A23 bridged into lsi15s

[cbl117]

I want to run 2 parasound A23s bridged mono into my lsi15s. I've only seen specs for 8ohms in bridged mode. Is this safe on 4ohm speaks? Could I biamp, or is it too much hassle for what its worth?

[SolidSqual]

I believe the A23 only runs 8ohms bridged. Call Parasound. The line is never busy and they are extremely helpful. They could answer your question quickly.

[dorokusai]

Safe. If you reach protection level with the Parasound A23, at your unknown listening levels....you need another amplifier anyways.

[AndyGwis]

Safe.
Mark's a wise dude. . . but give Parasound a call just in case :o

Better safe than sorry. I wouldn't run 4 ohm speakers on bridged amps, unless it was stated somewhere in the specs, but that's just me.

You can biamp without running them in mono, right?!?

[dorokusai]

I would run them, and have, but that's just me.

[AndyGwis]

You're crazy man, but I like you. You're crazy. . . man (in best Will Farrell Old School voice)

[venomclan]

I find that running any amp in bridged mode tends to add more distortion into the background, and therefore eliminate the advantage of the extra power. I would actively biamp or get a more powerful amp if needed. YMMV.
V

[cbl117]

your my boy blue, your my boy.

Thanks for the responses. Theres a parasound a23 and p3 set for sale on ebay. looks tempting, but wasn't sure if running the amps bridged into 4ohms was safe.

I'm really on the hunt for a tube pre, but saw the a23/p3 combo and it got me thinking...

[cmy330go]

....I'm really on the hunt for a tube pre, but saw the a23/p3 combo and it got me thinking...

The Halo P3 and A23 make a great combo. I used that combo including the matching T3 tuner in my 2ch system for quite sometime. The only reason I'm not currently using them is due to my current interest in tubes.

Doro is right though. It is very unlikely that you would have any trouble running bridged.

[Emlyn]

your my boy blue, your my boy.

Thanks for the responses. Theres a parasound a23 and p3 set for sale on ebay. looks tempting, but wasn't sure if running the amps bridged into 4ohms was safe.

I'm really on the hunt for a tube pre, but saw the a23/p3 combo and it got me thinking...

Get a different preamp instead. A single A23 is plenty powerful enough for the LSi15's. The problem with running bridged with an A23 is heat buildup, so if the A23 doesn't have a lot of room above it (heat sinks are inside the case) it will overheat and trip the protection circuit. Heat buildup is why Parasound recommends in writing only running bridged only into 8 ohm loads, otherwise they could be potentially liable from a legal perspective. A much better option than running two A23's is running one A21, which can be bought used for the price of two used A23's.

[Gaara]

I would be worried about heat. I ran a pair of LSi7s off the A23, which is a easier load then the 15s, and the amp was always very warm all over and hot after movies. I would be worried about shortening the life of your amps if you were running a more difficult load on them and then bridging.

You could test it out, play music or movies at your normal listening level then turn the amp off, set it to bridged, and hook it into one speaker. See if it goes into protect mode with one speaker being run, or if it gets to hot after a short period of time. You won't really be able to tell a difference in sound quality since it is only one speaker going, but it would tell you if the amp has a problem with it.

Jared

[dorokusai]

Class A biased amps are meant to be hot.

[Gaara]

I mean getting to hot. I had my A23 running a pair of LSi7s as rear surrounds and after a movie it was to hot to keep my hand on for more then a few seconds. I could only imagine how hot it would get with bridged LSi15s.

[AndyGwis]

Class A biased amps are meant to be hot.

I don't know if they are class A or not, but when I got my first real stereo amp, a B&K ST-202, I was really worried about how hot it got. I even PM'd a couple other B&K owners on the forum and emailed/called B&K Support.

The Support guy calls me back, asks "where does it get hot?" I tell him near the back it's hottest. He says "near the huge heat sinks?" I say, "yeah, near the huge heat sinks". . . and he responds "that's why it has HUGE HEAT SINKS."

Good times being a noob. . . good times.

[cbl117]

Thanks for the replies. After some more thought, I'm thinking about getting an anthem pre 2l to replace the avr. If I ever feel the need for more power I'll sell the a23 and go from there...maybe a21 used?

anyone know where I can find a good deal on an anthem pre 2l?:D

[AndyGwis]

Agon, ebay, Polk FM, jb audio pimp. . . the usual suspects.

[AndyGwis]

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preatube&1182359047

[cbl117]

Thanks for the link andy.

I need silver faceplate and was looking to keep the price around $500. I don't think I'll find the SE version for that price.

[AndyGwis]

Did you see this one? http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preatube&1181719113

In CA, too.

[appadv]

I think the unit will not be very stable into a 4-ohm load.

Parasound only lists the bridged spec at 8 ohms, so I would believe it is not possible with a 4-ohm load.

[schwarcw]

I would bi-amp, do not bridge to a 4 ohm speaker. Emlyn is right, a bigger amp like the A21 would probably give you the dynamics you want.

[dorokusai]

Audio tinkerbelles....is that all thats left around here?

[cfrizz]

:D WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! It certainly looks like it doesn't it Mark?:eek: :D

But have no fear, I have ZERO interest in tinkering. I'm to busy listening!!!:D

Audio tinkerbelles....is that all thats left around here?

[cbl117]

Did you see this one? http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preatube&1181719113

In CA, too.

Yeah I saw that one, but i'm not sure if I should spend the extra money and get the 2l. Does anyone know if the sound quality will be drastically different between the 1L and 2L?

Also is $450 a good price for a Pre 1L?