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I have 3 audio buddies who between them have owned 8 pairs of mono blocks...all high end stuff..both tube, solid state, and even hybrids. All them complained of needing repairs on every single pair...the usual..channel imbalances, amp cutting out, and out right channel failure.
Any one else have trouble with monos and throw in the towel?
Follow Ups:
I said empty .
There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in.
—Leonard Cohen
Thanks for feedback. Ultimately, it seems my pals were just victims of bad luck. Except for two of everything to go wrong, I agree with many posters here there is no reason monos should be more prone to failure unless there is a flaw in the design.
If you have monoblocks, you double your chance of failure, 'cuz there's TWO of everything.
Stay away!
two lovers/wives is double trouble, too.....
roger wang.
.
.
Never trust an Atom, they Make Up everything!
I listen to one single driver speaker...mono rules.
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Never trust an Atom, they Make Up everything!
THREE edits to get this trope right? LOL
What brands and their country of origin?
...I'm not familiar with the "usual" failures?
...for over 25 years and rarely had problems with them.
All tubed.
Yes, I know your a Manley man...)
As a side note, boy am I bummed about Thiel ditching JT's design and vision.
So was I, pair of NEO250's, some of the best sounding amps I ever had, however, noisy as hell thru 96 db/W sensitive speakers and run extremely hot. And way too expensive to retube...long gone...
Manley's can be on the "hummy" side...
That is an understatement....there was always something uncanny about the left channel amp...when first turned on and "charging", man that thing was mechanically noisy...sometimes the whole amp would mechanically vibrate, at a very low level. Really erratic, sometimes it was fine. Did NOT like being powered by a PS Audio AC regenerator..major ground hum. Always floated ground. And the power switch? Major pop thru my Legacy Focus SE's evertime I turned the amps off.They eventually made thier way to Australia via A'Gon!
Hello,
i like very much the mono approach (a very beautiful example in the picture) and if funds were not limited i will go that way.
If i had to design something i would start mono and then duplicating anything.
Mine is only a feeling but i think that if i will get an excellent mono reproduction then duplicating it will give me an exceptional stereo system.
The starting point for me is mono.
For instance i do not like very much when i see the L layout mirroring the R layout.
I like so much dual mono circuits and true mono even more.
Of course is up to you to decide.
Kind regards,
bg
Edits: 04/06/14
I ran a Dynaco MKIII for six or seven years with no problems.
However I did notice, that people that go the monoblock route tend to go BIG, with heavy duty power hungry systems. Higher up the power chain - the higher up the blow out rate.
charles
VTL MB-450s are pretty powerful and I've had but one problem with either in thirteen year's time - a coupling cap failed and the amp starting munching tubes in one position along with B+ fuses.
Once Bea sent me a new cap, it was easy to install and correct. :)
It's called the Joe Btfsplk Syndrome. There is always a black cloud overhead.
N/T
"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination" - Michael McClure
I heard those Red Dragons once..very impressive amps.
I believe the Red Dragon Monos are ICEPower modules in a box.
Yes, I know they are Class D. Fantastically executed.
I have one of their original stereo versions in Birdseye Maple which was before they went to their current chassis design.
Yes I heard them with the wood enclosures. I just checked the website...lots of changes.
Your friend had
8 different pairs
few different manufacturers
tubed
SS
hybrid
Only common point is your friends.
Monoblock are usually build with the same parts, on the same lines with the same people, have the same design as a single channel of the corresponding stereo amp. They should actually perform better as they have separate power supplies i.e. less strain on the same.
Therefore the only reason why would they have more problems is the environment they are used at.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite insane."
There are now two of them so you double your chances for SOMETHING to go wrong.
Laughing...
Don't shy away from the mono blocks! They have lots of advantages by having separate power supplies, shorter speaker cable runs, better separation as I think all of these where listed above. Also if you are sick enough you can run dedicated outlets to each amp. Any thing can fail, just buy something with a good track record. I'm sure a quick search here or on google you can find what companies have a higher rate of issues.
Lance
Trust your ears not the review...
A nice mono system allows ones funds to go for a better amp and speaker. It is surprising how over rated stereo is.
OT, but I just bought one of your green lasers =).
Great product. Keep up the good work.
What crap mono blocks do your buddies buy and where have they bought them?
Or better yet, what other problems to they have in their lives? Some people are just predisposed to having 'issues and drama' in their lives, many of them audiophiles. ;-)
A mono block is no more prone to having problems than a stereo amp.
I have owned the following mono blocks over the years with no issues at all:
AES/Cary SixPacs
Nuforce Ref 9v2
Wyred4Sound SX-500
Bel Canto M300
Bryston 7BSST2
Manley Neo-Classic 250*
Spread Spectrum Technologies Ampzilla 2000 2nd Edition
*Had a bad batch of EL34 tubes but the amps are rock solid.
Maybe they had those cheap Chinese one's they advertise in Audio Advisor.
errr...drama??? It is just stereo gear.
Why post such nonsense? No need for pop psychology or psycho analysis.
Have a good weeekend.
I'm just say'n.....
If these buddies of yours had an unusual number of 'issues' with their mono blocks, I would observe other aspects of their existence. Some people are just victims of life.
Call it bad karma, bad luck, bad attitudes, whatever, but some folks complain about everything and problems seem to follow them everywhere.
predisposed to having 'issues and drama' in their lives, many of them audiophiles. ;-)
Isn't that the truth!
and out right channel failure.
a mono amplifier "know" to what channel it will be assigned?
Perhaps your buddies should look upstream for causes of failure.
errr.I meant outright channel failure..not particular to the Right channel.
.
I've run monoblocks for 25+ years, Adcom GFA565s and then Bryston 7B-STs, with nary a problem.
You must be a real, what do you call'em, audiophile as your logic is more than tenous!
Good for you.
Like a clam, I am.
snarky..you are..
nt.
Oh please.
Knock on wood! ;-)
... so I think your 3 buddies must've bought from an inferior supplier?
Regards,
Andy
Could be environmental issues..electrical spikes etc...
Let's see. I have owned Quicksilver mini-mites, a pair of Blue Circle 50W SS monos, Fi Audio 2A3/45 monos, and a pair of Class A, triode-wired PP amps by Abraxas audio.None of them ever missed a heart-beat.
I like monoblocks, but not for the usual reason (dual power supplies). I like them because they don't weigh as much and because I can use short speaker cables (1.5M max) and reasonably short ICs (1.5M max), and they don't take up shelf space. Finally, it's easier to follow the wiring in case something does go wrong.
Of course some SS monos have pretty "dense" layouts and do weigh a ton. However, I like the simplicity of tube circuits and layout. The Fi monos are the height of simplicity (2-stage) in layout and quite small.
Observe, before you think. Think before you open your yap. Act on the basis of experience.
Edits: 04/05/14
Agree with your observations.
I have QuickSilver Mono blocks that are six years old and never one glitch. I can't see why a Mono amp would be more prone to problems.
I personally don't see why either..just reporting.
It's called audiophile neurosis the "hobby" is predicated on its continued existence.
Set and forget is soooooooo dull!
DITTO !
Counting my active monitors as monoblocs (each channel contains a tri-amp for the three drive units and an electronic crossover)and with 10 years of Naim mono amps before.
Furthermore I have friends with tube monoblocs and the only problem has been with the odd tube failing, which could happen with any such amp mono or stereo.
So I would say that your friends have experienced an unusual coincidence. After all there is nothing fundamentally different about a mono v. stereo version of similar amps that would cause an abnormal level of failures in one or the other assuming that the power supply is adequate.
To be fair, I would not count a tube failing as an issue..that can happen with a stereo amp.
It may be that there could be environmental issues that have cause the problems...power surges here in the northeast are common..or something similar.
As I said, tube failure can happen with any amp mono or stereo.
Why would power surges affect mono amps but not stereo ones?
Yeah, the power normally surges into just one monobloc...
...with only one amp. I've had more problems with stereo amps.
I LIKE monoamps, perhaps because I believe that speakercable should be shorter than ICs. I currently own pairs of Coincident Frankenstein IIs and Marantz MA-22s, just sold (with their partnering Vandersteen 5As) a pair of McCormack DNA-750s, have had 2 pairs of Marantz MA-24s, pairs of Monarchy SE-160s, c-j Premier 11As, ASL Explorer 805s, ASL Hurricanes, ASL 1006s (one of those had a bad circuit cable), Music Reference EM7-10s, etc.
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Tin-eared audiofool, large-scale-Classical music lover, and damned-amateur fotografer.
William Bruce Cameron: "...not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
If I may ask? I am a Vandersteen fan running Quatro's and dreaming of 5A carbons. I am curious what other avenue drew you away.
I am using 5A's and listened to the 5A carbons.....I would buy the carbons, but to update my 5A's doesn't seem worthwhile to me. The difference is oh so small...truthfully, they sound the same to me. A change in cable, or electronics will bring greater rewards. Regarding the Quatros....you can get the carbon update (if not now - soon) so that the middle and highs are the same as the 5A carbons...just a bit less bass.
Jef....you can put a stereo amp between the speakers with short cables too
Thanks for reply. I like monos too..for me the benefits are better channel separation...
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