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Extracted text from mark levinson Bridge Kit Owners Manual (Ocr-read)
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Bridged Operation
Bridging Explained Bridging refers to the act of reconfiguring the circuitry in both the left and
right channels of an amplifier to act as though it were a single, much larger
amplifier. (Of course, you will need a second bridged amplifier for stereo;
more for multichannel sound, as in home theater applications.)
Bridging is accomplished by sending a normal signal to one channel and an
inverted signal to the other. In this configuration, one channel will always be
ÒpushingÓ when the other is Òpulling.Ó By connecting the loudspeaker leads
across the left and right red output terminals, the amplifier can now deliver
twice the normal voltage to the loudspeaker. Working together this way, the
two amplifier channels can deliver almost 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-imped-
ance loudspeakers (8W or higher) that have a greater need for voltage than for
current. It is not recommended for loudspeakers that have an impedance sig-
nificantly below 4W, as the speakerÕs impedance is ÒsplitÓ by the two halves of
the amplifier. Thus the bridged amplifier ÒseesÓ a 2W load when connected to
a 4W loudspeaker. Prolonged delivery of high power levels into such a low
impedance creates a great deal of heat that needs to be dissipated. (Of course,
Madrigal amplifiers are protected against overheating, but having an amplifier
shut itself down even temporarily can put a damper on the eveningÕs enter-
tainment.)
Balanced Bridging If your preamplifier has balanced outputs, use a Madrigal Balanced Bridging
Kit for each channel to be bridged. This kit is comprised of two pieces: and
input cable that splits the incoming signal (inverting one side only), and a
ground bus bar that ties the output ground terminals together and allows
ground currents to flow through an extremely low impedance.
These cables are wired internally as indicated below:
Balanced Bridging Kit
21
3
12
3
12
3 Female XLR Input
Pin 1: signal ground
Pin 2: signal + (non-inverting)
Pin 3: signal Ð (inverting)Male XLR Output (normal)
Pin 1: signal ground
Pin 2: signal + (non-inverting)
Pin 3: signal Ð (inverting)
Male XLR Output (inverted)
Pin 1: not used (floated)
Pin 2: signal Ð (inverting)
Pin 3: signal + (non-inverting)
Balanced Bridging
Input Adapter
(pin configuration)
Bridging Output Adapter
(not drawn to scale)
(shield not connected)
The ÒnormalÓ leg of the Madrigal Balanced Bridging Kit will be marked with a
red stripe on the XLR to indicate positive polarity, while the XLR on the in-
verted leg will be solid black to indicate inverted polarity.
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The Bridging Output Adapter is simply a bus bar of solid copper (with g\
old
over silver plating) used to strap two of the output ground terminals together.
This establishes a common ground reference for the amplifier and completes
the circuit that includes the loudspeakers. (There are two such bus bars in-
cluded in each kit: one appropriate for Mark Levinson 300-series amplifiers,
and one appropriate for Proceed amplifiers. Use whichever is appropriate, or
heavy guage speaker wire if for some reason the bus bars cannot be used.)
Important! Do not attempt to operate your amplifier in a bridged mode without first strapping the black output terminals together.Failure to establish a common ground reference betweenthe two channels can damage your amplifier by forcing
significant currents to flow where they do not belong!
To bridge your Madrigal amplifier using a balanced input signal, follow t\
hese
steps:
1 DISCONNECT YOUR AMPLIFIER FROM EVERYTHING Start with your amplifier totally disconnected from inputs, outputs, and
AC power. It is always best to power down an amplifier before changing
connections; here you are also changing its basic configuration.
2 CONNECT THE BALANCED BRIDGING INPUT ADAPTER TO THE AMPÕS INPUTS
Connect the two male XLRs to the inputs of your amplifier, noting which
XLR is marked red and which is black. You may want to standardize on
ÒRed is RightÓ to avoid confusion, although it makes no difference\
to the
amplifier. The channel with the red, normal input will later be connected
to the red, positive terminal of your loudspeaker.
Balanced Bridged
Input Connection
DU L MONAUR L POWER AMP I I R N¼ 3 3
commun cat on por s j k
nputs inpu s
Madrigal Balanced Bridging Input Adapter
from preamplifier
loudspeaker terminals
Madrigal Bridging Output Adapter
inverting
non inverting
3 CONNECT ONE END OF THE BALANCED BRIDGING OUTPUT
ADAPTER TO TWO SIDE-BY-SIDE BLACK OUTPUT TERMINALS
Connect one end of the Balanced Bridging Output Adapter to an upper
black output terminal on one side of the amplifier, and then connect the
other end to a black output terminal on the other side of the amplifier.
(The two connections should be side-by-side rather than one above the
other.) Make sure these connection are snug and secure. ( The upper
black connectors are used on Mark Levinson 300-series amplifiers since
strapping the lower black terminals would inhibit access to the communi-
cation ports and AC cord. Electrically, it would make no difference. )