LM1876 bridged or LM3886??

[aniruddha]

Which amplifier will be better, LM1876 bridged mode with +-25V DC or a single LM3886 with +-35V DC ?? both are around 50Watts

is it worth using lm1876 bridged than using lm3886 for a 8 ohm mid woofer?? because lm1876 is much cheaper than lm3886 (almost 1/3rd price)


Thanks
Aniruddha

[Nuuk]

LM1875 may be 1/3 the price but you need two instead of one! I would go with the single LM3866 or preferably the LM3875. Why make life more complicated than it need be?

[aniruddha]

Hi Nuuk,

Thanks for the prompt reply

lm1876 is 1/3 rd price and LM1876 is equivalent to 2 LM1875 ics

even if i dont care about price then also,

theoretically bridged amp has 4 times more power, that makes 4x25=100watts (theoretically)

also 1876 bridged amp can have maximum voltage of 50V (for supply voltage of +-25V) between two output.while single 3886 will have only 35V.

but i have no idea about the practical result.

please correct me if i am wrong

Thanks,
Aniruddha

[AndrewT]

Hi,
with a bridged arrangement, the circuit is more likely to run out of peak current ability into a reactive speaker load.
None of these chip amp are particulalry suited to low impedance loads. Bridging makes that worse.

[Nuuk]

It's helpful, if not essential when asking 'which amp' to tell us what speakers they will be driving. Think of the amp and speakers as one unit joined by the speaker cables.

From what I have read here over the past few years, many people new to this game think they must have much more power than they actually need. The golden rule with chip amps is use them with easy-to-drive speakers and you won't go far wrong.

[aniruddha]

thanks all for sharing your experience.

so finally i am continuing with single 3886.