Crest CA9 with 2 cabinets; 4ohm stereo vs. 8ohm bridged?

[Billy B.]

I've settled on getting two 1000w 4x10 cabinets, and powering them with a Crest CA9. Bridged mode would require both cabinets to be 8 ohms. The alternative max power configuration would be to run 4 ohm cabinets in parallel. Would there be a performance difference between these 2 options? Thanks.

[Boot Soul]

Not much. I have a CA9 and know from experience. If you look at the specs as published, they tell the story. Two (4x10) 8 ohm cabs bridged to mono will get the full 1800 or so watts as if they were a single (8x10) 4 ohm cab. Two 4 ohm cabs to dual-mono will each get 800 or so watts. The difference will be slight and you should just go by which impedance cabs will be more versatile in other combinations.

http://www.crestaudio.com/media/pdf/ca9_11-25-97.pdf

With some older two channel power amps, bridging to mono with a 4 ohm load could stress them, as each channel "sees" 2 ohms. But the Crest CA series are made to handle that setup with no trouble.

[babebambi]

dual mono 4 ohm is 900w x2 (two 4 ohm cabs)
bridge mono 4 ohm is 2000w (two 8 ohm cabs)
practically the same output

even dual mono 8 ohm is still 700w x2 (two 8 ohm cabs) which is still a lot
the C9 is all you ever need for a bass rig in terms of power
unfortunately, mine can't be with me ...

[projectMalamute]

Originally Posted by babebambi

dual mono 4 ohm is 900w x2 (two 4 ohm cabs)
bridge mono 4 ohm is 2000w (two 8 ohm cabs)
practically the same output

even dual mono 8 ohm is still 700w x2 (two 8 ohm cabs) which is still a lot
the C9 is all you ever need for a bass rig in terms of power
unfortunately, mine can't be with me ...

this.

It basically doesn't matter with that amp. 1 4 ohm cab, 2 8 ohm cabs, 2 4 ohm cabs, 1 8 ohm cab, whatever. You will have enough juice to drive almost anything to it's maximum volume, whatever the configuration.

[oddio]

Originally Posted by projectMalamute

You will have enough juice to drive almost anything to it's maximum volume, whatever the configuration.

Well said. I wish I had more opportunities to use more than just one side of my CA-9.

[Low Class]

The CA9 has plenty of power no matter how you configure it, but I always thought it sounded better in stereo mode.

[AlexanderB]

From a reliability/redundancy point of view, I strongly suggest you run it in stereo (dual mono?), keeping channels and boxes separated.

Any cable or connector issue will only affect one of your speakers, allowing you to complete the gig with reduced SPL.
And in the unlikely event of amplifier "meltdown", rail voltage from a blown output channel will only damage one of your speakers.

/Alexander