How to bridge amplifier channels on Director and Architect multi-zone home amps.

How to bridge amplifier channels on Director and Architect multi-zone home amps.

Introduction

AudioControl Director and Architect series amplifiers have the capability to bridge amplifier channels together to deliver more power to your speakers.

Bridging amplifier channels combines a stereo pair of channels into a single mono output channel. Bridging is often used to provide more power to large full range speakers in a two channel system or home theater, or to power larger subwoofer speakers. All stereo amplifier channel pairs on Director and Architect amps are capable of being bridged.
When bridging channels, do not use a speaker rated at less than 8 ohms. Also, make sure your speakers are rated to handle the increased power that is provided by bridging.

Power Output

The Director M6400 and Architect 2660 amps have a bridged power rating of 175W.
The P250 EQ bridged can output up to 500W.
All other Director and Architect amps have a bridged power rating of 400 watts.

How to wire a bridged output

To bridge amplifier channels connect the positive (+) and negative (-) leads of your speaker cable for the single speaker to the INNER positive (+) and negative (-) terminals of the speaker connector.

Set the output to Mono

To get the full power out of a bridged speaker, both channels must be playing the same audio signal. To do this, change the output from stereo to mono.

On the Architect Models 2660, P2660, P2680 EQ, P2260, P2280 EQ, and P800:

Flip the dip switch number 1 on the chosen zone to the ON position. For the P800, the ON position is the switch pushed up. For all other Architects, the on position is pushed to the right.

On the Architect P250 EQ:

Flip the "Stereo | Mono" switch to the right "Mono" position.

On the Director amplifiers:

Access the web interface for your Director, and expand the zone controls for the bridged zone, and click the button labeled "Stereo." Once it's clicked, it will change to say "Mono."





For more information about bridging, check out our other articles here: https://support.audiocontrolpro.com/portal/en/kb/articles/creating-a-stereo-image-with-bridged-speakers-on-architects-and-directors
If you need additional assistance please contact our technical support at 425-775-8461. Support is available Monday –Friday from 8am to 5pm pacific standard time.