Any advantage to using monobloc amps

Libertasdon, you place the amp near the speaker and connect it with a short cable. Then you run a loooong interconnect from the preamp's output to the monoblock amp's input.

You've moved the lengthy connector cable from the speaker-amp interface to the amp-preamp interface. It's a good idea. Generally, top-quality interconnect cable is cheaper by the foot than similar speaker cable; also the amount of wire hanging off a speaker affects its impedance more than the interconnect wire affects the preamp's.

No difference in my system. I went from several brands of monos (Rowland, Pass, Krell) to a Boulder stereo 2060 and I have never looked back. I believe that it is system-dependent.

David

The crosstalk in stereo amps is insignificant, and cannot justify monoblocks. Also, there actually may be some advantage to having one big shared power supply, rather than two smaller independent ones, because there will be greater headroom when only one channel has a peak demand. Most stereo amps benefit from having one channel run out of phase, as this results in a more even draw from the plus and minus rails of the power supply.

I like monoblocks, but just for the short cables and lighter weight.

The downside...weight! If one is heavy, two is worse. I sold my ASL 1009's because they were back-breaking.

This is far from objective analysis, but since I purchased my first set of B&K M200 monoblocks, I've yet to find a stereo amp that can touch them . . . and the unit's I've compared to cost me anywhere from 1.5 - 2 times as much as I paid for the M200s pair.

The form factor has advantages (eg, running shorter speaker cables, location), and disadvantages (eg, size)