Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Meridian G57 Bridged or Stereo?

Hi,

I have a doubt regarding what is the best whether run an Amplifier Meridian G57 in bridge or stereo mode? According to specs teh G57 is a stereo amplifier reaching 200w @8 ohms. In bridge mode the power upscale to more than 650w @ 8 ohms and around 1000w @ 4 ohms.

Running an amp is bridge mode is really worth it?

The efificiency of my speakers is 90dB and am impedance of 3.5 ohms. My speakers really need power to handle bass. I have an option to buy a Classe Mono Amps CM400 spcs at 400w @ 8 ohms, but if the meridians in bridge mode produce larger power I do not see why to buy new amps!!!

If you have two G57s, why not try them in bridge mode and see what happens. If currently you only have one G57 working in stereo, then this will not work. There have been threads/comments in the past about G57s (and the earlier 557 and 559) where some users believe that the sound is "harder" in bridge mode. Instead, you could always buy new speakers!!

Tnahk you 123hifiman!

Well I am using the G57 in bridge mode so we are talking about more than 650 watts at 8 ohms per speaker.

My point is if in order to increase the quality if should I buy 2 additional G57 to use 2 amps bridged per speaker and bi-amplify or alternatively to acquire 2 "real power" mono amplifier as Classe, Krell, Mark Levinson, McInstosh, Rotel and bi-amplify.

Is the same result to bridge a stereo amplifier and use it as monoamplifier that a real monoamplifier (not stereo bridged)?

Thanks Jose

Jose, the consensus of opinion that I've seen suggests that bridging is the least satisfactory of the options (except with regards to comments I've read about Bel Canto Evo amps)because of the graininess that 123hifiman mentioned. Why haven't you tried bi-amping yet? I'm sure you can easily borrow some cables to do it and that would show whether 200 "Meridian amps" per channel are enough for your 802s.

I know that B&W speakers have a reputation for high power requirements but with the current that the M amps provide I'd be surprised if the G57s in vertical bi-amp configuration are not enough. If they aren't, I would check out the monobloc options rather than bridge but you're in an ideal position to try this for yourself. In the end, only your own ears can decide.

Steve

In many cases the result is not the same when you bridge a stereo amp compared to a true mono block amplifier. When you bridge an amp, you are summing the output stages of the two channels which has the same effect as wiring a load in parallel to the amp. So if your speaker load is 8 Ohms, the amp really sees 4 Ohms when configured in parallel. When the amp is bridged, it produces the more power by increasing the output voltage but the current capacity stays the same. I'd be very careful about using a stereo amp in a bridged mono configuration if the speaker in question is a difficult load to drive for a regular configuration amp.