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Bridged Operation
Y our Proceed amplifier has been designed to be extremely versatile. Should your
needs change or grow over time, you may wish to add additional power by one
of two means: Bridging, or Biamping. We will discuss bridged operation first.
Bridging Explained
Bridging refers to the act of reconfiguring the circuitry in two channels of your
amplifier to act as though it were a single, much larger amplifier. (Of course, this
reduces the number of available channels; you may need more amplifiers to
make up the difference.)
Bridging is accomplished by sending a normal signal to one channel and an in-
verted signal to the other. In this configuration, one channel will always be "push-
ing" when the other is "pulling." By connecting the loudspeaker leads across the
left and right red output terminals, the amplifier can now deliver twice the nor-
mal voltage to the loudspeaker. Working together this way, the two amplifier chan-
nels can deliver about four times the power to a speaker that a single channel
could deliver on its own.
Bridged operation is particularly beneficial with low sensitivity, high-impedance
loudspeakers (8
or higher) that have a greater need for voltage than for current.
It is not recommended for low-impedance loudspeakers, as the speaker's imped-
ance is "split" by the two halves of the amplifier. Thus the bridged amplifier "sees"
a 2
load when connected to a 4
loudspeaker. Delivery of high power into
such a low impedance creates a great deal of heat that needs to be dissipated.
(Of course, your amplifier is protected against overheating, but having an ampli-
fier shut itself down even temporarily can put a damper on the evening's enter-
tainment.)
Balanced Bridging
If your preamplifier has balanced outputs, you should use them. For this discus-
sion, we will assume that you are using a Madrigal Balanced Bridging Kit for
each channel to be bridged. (Alternatively , you may have custom cables built us-
ing your preferred wire and connectors, being careful to follow the wiring dia-
gram below.)
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