M400 Multi-Monoblock configuration heard at a Music Matters event

laynesaddiction

laynesaddiction

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I am sorry that I don't have a picture of this configuration (I am sure I will eventually see one out there from the event and will add it here), but I had to put a short blurb on it as I didn't even know that it was supported/available.

My wife an I went to "Music Matters" event in Seattle event this week and saw Four (4, count them) M400 Monoblocks setup two per channel such that each M400 covered the positive or negative portion of the waveform. (Talk about a monster push-pull configuration!)

Right M400 #1 : Right Channel Positive portion of the waveform
Right M400 #2: Right Channel Negative portion of the waveform
Left M400 #1: Left Channel Positive portion of the waveform
Left M400 #2: Left Channel Negative portion of the waveform

That's 1000W/channel into 8 ohms (2000W/channel into 4 ohms) if you are keeping score.

The rest of the system consisted of a Clearaudio "Understatement" TT, dCS Vivaldi full stack, D'Agostino Preamp and Phono, Wilson Audio Alexx, Transparent Audio Gen 5 cabling.

My wife and I own DAG stuff, so we obviously are biased that direction in amplification. In our opinion, the entire system sounded magnificent.

To keep this really short, I will just say that this amplifier configuration doesn't lose any of the wonderful finesse, delicacy, accuracy, and musicality of what (we believe) you get in the standard M400 Monoblock configuration and gives you a ton more muscle if your system needs any more.

So, for you DAN guys and girls out there that wished the M400 had more juice (not sure you would need more, but I have heard some people want more); this is an option. And what a killer option it is in our humble opinion.

Mike (from DAG) stated some of his customers use this configuration for their systems already.

Thanks.
 
laynesaddiction said:
I am sorry that I don't have a picture of this configuration (I am sure I will eventually see one out there from the event and will add it here), but I had to put a short blurb on it as I didn't even know that it was supported/available.

My wife an I went to "Music Matters" event in Seattle event this week and saw Four (4, count them) M400 Monoblocks setup two per channel such that each M400 covered the positive or negative portion of the waveform. (Talk about a monster push-pull configuration!)

Right M400 #1 : Right Channel Positive portion of the waveform
Right M400 #2: Right Channel Negative portion of the waveform
Left M400 #1: Left Channel Positive portion of the waveform
Left M400 #2: Left Channel Negative portion of the waveform

That's 1000W/channel into 8 ohms (2000W/channel into 4 ohms) if you are keeping score.

The rest of the system consisted of a Clearaudio "Understatement" TT, dCS Vivaldi full stack, D'Agostino Preamp and Phono, Wilson Audio Alexx, Transparent Audio Gen 5 cabling.

My wife and I own DAG stuff, so we obviously are biased that direction in amplification. In our opinion, the entire system sounded magnificent.

To keep this really short, I will just say that this amplifier configuration doesn't lose any of the wonderful finesse, delicacy, accuracy, and musicality of what (we believe) you get in the standard M400 Monoblock configuration and gives you a ton more muscle if your system needs any more.

So, for you DAN guys and girls out there that wished the M400 had more juice (not sure you would need more, but I have heard some people want more); this is an option. And what a killer option it is in our humble opinion.

Mike (from DAG) stated some of his customers use this configuration for their systems already.

Thanks.
Click to expand...


Wilson Audio have multiple pairs of M400s. After spending a couple of days with the bridged ones at Definitive, we may have to send a couple pair of ours back to be reconfigured. They truly are very special.
 
a.wayne said:
Anthony ,

What is Dan running them in .. Fully balanced line configuration .... ?
Click to expand...

I believe so since the standard M400 is fully differential balanced and in this configuration they just split off the positive and negative phases and fed them to separate amplifiers. So, they were pushing/pulling the positive/negative between the amp pairs instead of just doing it fully differential balanced within a single M400.
 
It takes 4 amplifiers to run full balanced line stereo , so it does appear thats what DAG is doing , PS Audio Paul McGowan disagrees with me and others on this , mostly because most run pseudo Balanced line input and call it Full balanced operation , but that is not true balanced operation IMO ..


What DAG is doing with the 4 M400 amps is true balanced line operation ...

Regards
 
While I still don't have a picture, of the setup here is what Bill McKiegan (DAG President...I mistakenly called him Mike above) said about the amplifier configuration.

"At Music Matters this year, we are featuring something unique that we have never displayed at an event before. We will be using a double stack of our Momentum M400 mono amplifiers. As a balanced design, the Momentum M400 has separate signal paths for the positive and negative signals. In this special setup, we combine these two circuit paths into one, perform the same modification to another Momentum M400 and then couple them together to complete channel. We then duplicate this combination for the second channel. The resulting amplifier stack outputs over 1,000 watts into an 8 Ohm load!. It should be a very compelling presentation. "

Thanks.
 
I have met one of Larry's customers at Paragon who had Dan stack four M300's a couple of years ago. Sound like the same thin you sew at this event. I understand it sound great.
 
REALLY!!!!!

SOB

I love my M400's but . . . . .

Anybody compared this setup compared to the lowly 2 M400 setup?

Does this work in the M250 stereo amp setup? Or is that a stupid question since the M400 monos are sorta the M250 doubled - sort of speak????? I confuse my self with this voodoo . . . . . . . . .
 
I nicked this off a Stereophile post on this event showing the M400 setup.

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the professor said:
REALLY!!!!!

SOB

I love my M400's but . . . . .

Anybody compared this setup compared to the lowly 2 M400 setup?

Does this work in the M250 stereo amp setup? Or is that a stupid question since the M400 monos are sorta the M250 doubled - sort of speak????? I confuse my self with this voodoo . . . . . . . . .
Click to expand...

I do not know if they offer this setup for the M250.

As far as comparing this setup to a standard pair of M400s, it is somewhat tough for me to accurately give a detailed opinion since the music that was played during my listen was totally unfamiliar to me.

What I can say is that I didn't feel that any of (IMHO) the strengths of the M400 (microdynamics, musicality, timbre, separation of instruments within the soundstage, etc.) were exaggerated or compromised with additional power. I might argue that the transient attacks of cymbal hits, initial thrust of air of the pipes (on the pipe organ tracks), and other items in that "instantaneous microdynamic aspect" were produced with more ease. I might also argue that the low-end seemed to flow with more authority and oomph in the system. However, again, I didn't know the music and hesitate to make any conclusions based on what I heard. Although, both my wife and me were very happy with the sound and the fact that "going big" with the 4 stacked M400 didn't lose any of the strengths or finesse of the standard pair setup. In our humble opinion, sometimes when you try to "go big", you might gain a bunch of speed or dynamic aspects, but you throw away either musicality or finesse of the smaller system.

We did not feel any of the musicality or finesse was lost in this setup. And that, to us, was a big deal.

I am not sure if the store will keep this setup for a few days after the show, but if they do; my wife and I would certainly like to bring source material we are familiar with and give it a go.
 
Thanks

laynesaddiction said:
I do not know if they offer this setup for the M250.

As far as comparing this setup to a standard pair of M400s, it is somewhat tough for me to accurately give a detailed opinion since the music that was played during my listen was totally unfamiliar to me.

What I can say is that I didn't feel that any of (IMHO) the strengths of the M400 (microdynamics, musicality, timbre, separation of instruments within the soundstage, etc.) were exaggerated or compromised with additional power. I might argue that the transient attacks of cymbal hits, initial thrust of air of the pipes (on the pipe organ tracks), and other items in that "instantaneous microdynamic aspect" were produced with more ease. I might also argue that the low-end seemed to flow with more authority and oomph in the system. However, again, I didn't know the music and hesitate to make any conclusions based on what I heard. Although, both my wife and me were very happy with the sound and the fact that "going big" with the 4 stacked M400 didn't lose any of the strengths or finesse of the standard pair setup. In our humble opinion, sometimes when you try to "go big", you might gain a bunch of speed or dynamic aspects, but you throw away either musicality or finesse of the smaller system.

We did not feel any of the musicality or finesse was lost in this setup. And that, to us, was a big deal.

I am not sure if the store will keep this setup for a few days after the show, but if they do; my wife and I would certainly like to bring source material we are familiar with and give it a go.
Click to expand...
 
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