Speaker Outputs; Bridging Considerations - JL Audio XD600 Owner's Manual

SPEAKER OUTPUTS

The XD600/6v2's speaker outputs are designed
to accept 16 AWG - 8 AWG wire. To connect the
speaker wires to the amplifier, first back out the
set screws on the top of the terminal block, using
the supplied 2.5 mm hex wrench. Strip 1/2 inch
(12 mm) of insulation from the end of each wire
and insert the bare wire into the terminal block,
seating it firmly so that no bare wire is exposed.
While holding the wire in place, tighten the set
screw firmly, taking care not to strip the head of
the screw.
Each pair of the XD600/6v2's channels
are designed to deliver power into speaker
loads equal to or greater than 2 ohms when
using a "stereo" configuration and speaker
loads equal to or greater than 4 ohms
when using a "bridged" configuration.
Speaker loads below 2 ohms nominal
per channel (or 4 ohms bridged) are
not recommended and may cause the
amplifier to initiate a protection mode
which reduces power output.

BRIDGING CONSIDERATIONS

Bridging is the practice of combining the
output of two amplifier channels to drive a single
load. When bridged, each channel produces
signals of equal magnitude, but opposite polarity.
The combined output of the two channels
provides twice the output voltage available from a
single channel. The XD600/6v2 has been designed
for bridging of its main channel pairs without the
need for input inversion adaptors.
To bridge a pair of channels, use the "Left +"
and "Right –" speaker connectors only (the
"Left –" and "Right +" remain unused). When
bridged, each channel will deliver optimum
power into a 4 ohm load.
10 | JL Audio - XD600/6v2 Owner's Manual
When a pair of channels are bridged, they
will deliver 200W x 1 into a 4 ohm load or
150W x 1 into an 8 ohm load. Operating a
pair of bridged channels into a load lower
than 4 ohms is not recommended.
A bridged pair of channels requires that both
channels in the pair receive input. You must
connect the mono or stereo source signal to
both the left and right inputs of the bridged
channel pair. Connection of only one input
will result in reduced power output, increased
distortion and can cause the amplifier to
overheat. Do not do this!
When a pair of the XD600/6v2's channels are
operating in bridged mode, the output will be in
mono (only one channel). This mono channel can
contain only right channel information, only left
channel information, or the sum of the signals
from right and left input channels. In order to
achieve one of these options, configure the inputs
to that pair of channels in one of these two ways:
1) Left Channel Only or Right Channel Only
Information: If you wish to send a left-only or
right-only signal to a pair of the XD600/6v2's
channels you must use a "Y-Adaptor" to split
the single channel signal into both left and
right RCA inputs of the bridged channel pair.
This option is used when deploying a pair of
the XD600/6v2's channels to drive left channel
speakers only and anothe other pair of the
XD600/6v2's channels to drive right channel
speakers only.
2) Left + Right Channel Information: When
bridged and fed by a stereo source signal, a
bridged pair of the XD600/6v2's channels will
automatically combine the left and right input
signals into a summed mono (left + right)
input signal.