Monoblock vs Stereo Amps

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bluegrassphile

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What exactly are monoblock amps? Are two monaural amps bridged together stereo? Is a stereo amp two monoblock amps contained in one unit? How does that differ from two separate monoblock amps? Do two monaural channels bridged together = stereo? Thank you.
 
Some 2ch Stereo amps can be "Bridged to become a single ch Mono amp. Then you need 2 for stereo.

Mono Amps are just that, sold in pairs, or a single for say a Center channel in an HT setup

If you go Mono, you need more rack or floor space, 2 power outlets, 2 Power Cords

Then there are Pre-Amps like mine that are Dual Mono but in same chassis. I have 2 separate Volume Knobs.
 
A mono amp only supports amplification of a single channel. Stereo reproduction requires two channels, so a single stereo amp could be used or two mono amps. A stereo amp may internally contain two independent mono amps in one chassis (sometimes called a "dual mono" design), but in most cases they also share a common power supply. Two mono amps may be bridged to create one more powerful single channel amp (not stereo). Think that about covers it!
 
Ultimately I think I prefer the sound of a single stereo amp. Monoblocks, depending on make/model in my opinion, can sound a little cleaner, more neutral, tighter and maybe a little less sweet compared to the stereo equivalent. I’m not sure how many will agree with me, but a speaker repair gentleman I know felt that way and I agreed with his opinion.
 
To me it comes down to personal preference and convenience. I have had a few mono-block amplifier pairs and several stereo amplifiers. The mono amps take up more (twice) the space, twice the power connections, twice the power cords, etc., and in my view for very little if any improvements. Of the amps I have had the stereo ones tended to be more channel matched, especially when compared to tube mono-blocks.

But at the end of the day, I felt it was much easier to have a single box to deal with then trying to deal with two boxes for my amplification.
 
Monoblocks typically provide greater separation and increased soundstage. There’s more power and dedicated transformers for each channel as opposed to shared power/transformers for 2 or more channels.

There are dedicated mono amps in one single chassis but use 2 ac cords and totally separated internals.
 
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It has been my understanding that with monaural sound the instruments are not separated across the soundstage vs stereo, where you can hear the individual instruments and their position across the stage. Isn't monaural sort of like a transistor radio where the instruments are not separated by their position on the soundstage? Is that not correct? Weren't the old console mono hifis like that?

I may be totally wrong on this and confused about what stereo sound really is. I may also be confused with the recording process where the separation of sources across the soundstage is performed in the mixing stage of studio recording. Will you hear soundstage separation on a single monaural amp and recording? Or, do you need to have two mono amps, or stereo? You're right.....this is confusing.
 
In this type of configuration it is one amp powering the left channel and another powering the right. The stereo affect, sound stage, etc., would work in the same manner as a stereo amp. The theory goes that separating the channels can eliminate cross-talk, etc., and therefore increase separation and sound stage.
 
Tom.......Don't let yourself be confused by the term "mono". In fact a stereo presentation is two mono channels working together to produce a left and right channel signal. The information that is sent from your preamplifier to the left and right channel inputs on a stereo amplifier is the exact same information that is sent to left and right channel mono amplifiers. It is the combination of both channels that generate a stereo sound stage. It's no different than rotating your preamplifier balance control to full left or full right positions. In either position you are hearing mono from the left or right channel speaker. When the balance control is centered both channels are presented simultaneously.

As for sound stage, a well defined three dimensional presentation from a two channel stereo system is created during the process of mixing and mastering the recording, not by the configuration of power amplifiers in a sound system. Hope this helps.
 
Once again, Dan, you bring things down to an understandable level. It seems that I knew all this at one time. But I can't remember...LOL! Thank you again!


Tom
 
I had the opportunity to try several brands having stereo and mono amplifiers (incl. Switchable amplifiers like CH-precision) and each time came to the conclusion that I prefer mono in view of e.g. Staging and overall control. The same holds for my current VACs.
 
Almost all of manufacturers top models are mono designed whether in 1 box or 2 boxes. That didn't used to be the case.

But ultimately - the case the amp costs us at the consumer level - A LOT!!!!! and to put it in one case saves the consumer a bunch of money.

So it's hard to say. I think the general thing is that mono amps are better - whether in 1 box or 2.
 
Monoblock amplification is traditionally felt to have better separation due to totally separate power supplies, separate power supplies do require an extra power cord but less stress on a power supply allowing for headroom has been embraced by many audiophiles
 
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