CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[lyd]

Here's one for you all, as I try to hack together an audio solution on a budget.

I am going to be using multiple 2 channel amps for my setup, but that leaves the center as odd man out.

In the longer term, maybe I'll just throw in a rear center, but I can't do that right now. In the medium term, the amps I am going to be using are designed to be bridgeable, so I can do that for the center.

In the right now term, however, I am trying to kludge something so I only have to purchase 2 new amps immediately. So here's the oddball question.

I have an old Technics SU-Z980 that I have been using. It is an okay amp, imo, if nothing amazing. Decent amount amount of power, nothing really horrible about it. What I would like to do is continue using it to drive the center channel for the time being.

I have the vague notion that driving one channel with no load on the other is a Bad Thing. Is this correct? Is there a cheap & easy way to put a dummy load on the other channel to eliminate this problem? If so, I can just do that.

If not, or perhaps anyway, can I bridge this thing by just connecting the center channel to Left + and Right -, then jumping the remaining two outputs?

It is currently running a pair of 4ohm speakers, so it seems happy enough with that load, but I don't know if that is all I have to worry about.

Thanks.

lyd

[Tom.W]

Put a four ohm ceramic resister on one channel. 10 watt should do it with no input to that channel.

[lyd]

Oh, heck, that is easy. I'll definitely just do that, then, rather than experimenting and taking the risk of toasting it.

Thanks a lot.

lyd

[jask]

or you might be able to biamp the center channel if the speaker/crossover allows