Does bridging a ss power amp affect its tone/specs/etc.?

J

joegold

Fractal Fanatic
In general...
Do a ss power amp's specs (other than output power) change at all when it's run in mono-bridged mode?
Or would any noticeable change in tone be due to Fletcher Munson or sim phenomena?

I've got a rented ART SLA1 over here right now and there does seems to be a subtle change in tone when running it bridged. Essentially less highs & more bass when bridged.
Obviously it's capable of being louder when bridged, but I'm A/B'ing at similar volume levels.

Any info appreciated.
 
I am not a specialist, so take it as the experience of an amateur: AFAIK it depends on how it's done. There are amps where it's no problem, others where it is sub optimal. With my Carvin DCM1000 I didn't notice a difference when it was bridged, but that is also a solid amp with loads of iron. We have a noname amp with the band for monitoring, and it sounds really bad when it's bridged, kinda wrong dynamics and lacking mids.
 
Ditto hunter's posting. IMO, a good quality SS power amp won't color your sound, no matter whether you're running stereo, parallel or bridged.
 
I've got an SLA-1 that I've only ever run bridged, so I'm of no help really, but I'd like to hear the input on this one.
 
xrist04 said:
Ditto hunter's posting. IMO, a good quality SS power amp won't color your sound, no matter whether you're running stereo, parallel or bridged.
Click to expand...

I dunno.
Since I've had my Ultra I've run it through the following power amps:
1. Art SLA-2
2. ART SLA-1
3. QSC PLX 1104
4. Yorkville AP 2020

And they all sound different. I.e. They all color the sound to one degree or another.

Of course none of these are really "hi-end" power amps.
I'd like to try a Bryston 2B with the Ultra, but I'd never actually buy it or take it out on gigs.
Too expensive and too heavy.
What do you consider to be a "good quality ss power amp"?

I was hoping that the power amp of my Pearce G2r would work for me but it makes the Axe sound sort of odd. It's power amp was designed to mimick a tube amp by having very loose damping and a bit more presence than a typical ss power amp. Use in conjunction with the G2r's preamp it's quite musical sounding. But it doesn't do the Axe justice IMO.
The G2r's power amp can also be run bridged and this defeats the loose damping, but it still doesn't sound as good as a dedicated ss power amp to my ears.

I've pretty much convinced myself to buy the SLA-1, based on form-factor and sound.
It's plenty loud enough bridged (260 watts) to drive a single EVM-12L for most of my gigs.
If and when I go stereo it's loud enough too, @ 100 watts per side, for most of the things I'm likely to do.
It's pretty light weight and also happens to fit nicely, depth-wise, into the rack space I have in my old Pearce cabinet.
Keeping the power amp in the Pearce cabinet allows me to keep my little 6-space rack as light as possible (Axe, Power Conditioner, Tuner).
I'd buy an SLA2 if it fit the Pearce cabinet as well, but it doesn't. It sounds better to me than the SLA1.

The SLA1 sounds pretty good to me bridged.
I can't really say if it sounds better unbridged, but it does sound a bit different.

But I keep thinking "What if?".
Too many decisions.
 
Cant see there being much difference. However, if you bridge the amp then your getting more headroom rather than more volume (though you'll get more of that too) so for the Same volume in both senarios, the better headroom MAY give a slightly different tone - but it should be a truer tone if you get me.

Personally I run my SLA-1 bridged all the time - not for the volume, but the headroom. Its never up full !! but sound really nice through my 2x12.
 
I use a Bryston 3B and can't tell any difference (other than potential volume) between bridged or not bridged.

BTW:

Bryston makes AWESOME SS amps!!! Highly recommended for the studio and built like a tank.

Rodney
 
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