XPA-2 bridged

[razor]

I am thinking of bridging two XPA-2 power amps to give me more power per speaker.

Has anyone done this?

How does (do) the XPA-2 sound when bridged...as good as normal set up, worse, or better....or no change?

The speakers will be 8 ohm loads.

Thanks for your expertise!

[strindl]

Do you already have the XPA-2's or will you be buying them specifically for this purpose? The bridging option for the XPA-2 is a really nice feature that makes the amps more flexible, but if you are buying them specifically to bridge them, you'd honestly be better off buying two XPA-1's.

The XPA-1's give you the advantage of being fully balanced as well as being able to drive speakers with a rated resistance below 8 ohms.

[razor]

I already have one XPA-2, and that's why I was thinking of getting another so I can bridge each.

By having two of them, if one laid down on me I would still have one XPA-2 to operate in stereo mode.

I was just wondering what this model sounds like if bridged.

I do appreciate your thoughts on this.....

[magnepan]

I started out with 1 xpa-2 that replaced my Anthem Statement amp which was driving Magnenpan2.7's what a major improvement. Anthem totally missed the mark on the low end extension and mid bass slam! I spoke personally with Dan and Lonnie about bridging the amp and getting another. Have had zero issues and all I can say is I have a system now that has massive amount of detail and endless power. Yes the XPA-1's maybe a more suitable choice for 4 ohms but Maggies our very stable at 4 ohms with very little swing downward like Martin Logans which will basically go to a dead short. If you are running 8 ohms these amps will just be at idle.

[razor]

Yes.....I am running Klipsch LaScalas with the ALK crossover, which Al confirms as presenting a steady 8 ohm load......

My plan is to bridge the two XPA-2s, one for each LaScala....

As most of you know the Klipsch can be driven by less than a watt but can handle any power you put to them.....

Hence that is why I asked if there is a reduction in sound quality from the XPA-2 in bridged mode.....

Any opinions will be greatly appreciated...

[razel]

There is no reduction in sound quality as measured by Audioholics. In fact there was a 10db improvement in one of their measurements. I don't remember if it was for one watt or max wattage.

[drmark]

Interesting point about the ohms. I am interested in a pair of Dali Helicon 400 MKII or the Helicon 800 MKII. They are both 4 ohm speakers. Is the XPA-2 a problem at 4 ohms in stereo mode or just if it's bridged?
So Stereo, 1 XPA 2 - 4 ohms ok
Bridged, 2 XPA-2's - 4 ohms =bad things happen

[roadrunner]

The XPA-2 is only Ohm rating sensitive when being used in its "bridged" mode. Do NOT use it with any load under 8 Ohms. In its normal "stereo" mode the XPA-2 is stable with loads as low as 2 Ohms, but Emotiva lists it as being stable for 4 Ohm speakers.

Bottom line... don't worry about what speakers you connect it to UNLESS you run it in bridged mode. If in bridged mode make sure you only hook it up to speaker rated at 8 Ohms or higher.

[strindl]

Nov 5, 2010 9:04:21 GMT -5 drmark said:

Interesting point about the ohms. I am interested in a pair of Dali Helicon 400 MKII or the Helicon 800 MKII. They are both 4 ohm speakers. Is the XPA-2 a problem at 4 ohms in stereo mode or just if it's bridged?
So Stereo, 1 XPA 2 - 4 ohms ok
Bridged, 2 XPA-2's - 4 ohms =bad things happen

as RR has already posted, all of the Emotiva amps have no trouble at all with a 4 ohm load when not running bridged. Bridging a stereo amp halves the resistance that the amp sees. A 4 ohm speaker hooked to a bridged XPA-2 would actually be a 2 ohm load to the amp. That's not an emotiva thing, that happens when you bridge any stereo amp. It's just physics.

[strindl]

I have a pair of XPA-1's an XPA-2 and an XPA-5 and all of those amps are driving 4 ohm speakers with no trouble whatsoever. The Thiel 3.6's hooked to my XPA-1's actually drop down below 4 ohms for substantial parts of the frequency spectrum....the XPA-1's handle that without breaking a sweat.

[magnepan]

I have magnepan2.7's 4 ohms load and 2 XPA-2's bridged I have absolutely no problems driving them. I personally spoke with Dan on the phone about this along with Lonnie since I was considering moving into the XPA-1's. Both said no problem what so ever. The problem will be come if you wall outlet can deliver enough current to the amps without sagging the line or more simply dropping the voltage too low so the amp then goes into protect mode. Most homes breaker panels are wired up to many circuits and these amps draw massive amount of power. My home theater has a dedicated circuit for xpa--2's

[jackfish]

Magnepan loudspeakers are a fairly consistent 4 Ohm load. Driving various other kinds of 4 Ohm loudspeakers with a bridged XPA-2 could certainly be problematic.

[magnepan]

Yes Jackfish your right to a point Magnepans are fairly stable at 4 ohms but they do dropped down below 4 ohms depending upon the frequency range that is true for any speaker period. I had considered buying a pair of Martin Logans which are 4 ohms but can go right down to a dead short if pushed hard enough. I had no issues what so ever driving those speakers bridged with both XPA-2's. The issue I had with them is when they were not on there own designated circuit they draw so much powered bridged that you can't supply enough line voltage without sagging the line, hence they go into protect mode. I believe this well documented about these amps! Lonnie has even suggested to run them on 220v like the XPA-1 because simply majority of homes have too many things on one circuit that can cause of massive line voltage drop! Well if you don't believe that is fine but I wish Lonnie or Dan would chime in on this since they were the ones that said no problem.