NAD C372 in bridge mode?

[Music4Life]

I am getting a second hand C372. So, I will have 2 C372 and I am planning to use each (mono) to power each speaker. Will there be a significant changes on the overall sound quality? It can now pump out 300 watts/channel (8 ohms), compare to 150 if use as integrated. Will it hurt my speaker?

[whoaru99]

I am getting a second hand C372. So, I will have 2 C372 and I am planning to use each (mono) to power each speaker. Will there be a significant changes on the overall sound quality? It can now pump out 300 watts/channel (8 ohms), compare to 150 if use as integrated. Will it hurt my speaker?

I would expect more than 300w from the NAD operating in bridged mode if the amp normally produces 150wpc at 8 ohms. Usually, the bridged mode power is equal to 2x the 4 Ohm power rating.

Anyway....

Having that much (potential) power connected to your speakers will not inherently damage them. Damage CAN result if YOU abuse that power.

[Music4Life]

I would expect more than 300w from the NAD operating in bridged mode if the amp normally produces 150wpc at 8 ohms. Usually, the bridged mode power is equal to 2x the 4 Ohm power rating.

Anyway....

Having that much (potential) power connected to your speakers will not inherently damage them. Damage CAN result if YOU abuse that power.

Will there be any improvement on sound quality?

[whoaru99]

Will there be any improvement on sound quality?

That's a loaded question...

Depends on what all you lump in with sound quality.

If dynamics and ability to reproduce cleaner peak levels are your criteria for better sound, then yes, there should be some improvement. However, given the NAD is fairly powerful and has decent headroom even in normal stereo mode, the potential benefits probably will not be apparent until you are playing the system at pretty high volume levels. If your speakers are of low sensitivity the power benefit may be apparent at more moderate volume levels.

When it comes to pureness of sound quality, the stuff I've seen tends to imply that bridged operation is, at least theoretically, not conducive to improvement purely in terms of sound quality (without respect to volume).

This is because a bridged amp not only adds together the output power of both channels, it also adds together the distortion of both channels. Also, I believe the amplifiers damping factor is cut in half. Now, whether or not all that amounts to an audible effect I can't say.

Also, when bridged, many consumer-grade amps don't like 4 Ohm speakers because that is like running the amp in stereo mode using 2 Ohm speakers - that may or may not be another consideration for you.