[Bingenito]

Has anyone compared a high quality multi-channel or stereo amp to mono blocks?

My speakers are rated at 95 DB, 5 ohm load and cover 60Hz on up. Below 60Hz is handled by 4 subs and a separate amp.

I currently have a Sim Titan driving my front and rear speakers. At the 4-5 Ohm impedance the amp is rated at 400 watts per channel. With the efficiency of my speakers I do not come close to the pushing the amp.

Still I have to ask is there any benefit to going with mono blocks? If so what are they?

Any amp recommendations (no tubes please)

Thank you

[Lost81]

One immediate benefit is that you will have VERY short speaker cable runs.

I have 2 pairs of 10 feet Monster Sigma Reference 2 Speaker Cables, and after I went the monoblock route, my speaker cable length requirements have changed to:

1 pair of 1 feet & 1 pair of 2 feet.

The massive thickness of the speaker cables render the excess lengths (9 feet and 8 feet) a nightmare to route.


-Lost81

[Vinnie R.]

Still I have to ask is there any benefit to going with mono blocks? If so what are they?

Any amp recommendations (no tubes please)

Thank you

Mono blocks have their own dedicated power supply and enclosure for only one channel.  A stereo or multichannel amp usally shares a power supply for all the channels, and the amp stages are close together, so there is more interaction between to them (ex. crosstalk).

I heard good things about the new Channel Islands Monoblocks.  see www.ciaudio.com

-Vinnie

[Lost81]

Another variant are "dual-mono stereo amplifiers."
That is, the 2 amplifier modules only share a common chassis, star ground, IEC socket, power cord and power switch. The rest are separate. It provides most of the advantages of the monoblock configuration without most of the additional costs.


-Lost81

[Marbles]

Another variant are "dual-mono stereo amplifiers."
That is, the 2 amplifier modules only share a common chassis, star ground, IEC socket, power cord and power switch. The rest are separate. It provides most of the advantages of the monoblock configuration without most of the additional costs.


-Lost81

The Odyssey dual mono only shares the case....true monoblocks down to two power cables!!!

[Lost81]

The Odyssey dual mono only shares the case....true monoblocks down to two power cables!!!

That's interesting.
Does it have 2 power switches?


-Lost81

[Bingenito]

Thank you for the responses. I am very familiar with amp topology. I should have been more specific.

Has anyone replaced a Stereo or Multi-channel amp with a mono block of the same caliber and noticed a sonic improvement?

In my scenario there is little to no stress on the amp because the speakers are so sensitive. Just wondering if anyone has experience with shared power supplies vs. mono in this situation.

[dado5]

Bingenito,

I have had both the Rogue 88 stereo and 120 monoblock amps in my home using the same source and speakers.  I heard no qualitative difference between them.  I did not even perceive any extra 'headroom' or any other qualities that may have pointed to the 60-watt power advantage of the 120.  Certainly no difference in imaging, which would have been the telltale improvement expected from a monoblock. With the exception of paralleled output tubes and the separate power supplies, the 120's are identical circuit wise to the 88.  This is as close as one can come to isolating mono vs. stereo IMO.

Rob

[markC]

The Odyssey dual mono only shares the case....true monoblocks down to two power cables!!!

That's interesting.
Does it have 2 power switches?


-Lost81

Yes, it does. It also has 2 transformers and 2 seperate cicuit boards. It truly is 2 seperate amps in 1 case.

[Bingenito]

I have had both the Rogue 88 stereo and 120 monoblock amps in my home using the same source and speakers. I heard no qualitative difference between them.

Your reply makes sense and is what I would expect. Unless you require more power I can't see how a mono block could help.

[andyr]

However, if both channels share the one power supply then a strong base transient on one channel is likely to deplete the PS caps, causing the power rail in the other channel to sag slightly.  If the music playing in the other channel is predominantly treble music then you will hear distortion (I think this is is called Inter-Modulation distortion?).

Having one complete power supply including transformer for each channel prevents this happening.  Having a separate mains cable, IEC socket, power switch and fuse is just "icing on the cake"!!

Regards,

Andy

[Bingenito]

OK Makes sense. Lets say you have 400 watts per channel and 95 DB sens speakers. You normally listen at 80-85 db with peaks at say 92-95

I assume that with the headroom on the amp distortion is not an issue

True or false

[andyr]

OK Makes sense. Lets say you have 400 watts per channel and 95 DB sens speakers. You normally listen at 80-85 db with peaks at say 92-95

I assume that with the headroom on the amp distortion is not an issue

True or false

Hi, Bingenito,

All I can say is ... possibly!  There are so many slight changes which can affect your sound (re-arranging the position of cables, lifting your speaker cables off the floor (I think this reduces capacitance?) ... etc.) that it is very hard to definitively state such things.

The only way you will KNOW that it does not affect the sound with your speakers and your listening levels is to actually try it.  I myself am no help to you (in terms of comparing!) because I have 6 monoblocks for my 3-way active Maggie IIIas.  I know this gives me the ultimate so I did not screw around with any lesser alternatives.  And, yes, I went for separate power cords etc.!

Regards,

Andy