analyses about bridging amps. In general, it is true that although the total power goes up for an 8 ohm load, the current draw on the output goes up so that the amp becomes intolerant of lower speaker impedences. I think the current draw for an 8 ohm load is like that of a 4 ohm load and a 4 ohm load would draw equivalent to a 2 ohm load. Also I have a memory of seeing a review of the Apogees saying they are a difficult load for an amp----perhaps the impedance falls to a low value at some range of frequencies even though the dc resistance is nominally 6 ohms over most of the spectrum.Pete J
The CAV-150 is an excellent amp. Classe' knows that many, if not most, customers bridge this amp for HT applications. It was designed for this. Getting another amp would be a waste, IMO. I'm sure it will be fixed fine and you won't have to worry. Good luck!
Thanks for the input. I will e-mailing Classe today to see if I can get
any info. Robert Adams has always been very helpful.
Robert (Adam not Adams) is usually very helpful, but on more than one occasion I've sent e-mail to Classe and not received a reply. A little over a week ago I e-mailed Classe to find out what's going on with my preamp, which is being repaired. No reply thus far.
Yes you are right my typo. Sorry about the your preamp. I will be e-mailing latter today for information about my amp. I will post here if I get a response.
Mark that's too bad about your amp, hopefully everything works out, but I am wondering where you heard that "in general bridging an amp is a bad idea." I have been bridging a cav75 for about 6 months and I have never heard of anything like this before.
As for your 3 stereo amps for HT that would indeed be a good idea as long as you have the $$$ and the space (and an SPL meter.) Just a suggestion, as you are obviously a classe fan, I saw they put out a new 5 channel amp for $6500 that runs 250w into 8ohms and is rated to double down. However, I believe that it does not offer any bridging capabilities. I have not heard the new amp but physically it resembles the omega (silver faceplate). That would give you seven solid channels of amplification so you woould be covered if the ex thing ever takes off.
But, hopefully like you said, the cav150 returns working nicely and you don't have to throw down the extra cash.
I had a simular setup with the cav 150, I had it bridged across the fronts, never had a problem, but still thought it was weak in base, I finaly sold it and bought the ead powermaster 2000, it made a big difference, my speakers have really came alive,the only problem with ead is that they have lousy customer support, several email questions have never been answered
Thanks Rick. I am thinking if I change amps I will try the bryston 7B-ST
mono blocks. Currently I will wait and see what happens with the CAV-150.
I have two MX-200 sub for the low end plus the CAV-150 are driving the
rears. But I agree that this amp is the weak link.
On other broads people have mention that if the amp is bridged it will not handle hard loads. In other words if an amp is rated say 150w into 8 ohms and 300w into 4 ohms when bridged it will be rated 300w into 8 ohms only and should not be driving a 4 ohm load. Thanks for your in put.Mark
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