Dual vs monoblock amplifiers

Is there a difference between a dual amplifier and a monoblock amplifier?

[@Stan_the_Belgian]

Monoblocks look badass

[@scotttipton6100]

Thank you Paul! A very insightful and concise answer.

[@richardsmith2721]

Another advantage of having two chassis is you can put it close to the speaker and use shorter speaker cables.

[@Harald_Reindl]

Lol - you missed any technical education - why?

[@richardsmith2721]

@@Harald_Reindl How did I miss it?

[@jareknowak8712]

Bc of damping factor?

[@Harald_Reindl]

@@richardsmith2721 I tried to not be abusive but its not possible: unless you plan some hundert meters of speaker cables it is irrelevant and any trained monkey with basic education above the age of 12 years knows that

[@YuengsNwings]

This would be true if you are susceptible to the cabling snake oil. There are no sonic benefits to shorter speaker cable unless you’re talking about unusually long runs.

[@edd2771]

Isn’t one main benefit of monoblocks that they can be positioned near each speaker which allows shorter speaker wire?

[@Pete.across.the.street]

The added cost of the amp will be greater than the savings on a few feet of speaker wire

[@edd2771]

@@Pete.across.the.street true. But people don’t use monoblocks to save on the cost of the wire.

[@Pete.across.the.street]

@@edd2771 so what would be the benefit? Cable management?

[@edd2771]

@@Pete.across.the.street Many audiophiles believe that the shorter the distance from the amp to the speaker, the better the signal transmission. This, in addition to the absence of cross talk and heat that Paul mentioned are often cited as a reason to use monoblocks. I found it strange he didn’t mention it. If you look at pictures of high end setups, the monoblocks are on the floor, near each speaker, not stacked in the middle with other components. Paul has spoken about this in another video where the title was something like What is better, shorter speaker wire or shorter interconnects?

[@jareknowak8712]

@@Pete.across.the.street Probably better damping factor, but im not sure if is worth mentioning.

[@milkman100001]

just received my 300's. unfortunately ive managed may have blown one of them. but what i would say is listening to only one of them at the moment i can hear theres a big difference over the 250. just sounds so smooth. cant wait for the other one to return so i can get down to some serious listening..

[@joeb4349]

Paul, besides better heat dissapation, monos just look better. To me the symmetrical look of two chunks of metal always look better than one chunk. Thanks for this post.

[@endrizo]

audio gear is not for looks.. everything must be for sound. close your eyes open your ears and heart.

[@Harald_Reindl]

What shitty environment do you have that you see your amplifiers?

[@addokwabina3096]

Thanks Paul as usual

[@ThinkingBetter]

For a given amount of money, you are most likely to get better value out of a stereo power amplifier. The notion of cross-talk in a modern stereo amplifier is definitely not a topic that should concern anyone playing vinyl where the cartridge itself is a disaster in cross-talk.

[@Roof_Pizza]

Yep, and the preamp as well.

[@tootime576]

Is there a measurable or audible benefit to having completely separate power supplies for each channel?

[@user-od9iz9cv1w]

One place dual mono works well is in the preamp. The output stage of my streamer/DAC is dual mono. The channels share the power cord. After that it is two separate power supplies to two discrete amplifiers.

[@Harald_Reindl]

But without any difference in the result "working well" is idiotic given that there is no difference without all that nonsense

[@user-od9iz9cv1w]

@@Harald_Reindl In your humble opinion...

[@Harald_Reindl]

@@user-od9iz9cv1w technical facts moron - it's measurable

[@Ody-up6kg]

Monoblocks also are easier to transport. These amps can get crazy heavy. Easier to place each one closer to the speaker also.

[@Harald_Reindl]

How often do you move your amplifiers? What do you think you gain with "closer to the speaker"?

[@SinusPrimus]

😎👍

[@Harald_Reindl]

@@SinusPrimus How often do you move your amplifiers? What do you think you gain with "closer to the speaker"?

[@reestyfarts]

My Red Dragon M500 monoblocks are 7.5 inches wide permitting a streaming device to reside between them. I like the format.

[@wilcalint]

Interesting discussion. My initial reaction would be by putting two amps in the same chassis, completely separate including power supply. Also the power supplies have seperate AC power Entry Connector Receptacles, female socket male spades. That would encourage users to plug the power sources into completely different AC feeds. Plug one into a socket on one side of the room the other into a socket on the other side of the room. Three potential things happen: #1 Both feed sockets are on the same circuit breaker same feed. Probably nothing gained nor lost. #2 Both feed sockets are not on the same circuit breaker. Minimum maybe a little ground loop hum Worse result potential chassis has some residual AC leakage. Gently rub your hand on the chassis and you kinda feel a little AC there. #3 One of the two feeds is miswired and fed from two different feeds from the power line and breaker box. This one can be dangerous. Maybe the amp blows up. Or pops a fuse or trips a breaker. Maybe if you touch the chassis you get electrocuted. I would NOT recommend a power amp of this design.

[@wilcalint]

Opps forgot one more thing # 4 if the two feeds coming from two different breakers are feed separately from two different phases from the house AC service and transformer. That's gonna be a problem.

[@ThinkingBetter]

@@wilcalint And the hardest part, you need to run the two channels on two different power plants just to be safe LOL...

[@wilcalint]

@@ThinkingBetter Many thanks to Paul for bringing back old memories. Normally designed power amplifiers will have a single power supply with a single feed. So you've got 115vac running around inside the chassis. If you have a power amp with two separate power supplies and two separate modular power connections you can then connect that box to two seperate power feeds. Lets use a common kitchen with 20A wall sockets. The house has a dual 115VAC feed, or, a "single phase" 220VAC. The two 115VAC feeds are 180 degrees out of phase. Runs your kitchen or clothes dryer. Reference: Why is common 220 voltage called "single phase" when obviously they are two sine waves involved that are 180 degrees out of phase? www.quora.com/Why-is-common-220-voltage-called-single-phase-when-obviously-they-are-two-sine-waves-involved-that-are-180-degrees-out-of-phase-I-would-call-that-two-phase So the super Audiophile connects his twin monoamp box, using 50ft extension cables, to two different 20A connections in the kitchen. Now what he has is 220VAC running around in that dual monoamp. That would exceed the safety design of that box.

[@Harald_Reindl]

To gain what? Doing something in a technical environment for no technical gain is idiotic

[@wilcalint]

@@Harald_Reindl Except in this case under discussion is the design of a consumer grade electrical appliance which is subject to local and national safety standards. Most devices of this type must or should meet UL, CSA and TUV standards and display such somewhere on the device. IMO, and I've been through the certification process several times, some of the devices under discussion here may not meet those standards.

[@randomtube8226]

Internal vs external power supplies. Witch is better?

[@rudolfglaser9664]

To avoid any crosstalk, even on the AC side, use power from different power suppliers, each with separate power lines!

[@workonesabs]

I'm using 4 x monoblocs for my Kef Reference speakers, 2 for each side, High Frequency and Low frequency. Maybe overkill, but having a total of 500w just for the main speakers is at least the amps don't even get warm, at even high volume.

[@donalddeorio2237]

I own an Adcom Gfa 535 amplifier and i decided to open it up and there were 2 transformers, 2 sets of capacitors, 2 sets of power transistors and 2 heat sinks. Though rated at 60 watts a channel its a beast and more powerful than its rated power

[@RanTausi]

I have ADCOM GFA 555mk2 and 545mk2 , but yes the 535 has dual transformers.

[@user-dh7lt4we2t]

active cooling?

[@fkaptijn7111]

A long tame ago i have listening to Cello mono blocks and they've als a seperate power supply.

[@vishnu148]

Hi Paul🙏🙏🙏

[@spacemissing]

Monoblocks may be good for systems where the speakers are far apart. For my purposes they would be an extreme measure I don't need.

[@dans550]

Oh Paul, your going to make me buy more stuff, I can't begin to afford BHK, but I can afford Emotiva BasX

[@googoo-gjoob]

the M1200 are might y close

[@dans550]

@@googoo-gjoob or not, I can get a pair of Emotiva BasX A1 200w monoblocks for well under a thousand, my speakers are Klipch klf20s 100db sensitivity, so im well inside thhe 10% rule for the majority of my listening, I'm using the BasX a2 now and it's dead silent at idle and super warm and dynamic, I probably won't spring for the monoblocks cuz I need a new couch.

[@googoo-gjoob]

@@dans550 agreed, M1200 would be oooverkill.

[@AllboroLCD]

Dual monos add more "cool" factor than anything, lets just be real here for a moment : D

[@ryanschipp8513]

Paul, I just went to your website to check out the bhk 300. Music and movies are full bandwidth. Why not list its true power ratings 20 HZ to 20 kilohertz?

[@Roof_Pizza]

Spec sheets have to go thru the marketing dept at least once before they are finalized.

[@ryanschipp8513]

@@Roof_Pizza not sure how that answers my question

[@Roof_Pizza]

@@ryanschipp8513 I think it explains everything tbh.

[@AT-wl9yq]

@@ryanschipp8513 It shows power ratings down to 2 ohms, so as long as your speakers don't drop below 2, that should be enough info. Maybe I don't understand your question, but what's listed seems to be enough.

[@ryanschipp8513]

@@AT-wl9yq human hearing is 20hz to 20khz. Music and movies are FULLBANDWIDTH. Not just a 1khz tone. So listing a power amplifiers wattage at anything other than full bandwidth is not telling the whole story. It's called fluffing numbers. My question is. Why fluff numbers? To me it's deceitful. Consider this analogy. You buy a car and they tell you it's a certain amount of horsepower. Afterwards you find out that isn't the horsepower that it is that they listed. How do you feel at that point?

[@diegolondrina7510]

hola

[@vidvidbiker]

If you want to go down the mono block route just buy two old integrated amps of the same model and split the inputs, r & l, between them - why folk buy overpriced purpose built mono blocks is a mystery to me.

[@geddylee501]

Did that years ago with a couple of pioneer A400 amps to try it out, the results were fantastic, as you'd imagine, more cohesion, tighter bass, better soundstage etc etc, only downside is two volume pots, one for right and one for left, but you get used to it For a cheap upgrade, this is a great idea

[@vidvidbiker]

@@geddylee501 can you not sink the remote control via the ports on the back of the amps? Then one remote works both amps - either that or stack them on top of each other and put a rubber band round both volume nobs 😎 to transfer the volume level.

[@geddylee501]

@@vidvidbiker one remote did control both amps yes 👍

[@stephensmall4172]

@vid vid I have just realised that I have 2 amps the same and would like to try this. Would you kindly explain how I connect my turntable, and to I link the amps in any way?

[@vidvidbiker]

@@stephensmall4172 I am no expert and I think due to how a cartridge works on a turntable that cross channel ghosting occurs at that stage so one amp per channel further down the line will not take that out (of course it is not going to add to it either!!!) So, setting that aside, then just put outputs from your turntable into a separate amp (phono stage input) making sure the left goes to the amp you will be hooking up to your lh speaker etc. You might need to get an extension for one side to make it reach.Hope that makes sense - I am no expert - just always looking for the cheap option for maximum musical fidelity! Good luck.

[@stevenholquin2127]

Dual Mono Bryston is The Bomb 💣 Built Like a Tank and Just Enough For Anything You Need in a Home Stereo System The 3-B and 4-B Oddly Enough is Not Stereo It’s Dual Mono Am Not a Audio Snob I Do Not Have Gold Plated Speaker Wire Or a Elliptical Hope Diamond 💎 Phonograph Cartridge That Set Me Back $15,000 Dollars 💵 Yet You Can Get Great Results From The Bryston 3-B or 4-B Jazz To Rock to 60’s Rhythm and Blues To Angel Classical Music The Other End Is a Phase Linear 700-B This Pig Is Just Power And I Have 3 And 3/Way Cross Over For Highs Mids and Lows Plus Two Self Powered Subs This System Rock Rolling Stones To Exile on Main Street To Sticky Fingers Bryston and Bob Carver Just Built To Take On Any Sound Endeavor

[@jasonkillsformomy]

"Class D amps are kinda noisy" Measurements show the opposite. BS Audio strikes again. PS Audio sure has a lot of excess space. Goes to show how ludicrously overpriced snake oil equipment is.