Edit: "dual mono block" instead of "dual mono"
Is it possible to achieve a dual mono block like sound by using two AVRs?
Like - by - using a left channel out from the DAC to one AVR - and then only connecting one speaker to that AVR.
Right channel to the other AVR and then connecting the right speaker to that AVR.
Transformer will have to work less to power each channel - being connected to only 1 speaker. Channel separation, and imaging etc should be better..reducing crosstalk of the signal and improving channel separation?
Separate transformers and capacitor banks, meaning the power drops from each channel wont influence themselves as much and that should improve the stereo separation.
Question is will be perceptibly so.
thoughts?
Paul of PS audio says - go ahead go for it!
N.B:
2002 Harman Kardon HK 3550 AVR : https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/harman-kardon/avr3550.shtml
Speakers : Irving M Bud Fried Signature A 6 transmission line speakers from 1997
https://tmraudio.com/speakers/floor...iO_NGORPUc4E3fHCNF_wdnHHOef68G61e2cy0XyqD9ogN
Is it possible to achieve a dual mono block like sound by using two AVRs?
Like - by - using a left channel out from the DAC to one AVR - and then only connecting one speaker to that AVR.
Right channel to the other AVR and then connecting the right speaker to that AVR.
Transformer will have to work less to power each channel - being connected to only 1 speaker. Channel separation, and imaging etc should be better..reducing crosstalk of the signal and improving channel separation?
Separate transformers and capacitor banks, meaning the power drops from each channel wont influence themselves as much and that should improve the stereo separation.
Question is will be perceptibly so.
thoughts?
Paul of PS audio says - go ahead go for it!
N.B:
2002 Harman Kardon HK 3550 AVR : https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/harman-kardon/avr3550.shtml
Speakers : Irving M Bud Fried Signature A 6 transmission line speakers from 1997
https://tmraudio.com/speakers/floor...iO_NGORPUc4E3fHCNF_wdnHHOef68G61e2cy0XyqD9ogN
Last edited:
I found this discussion especially by Jonathan Carr to be quite good: https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/dual-power-transformers.10225/
Not simultaneously but can use the volume dial in each to get the same digital numerical levels
As long as you don't drive your stereo amp to the clipping condition, there will be not much advantage of separating amplifier blocks in 2 mono boxes.
And if someone is worry about absolute hifi performance, he/she should operate the amplifier way below the clipping condition.
In addition, a good power amplifier design has several means of rejecting the influence of the voltage variation from power supply (common mode rejection).
You have differential topology (only amplifiers differences), negative feedback, separated power supply rails for the VAS/differential input stage from the output power transistors rails (this can be achieved by using separate windings or even small auxilary transformes for the VAS and differential input) etc.
And if someone is worry about absolute hifi performance, he/she should operate the amplifier way below the clipping condition.
In addition, a good power amplifier design has several means of rejecting the influence of the voltage variation from power supply (common mode rejection).
You have differential topology (only amplifiers differences), negative feedback, separated power supply rails for the VAS/differential input stage from the output power transistors rails (this can be achieved by using separate windings or even small auxilary transformes for the VAS and differential input) etc.
A transformer isn't a person sweating more when working harder. It is designed to do something, transforming one voltage to another. It doesn't care about that. It will do what it is designed to do up to its design limits. If the designer of the amplifier did his job right, that transformer will never hit its design limit.
Channel separation... maybe. But if you then listen to LPs that have a separation of 0 at low frequencies it will not matter much.
Likewise "power drops", if you drive your amplifiers so hard that this matters then you are using the wrong amplifiers or they were not designed correctly. They should clip hard before voltage drop would influence the working.
My experience is that there can be quite dramatic improvements from going from a single power transformer to duals. Naturally, whether a change is described as "dramatic" or not is entirely subjective. But in general, I have found that changes to power supply busses and grounding schemes can yield sonic differences that are considerably more obvious than most component changes (and the differences are usually easily measurable). Changing normal electrolytics to Black Gates or industrial-grade opamps to audiophile-approved devices is nothing compared to the differences that you can obtain by re-routing busses, or for that matter, revising circuit-board layouts.
Some of the benefits of dual transformers can be accomplished by going from a single, shared secondary winding to dual secondaries - one per channel (for the sake of simplicity assuming one winding for both voltage polarities with a center tap ground). But my experience is that there is still enough modulation occurring through the transformer core that there is a further benefit in moving from dual secondaries to dual transformers.
Theoretically, if you had a granite-solid constant current source and used one pair per channel to feed the regulators and amplifiers, the constant-current nature of the sources should fully isolate the channels and make it immaterial whether you were using one transformer or two. But this is easier said than done. Definitely one of the areas that I intend to work on in the future.
regards, jonathan carr
But if you design the stereo amp correctly including a cheap separation of the rails for diffAmp/VAS from the output transistors, what is the influence of power supply variations?
In typical class AB with BJT as output power transistors, they operate in emitter follower configuration. The voltage across collector and emitter (VCE) does not influence the voltage at the emitter as long as you don't get close to clipping condition (VCE aproaching to zero).
In typical class AB with BJT as output power transistors, they operate in emitter follower configuration. The voltage across collector and emitter (VCE) does not influence the voltage at the emitter as long as you don't get close to clipping condition (VCE aproaching to zero).