Amplifier Bridging - Rockford Fosgate Power 360 Installation Manual

AMPLIFIER BRIDGING

Operating an amplifier in the "bridged" or "strapped mono"
mode means driving one speaker or speaker system with two
amplifier channels. Each channel will put out full power into its
half of the speaker load, so the system can drive the speaker with
double the power that a single amplifier channel would be
capable of.
When amplifiers are bridged into a single speaker, each
amplifier "sees"
New Rockford-Fosgate amplifiers are designed so that con-
necting the amplifier for bridged mode is a simple matter of
using the correct speaker leads as shown in the appropriate
system diagram. In these amplifiers, one channel of each pair is
inverted in the amplifier. In normal stereo use, the inverted
channel output is connected to the negative lead of its speaker
load, thus preserving the system's polarity. In bridged mode, the
inverted channel is connected to the negative lead of the
speaker to be bridged, and the positive lead of the speaker is
connected to
of-phase drives required for bridged operation.
The Power 650 and Power 360 are designed so that the four
amplifier sections can be bridged in several ways. Right and Left
High-Frequency
Left Low-Frequency channels can be bridged, the Right High
and Right Low channels can be bridged together, and the Left
High and Left Low channels can be bridged. These combina-
tions allow an
biamplified, and hybrid bridged systems.
The Amplifier Block Diagram shows a simplified diagram of the
crossover and amplifier system. In the amplifier blocks, the
input shows a "+" for the non-inverted channels and a "-" for the
inverted channels. Each "+" channel can be mated to a "-"
channel into a bridged speaker load.
half of the
the non-inverted
channels can
unmatched
total speaker
channel. This
be bridged,
flexibility in
- 4 -
impedance.
provides the out-
the Right High
designing stereo,
and