funny way of thinking.....

[seteven100]

ok here is my idea

i will purchase four RB-1080s

with one i will bridge and send to the bass end of one speaker. then with another amp ill bridge and send to the high level...get the idea? lol.

so basically i have 1 bridged amp per speaker ...

wonder how it will sound? any ideas?

[Nuthed]

Are you saying you want to bridge the amps and then use them in a bi-amp configuration with 2 bridged amps per speaker?

If so, I think bridging an amp is a bad idea under most circustances you are likely to encounter in the home environment. Bridging tends to bring out the worst in an amplifer. The amplifer will sound grainy and harsh. It will run warmer than an unbridged one, this may or may not be a problem for you.

Bridging is really about coaxing every last bit of power out of an amp. This is useful in PA and professional sound reinforcement environments where top notch SQ may not be the primary concern, not at home.

Why not just get 2 amps and use them in stereo mode with one amp per speaker? The left and right channel of an amp would each receive the same input from your pre/pro. The left channel would feed the low pass section and the right channel would feed the high pass section, or vice versa. Then do the same for the other speaker. You would be doing whats called vertical bi-amping.

[gd]

Agreed.

Bridging tends to bring out the worst in an amplifer. The amplifer will sound grainy and harsh. It will run warmer than an unbridged one, this may or may not be a problem for you... This is useful in PA and professional sound reinforcement environments

This has been my direct experience; the difference was clearly audible... since then I've read more than once that bridging routinely raises the distortion level.

Even the suggested vertical bi-amping may not yield an appreciable improvement, though it shouldn't degrade anything... most users report that if bi-amping is desired, the best chance of hearing an improvement is to open the speaker up, bypass the internal crossover and install an outboard crossover – lotsa work for a 'maybe'.

But if you've got the time and money, might be fun to try bi-amping... it is a 'tinkering' hobby, after all.

The bigger issue is amp-speaker-room matching... I'm lazy; my solution would be to buy substantial, clean, high-current amplification to begin with, even if it means overkill... those 1080s are no slouches – depending on your speakers and room, they may be all you need.

[Kevin D]

Aside from the reasons mentioned not to do it, your biggest issue is that the 1080 can't be bridged.

Kevin D.

[miner]

The RB-1070 can be bridged to 1 x 330 watts - but Harm. Dist. will increase also.

[jalyra]

I would recommend with the money of 4 RB-1080s to buy just one higher quality stereo amp. You will get a much better sound out of it. Brand new the RB-1080 should be around 800-1,000 us dlls. Just think what kind of amp you could buy with $4,000!!

[Tha Freak]

I would recommend with the money of 4 RB-1080s to buy just one higher quality stereo amp. You will get a much better sound out of it. Brand new the RB-1080 should be around 800-1,000 us dlls. Just think what kind of amp you could buy with $4,000!!

totally agreed !! :T

just one step up into the Classé class !! but a very nice step !!!

[htsteve]

I would recommend with the money of 4 RB-1080s to buy just one higher quality stereo amp. You will get a much better sound out of it. Brand new the RB-1080 should be around 800-1,000 us dlls. Just think what kind of amp you could buy with $4,000!!

I too totally agree. With a $3-4k budget, you can get into a very good used amp from Mcintosh, Classe or Krell. I have Mac's in my system, so I can definitely recommend those.


Hope this helps.