I just acquired an NAD 2100 power amp and would like to bridge it to my existing NAD 7100 receiver. I do not have either manual and would like instructions on how to do this. The NAD website has general instructions on bridging but I want to be sure I do this correctly. What I don't understand is the audio cable connectivity between the 2. Is it limited to a single source? I have a CD player and a phono inputs into the receiver. Any assistance is greatly appreciated. Also, will my ADS 710 speakers handle this load?
Anonymous
Posted on
I've been using a NAD 7100 for the past few days, comparing it to more recent amps from the same brand. As I'm quite familier with NAD's equipment I can provide you with detailed instructions.
First things first, bridging NAD amplifiers is really like turning two stereo amps into monoblocks. Your Left channel input on each amp acts as the mono input for that amp's signal (so don't get confused by connecting your preamps Right channel output to a Left channel input on the bridged poweramp).
1. Make sure all your equipment is turned off! :-) 2. On the back panel, flip the switch that reads "Bridge mode" to ON on both units. 3. Make sure your impedance switch is set to "4ohms (NORMAL)" on both units. 4. On your 7100, leave the jumper in place that connects your LEFT channel pre-out (preamp section) to the LEFT main-in (poweramp section) . Remove the bottom jumper for the Right channel. 5.Take a single RCA interconnect and connect the RIGHT channel pre-out of your 7100 to the LEFT channel mono input on your 2100. Preferbly the LAB input as this bypasses the builtin volume pots (don't forget to flip the switch just above the inputs to "LAB") 6. Connect your Left speaker to the 7100's speaker A terminals labeled "mono". This would be the two red terminals in the center normally used for both positive returns in a conventional stereo setup. Make sure your speaker cable's positive and negative feeds match the labeled "+" and "-" for mono. If you use two sets of speaker cable per speaker, do the same for terminals B and make sure both Speaker A + B switches are engaged on the front panel. 7. Repeat the above step for connecting the Right channel speaker to the 2100.
Your 7100 will handle your source input switching as before. Nothing on your preamp section's side has changed. The only difference is your 7100 powers your Left speaker and feeds the right channel information to the 2100 (you only have to turn it on and the 7100 will completely control its functionality).
I am not familier with you speakers, but most NAD amplifiers remain stable down to 1ohm impedance. Just keep in mind you've got almost three times the output power now with bridged amplifiers, so chances are your speakers will get damaged first before your amplifiers will run out of steam - which is best! Distortion as a result of amplifiers clipping produces alot more heat on the voice coils and thus damage occurs quickly. You can never have too much power...